Rooming house completed

I have now completed the rooming house mode,  both interior and exterior (unless I decide to add something else).  For me nothing is ever totally complete as I decide from time to time to make additions or changes.

As you can see I added a few more details including signs and a trash can.

And now I will try to show the interior details installed though it is difficult to show them in these overhead photos - much easier to see when looking in person and since the model will be inches from the edge of the layout, viewing the interior with the roof removed will be fairly easy.

There are two bedrooms upstairs along with the hall and shared bathroom at the back.

The bedrooms are fairly sparse with a bed, a dresser, a water heater and a table in each plus a few additional details.

On the dresser at the top you can see a gray hat.  The dresser at he bottom has a book standing on end.

The left bedroom has a pair of boots beside the trunk though hard to see.  There are clothes hanging on the walls inside each bedroom door.  I

I enjoy making these interior details, most of which are scratch built.

Now that this model is complete I need to decide what to build next.  I am working on an SS Ltd truck kit and a PRR well flat kit so I am not without things to occupy my time.  With the New Year approaching I will be doing some celebrating with my wife and family.

Rooming house interior details

Here are some of the interior details I will be installing in the rooming house upper floor.  The two beds have SSLtd cast metal ends but the rest of the beds are made from a slab of wood covered with a facial tissue sheet and pillow made from rolled up facial tissue.  In the rear you can see the cast metal SSLtd bed and pillow that I did not use.

In the rear at right is a cast meat toilet bowl with an elevated water tank made from wood.  My grand mother had one of those in her summer cottage.  At the front left is a clawfoot style bathtub I made from card stock and wood.  There are two commercial trunks and a commercial sink laying on it's side.  There are two chairs, the left one is cast metal and the right one is made from small pieces of wood.  I will be making some more details such as carpets and clothes hanging on a hook on the wall - all will be made from facial tissue.  I use facial tissue for many things including revised clothing for figures, laundry and rags hanging, simulated canvas and much more.

Next I will start installing these things in the building but I thought it would be easier to see them like this rather than after they are installed.

An article on the gas station I built a while back has now been published in the January issue of the NMRA magazine.

Rooming house exterior complete

I have completed the exterior of the rooming house.  The next step is to detail the interior of the upstairs.  The roof lifts off.

The stairs are part plastic, part wood.  Doing the railings was tedious with my shaky hands.  The bench on the front porch is an SS Ltd kit.  

The roof is card stock with wood bracing, and covered with strips of paper painted black then dusted with gray chalk dust.

Rooming house model progress

The rooming house now has four mostly complete outer walls.  The model is approximately 25 x 25 scale feet.  It has two rooms on each floor plus an office on the ground floor and a shared bathroom on the upper floor,  I have decided to do interior detail on the upper floor and make the roof removable.

There will be a short foundation under the building as well as a front porch and an upper porch over the front porch.  On the left side is an upper door and will have stairs leading up to that door.  The right hand door on the bottom is for the office.

This slightly higher view shows the start of some interior partitions.  There is a short hall inside the outside door with the bathroom at the end of the hall on the back and two rooms in the front area.   I still have a supply of SS Ltd interior details such as beds, sinks, etc which I will use to detail these rooms.  I will also scratch build some details.

Rooming houses unlike boarding houses had no food service nor cooking facilities though some tenants brought in rudimentary cooking equipment when allowed.  My tenants will have to avail themselves of the diner next door.

Track work vintage 1908 plus next project

Below are two photos of section crews with motor cars vintage 1908. The first photo shows a motor car with trailer on the Chicago & Alton railway.  These motor cars replaced a greater quantity of hand cars and apparently saved almost two hours time per man.

The crew has moved the motor car and trailer off of the rails to work on the track.  I always find it fascinating that workers such as these wore hats with brims while working.

The next photo shows a motor car and trailer on the Union Pacific railroad in the process of distributing ties.

The car is hauling 20 ties and 12 workers - somewhat crowded but effective.

Next project

My next construction project is a rooming house to house some of the workers in the surrounding industrial area.  So far I have mostly completed the front of the building,  at this point 26 feet wide and one foot deep.

This rooming house will be located on the street at the edge of the layout between the second hand goods store and the diner.  That will complete the structures on the street.

Bucket elevator equipment 1939 era

In the early years of industrial development the variety of machines was vast and interesting.  That is one reason I choose the 1939 era for my model railroad.  The inclined spaced bucket elevator below delivers coal from a below ground storage pile to a scraper conveyor.  A scraper conveyor uses scraper sections to move material (such as coal) onto an elevated conveyor and moves it to something such as a power plant.

It appears the installation above has some wooden safety barriers being constructed on each side of the pit.

Bucket elevators were also manufactured as mobile loaders and unloaders.  The machine above was provided powered by either an electric motor or gasoline engine.  The discharge chute swiveled in order to distribute to distribute the material evenly.

I have decided on my next model and am doing a rough design - more later.

Railroad storage shed model completed

I have completed the railroad storage shed.  The hardest part was the tedious task of building the roof and applying shingles.  The shed is all wood.  The shingles are the vintage Campbell shingles.  As previously stated I reduced the number of compartments to three.  The door on the right end is a double door as the other doors slide to the right inside the units and the right unit yes not have room for that.  I did that since it appears the right units on the prototype have no slide area.

The roof was first coated with india ink and alcohol, then with my alcohol and grey acrylic paint stain.

The above view is the aspect in the prototype photo.

Now I need to install it on the layout and complete my scenery.  Then I need to decide what to build next.