RRModels004

Page 4

Time to House the Little People

The Frankfort Terminal Railroad is a very country branch line but there are a few people around and they need a place to catch the train and a place to live, to work and to buy stuff. Look, here are several of them now, discussing the possibility of a protest rally for the homeless:

The Station

The first building to be installed was the station, now the homeless can, at least, leave town and go someplace that has housing. The station was purchased at a January, 2009 train show as a new, pre-built and painted structure – Aristocraft 7200.

Above – June 30, 2009 – The building needs a foundation, so I began an entire new adventure in building forms then mixing and pouring concrete. This foundation will include platform extensions and loading docks on each side.

Above – June 30, 2009 – The screen is for reinforcement, the lag bolts anchor the screen in the concrete, the treated wood is for screwing down the building.

Above – July 7, 2009 – The excavation crew went way deep. It took lots ‘o gravel.

Above – July 7, 2009 – Finally, ready to pour.

Above – July 7, 2009 – Initial pour, ran out of concrete.

Above – July 10, 2009 – Pour finished, my first ever.

Above – July 12, 2009 – Station mounted, note the ends of the embedded, treated wood mounting strips.

Above – July 13, 2009 – In order to solidly anchor the building, the good ol’ Hoosier clay lumps are wet down and broken up, then smeared into place. Black dirt was put between the foundation and the track.

Above – July 15, 2009 – The building gets dirty on a rainy day. This was a new experience for a formerly all indoor railroader – free weathering by the actual weather. It is a little out-of-scale, though. Note that the Chief Gardener has started planting and that a road has been added.

Above – Aug 9, 2009 – The station on a sunny day in late afternoon with the local dropping off some cargo.

Future – The platforms will be extended with properly trimmed cedar and details will be added.

Above – Mar 15, 2010 – Compare this picture to the two further above and it is apparent that, after only two years outdoors, the yellow color is now tan and is fading fast. That has not been a problem with other buildings.

Above – Since the FTRR is a sort of C&O/L&N/N&W branch, maybe I should repaint and redecorate the station as a C&O station .

Above – Jul 30, 2010 – While I was pondering the repaint, I added light emitting diodes like those shown above in the City Hall building. They will be controlled by a light sensing timer.

Above and below – Apr 27, 2011 – The pondering took a while but I finally jumped in. I painted the gray roof black, masked it off and painted the rest of the station white (looks gray in this light, but it really is white – see the flash picture two down). After it dries for 7 or more days, I will mask all the trim and paint the rest of the station dark gray.

Above – Apr 27, 2011 – Note that the gray simulated “earth” surround has been cut off in preparation for a bigger wooden platform. The eave trim will be added after the painting, with its attendant handling and masking, is complete.

Above – June 10, 2011 – The white trim was masked, the dark gray sprayed and now the miles of masking tape are coming off.

Above – June 21, 2011 – Outside to lay out the larger wood platform. The concrete pad was made larger a couple of years ago for this reason. The square plastic strips will keep the cedar platform planks out of direct contact with the concrete (mortar, actually).

Above – June 21, 2011 – The cedar has been sawn and the fitting commences. The original plastic platform section has been retained, but the phony plastic ‘earth’ has been removed on the table saw.

Above – June 25, 2011 – Now that the wood has been fitted, the plastic and wood platform parts can be painted the same shade of gray.

Above – June 29, 2011 – A preliminary lighting check is made.

Above – June 30, 2011 – The mortar is painted black to simulate a floor (sorta).

Above – July 27, 2011 – A view of the bottom, showing the plastic square stock used to keep the wood off of the mortar and to space it up to meet the plastic platform. The wiring for the lamp posts has been installed also.

Above – July 27, 2011 – The 18v Lionel post lamps were wired in series to increase bulb life and reduce light. The test showed they worked well.

Below – August 20, 2011 – The Open House for the railroad club rolled around quickly. The setup, the first train and the station at dusk are shown. Judy and I were proud.