Welding shop completed

I have completed the welding shop model.  More detail will be added when I install it on the layout.  The signs were created on my computer.

The welding takes place in the left side structure while the right side is primarily office space.

All windows are by Titchy except the two windows in the large shop doors.

Both back doors are scratch.  The stacks and roof vent are commercial parts.  The side vent is made from a piece of clapboard siding.

Above is an interior view taken before the roof was added.  I installed some crude details and pieces of junk as I will be installing a welding light simulator after the structure is installed on the layout.  the 3 LED lights will be installed through the floor between the auto and the fireplace.  The weldingLED kit is by Evan Designs and consists of two blinking white and one non-blinking blue LEDs.  It is very inexpensive.  I have tested it on the workbench but have yet to see how it looks installed in the structure.   It remains to be seen how well the interior details will be visible after installation.

Scrap yard steam tractor loader

I finally finished the Vintage Vehicles Erie steam shovel which I built as a grab crane with a grab bucket instead of the steam shovel scoop.  This kit had a LOT of small plastic parts and is quite detailed but a pain to build.  Maybe that is why they went out of business.  I have two more of these kits but not sure if I will build them.  The grab bucket is a brass kit by Bob Razsa who passed away some years ago.  I placed a hunk of white metal in the boiler at the rear of the model to balance it.  I was going to place a sitting figure in the model's seat but the seat  and seat area is too small for the HO figure.  I elected not to install the four side doors as this machine is old and beat up and thus relegated to the scrap yard duties.

I have also added more metal scrap to the scrap yard.

This pretty much finishes my work on the scrap yard unless I think of something else I want to add.

Here are a few prototype photos for reference.  These machines were built in many configurations over the years.

Grab buckets were used for both bulk materials (coal, gravel, etc.) and for solid materials including scrap metal.

Dynamite railroad car accident 1913

There was a railroad accident in Park City, Utah in 1913.  Fortunately it did not result in an explosion.  A switching engine and ore cars got away from the crew and crashed into a car containing 30,000 pounds of Hercules powder.  Fortunately despite the cars being forced to travel over 200 feet there was no explosion.  The powder was scattered along the right-of-way.

You can see the tender embedded in the rail car.

Here you can see the relatively long train.

I am not sure what railroad this was.  In this time period the D&RG railroad and the Union Pacific were serving the are.

My model work continues and I will be posting some photos of it soon.

Welding shop office

I have finished the welding shop office structure.  It is fairly small but similar to the prototype, although it appears that on the prototype the rear of the office sloped back towards the welding shop structure.  I chose not to do that.

The sign was printed on my computer using presentation software.

The rear of the structure has only a simple door as it will face away from the edge of the layout and be hard to see.   The opposite side from this end is plain wood as it will butt up against the other structure.

Above is the early work on the sides.  The front is mostly complete but the back and side have only an ink & alcohol stain.

This was a very simple structure.  All windows are by Tichy as is the front door.  The back door is just plain wood with a door knob added.

1933 rail detector car

Here are some photos of a vintage 1933 rail detector car labeled X-101.  It was apparently sponsored by the American railway Association.  There was little information on this detector car provided.   I believe the first unit was the power and the second unit contained the detector equipment.

This detector car would make a really neat model

I am busy building my welding shop and the steam shovel kit.  Photos probably later this week.

Welding shop model planing

I am building this model based on an old photo.  I scanned the photo and cropped it to exclude most of the surrounding scenery.  The resulting photo I am working from is quite grainy but adequate for my purposes.  There are two parts to the welding shop structure - the part on the left is smaller and may be an office area.  The part on the right is larger and deeper and is likely where the welding work was done.  The area on my layout where this model will go is somewhat constrained and not equally deep so I need to reverse the two parts of the shop on my model.  The somewhat crude card stock mockup reflects this reversal.  I have found that mockups are helpful in ensuring that the resulting model looks correct and fits the area on the layout.

The prototype has some really big signs and is well weathered so that is the way I will build it.  The photo appears to be a scene in the early 1900s - perhaps the 20s or 30s based on the autos in the scene.  It appears that the structures have flat roofs so that is the way I will build my model.

There will be a sketchy interior in the larger structure as the large open door will allow some view inside.  As that will be where the welding work is done, I will install a welding lighting effect in that structure which will also make the interior somewhat visible.

The photo above shows the interior of a 1920 welding shop where an oxy-acetylene torch is  being used.  I will use this photo to help design my interior.

In addition to my work on the scrap yard and the preparation for this welding shop,  I have still been working on the Vintage Vehicles steam shovel kit to place in the scrap yard.  This kit has been difficult for me as it has lots of detail parts which don't always go together easily.  My shaky hands don't help the situation.  I will show a photo when it is complete which is still a ways off.  When I am not enjoying something I am building I always seem to find excuses to do other things.

More scrap yard prototype photos

Here are some more prototype photos of scrap yards.  The first is from the mid 1940s and shows what was referred to as "home scrap".  Not from a residences but byproducts of processes in a steel mill such as casting and rolling.

Lots of slab and chunk pieces.

The next two photos are early 1900s rail yard scrap bins.

The photo above is referred to as a scrap platform.  Looks like lots of bins next to the platform.

Above is another scrap platform.  Each bin seems to be labeled as to contents.

So based on the preceding photos it seem scrap can be handled in many ways.  I am still populating my scrap yard with scrap items so sometime in the future I will show more photos of it.

Next Project

My next project will be a welding shop which will include a welding light effect.  I am doing sketches now and making a card stock mockup for sizing purposes.

Model scrap yard with some scrap installed

I have installed some scrap in my scrap yard.  The most effort was in building out the old autos.  They were mostly cheap plastic toy-like cars which I upgraded with mostly card stock bodies.  Most of the rest of the scrap so far installed is cast metal parts.

The auto scrap is on the left.  In the center rear are some steam boilers - the one on the left is a commercial cast metal part with a few additions and the one on the right is scratch built from wood.

The scrap on this side is mostly railroad parts.

There is a lot more scrap to be added to this model.

One of the figures I added next to the office was made from a Plasticville cheap plastic figure that was I think a policeman.  It also was missing an arm, so I made a new arm from moderately heavy wire which I thickened with white glue.  The first arm I made flew off into the small parts black hole when I tried to smash a hand in the end using two metal blocks.  I don't know where these parts go.  I had some choice words while trying with no success to find the missing arm.

Over time I will add more scrap details to the scrap yard.  Meanwhile I will start a new model.  When the scrap yard is finally complete i will show more photos.