[East Broad Top]

After entirely too long, the town of Blacklog finally has a proper depot. This is what the good folks had to deal with for over two years--a backer-board shell of a station, as shown in this August 2006 image:

Obviously a bit drafty and ill-fitting the stature of the western terminus of the Tuscarora Railroad. Besides, those good folks a mile down the track in Orbisonia had that really cool two-story depot, and there was definitely a bit of "station envy" going on.

The station is actually a model of the East Broad Top's Shirleysburg depot, but turned around so the tracks are on the opposite side. The walls are "Fiberock" tile backer board, laminated with Precision Products' 6" clapboard siding. The Fiberock sat out unprotected for two winters without any damage beyond getting trampled upon by the dog when it was buried under 18"+ inches of snow.

The signs are printed on adhesive vinyl paper on an ink-jet printer, then oversprayed with Krylon's UV matte finish. They're stuck on small pieces of styrene, then glued in place with silicon adhesive.

Looking east... The windows are Grandt Line windows. By sheer serendipity, they had windows which scaled out to within an inch of the prototype's. The shutters are built up from styrene.

The east side of the depot--no photos of this end of the prototype have ever come to light, but it was typical of EBT depots not to have windows on the freight side, if the depots had separate freight/passenger sides.

The freight platform is redwood, stained with some very dilute black paint.

An overview of the town of Blacklog, looking significantly more verdant than in the first photo. There will ultimately be a water tower next to the depot.

Later,

K

 

[Bruce Chandler]

Wow. Nice work, Kevin.

I'll be interested to hear how those signs work out.

What did you use for adhesive to hold the siding to the backerboard? Is the roof from Precision?

How easy is it to cut that backerboard?

 

[tj-lee]

Kevin,

Very nice, thanks for posting the pictures.

Best,
TJ

 

[joe rusz]

Way to go, K. Looks great and fits right into your railroad's theme. And it should withstand those Colorado winters.

 

[East Broad Top]

Bruce, I used the vinyl on some signs I put out at the beginning of the summer, and they've held up remarkably well--which is to say they've already lasted 3 months longer than most other forms of signs I've put out. They've neither faded nor peeled, so we'll see how they do over the winter. The vinyl "paper" is supposed to be weatherproof.

The siding's held in place with liquid nails. I built a smaller depot last summer to test the construction methods, and it seemed to hold up very well.
http://archive.mylargescale.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=34517

The roof on that one curled and peeled for some reason, so that's got to be replaced. I'm wondering if it had something to do with being buried under the snow with only one side exposed to the moisture giving it a warp, but that's just speculation. The walls held up just fine, so I really don't know. I used a different subroof on this one (1/4" plexiglass) so I'll keep my fingers crossed. If this doesn't hold up, I'll peel the shingle veneer off and just use individual cedar shingles. At least I know the plexi won't warp.

The roof veneer is from Model builder's Supply. It comes in 14" x 24" sheets, so it can cover a larger roof than the Precision Products sheets.

The Fiberock cuts very easily with a band saw or table saw. It's dusty, but you don't need special blades or anything like that. Note: This is not the same stuff as "Hardibacker," which is much more problematic to cut. The Fiberock is not designed for applications where it's in constant contact with moisture, which is why the base of the station is Hardibacker. But again, the Fiberock core was outside in the elements for two years before the station was finished, and it seems to have held up very nicely.

BTW, here's a photo of the prototype station:

Later,

K

 

[david bunn]

Nice one Kevin
Regards
Bunny

 

[jimtyp]

Another great "K" model Kevin! I really enjoy how your models looks so real. That chalkboard looks like I could write on it and I could see myself walking down those steps into the office. Wow! You did a great job of modeling the prototype. Not sure if that is a stove pipe coming out of the roof in the pic or just a smudge or something behind the station? Seems like they'd would have had a stove for the winter?

Thanks for providing info on how you built the station!

One question, what did you do for the peak of the roof? MBS doesn't make a roof cap like Precision does.

 

[East Broad Top]

The peak is just Plastruct "L" angle (1/4"). I don't know if it was more prototypic to do a ridge using individual shingles or long boards. The Pola kit that currently serves as my Neelyton depot has long boards, so in the interest of consistency, I stuck with that. The fact that it was infinitely easier than individual shingles had nothing to do with my decision. There should be a brick chimney on the passenger side of the station. I still need to add that. I'm not worrying about the gutters.

BTW, Jim, if you're out and about on Sunday (9/14), we'll have the railroad open from 10 - 5. (The invite goes out to everyone, but Jim has the advantage of being within driving distance.)

Later,

K

 

[Richard Smith]

Kevin,

Very nice model that captures the prototype exceptionally well!

I am very interested in the vinyl "paper" you used to print the signs. Was it purchased in an office supply that carries computer paper or did you have to special order it? Also what was the brand name? Thanks.

I've had very good luck with plexi both as walls and roofs. I spray a primer on them before applying either paint, texture or other materials on them. Of course with plastic roofing or siding it might be better to use something like TAP's #16 cement directly on the raw plexi. I'm currently experimenting with expanded PVC for roofs. It seems to hold up exceptionally well also except that thinner material can warp in sunlight if not secured really well.

Again, a really fine looking depot.

 

[East Broad Top]

The stuff I got was from http://www.papilio.com. I've seen similar stuff at Office Depot for printing your own bumper stickers and the like, but I don't know if it's the same stuff, or if it's available in full sheets, just bumper sticker size perforations.

Later,

K

 

[Richard Smith]

Thanks Kevin. I'll check it out.

 

[rgolding]

Kevin,
Great looking structure. Having left buildings outside all winter in far milder climate than you, I wonder about the value of leaving them out under a scale 20 feet of snow, or more. In the last couple of years, I started bringing the structures in for January and February. This gives me a chance to work on them and they don't get trampled by the dogs when totally covered with snow. ;-)

 

[SandyR]

Kevin, that is a great station! Any chance of an article in GR? Interesting that the prototype had window shutters; I think that's the first time that I've ever seen them on a station...
SandyR

 

[chaingun]

Kevin,
Super job! You have made a wonderful addition to your layout.
I am using the Papilio paper & ink jet printing on several signs on my layout. I have had some fading but I was expecting that with them fully exposed to the sun here. To say the sun is brutal here would be the biggest understatement sense Noah said,"looks like rain"!
Best, Ted
GYT&S RR
Bouse, AZ

 

[East Broad Top]

I've thought about bringing them in for the winter, but have always opted against it. The buildings give the railroad its sense of "place" when the trains aren't running. I can look out the window, even in the dead of winter, see the buildings next to the track, and be transported back to rural Pennsylvania. Without the buildings, it's just plants in the garden. There's nothing to excite the imagination. With as little as I actually run trains lately, I need that fix, even if it is completely passive. An evening refreshing each building in the spring isn't too bad. It's a small railroad with few structures anyway.

SandyR, no article on this station, but I'll probably be doing something on the adjacent water tower in a future issue. Jack Verducci's running a series on structures at the moment, so I'll wait until he's done with that so not to duplicate subject matter.

Speaking of, I've best be getting back outside. Open house on Sunday and all that...

Later,

K

 

[Guest]

a modell after my heart!
it contains and transmits a certain atmosphere.

looking at the photo from the original, i note the not raised platform alongside the mainline. were they common?

 

[Matt Vogt]

Very nice depot, Kevin! I love the signage.

Matt

 

[docwatsonva]

I love your depot Kevin. Great job. I think it should last for years.

Doc

 

[denray]

Great looking depot I love the sinage it makes it looks like life is there. If you know somebody that has a laser machine those signs will last for years outdoors
Dennis

 

[joe rusz]

K, Ddi you buy the Papilo on line--through their website, or what?