[lownote]

I have some unused, fairly beat up boxcars sitting around, and an old homemade station platform, and I thought maybe I'd make a boxcar shed. Has anyone here ever made one? I'm imagining this as a small freight depot or maintenance building
Here's an old USA trains boxcar I got used from a local seller. My wife made the platform out of trex.

I'm thinking this needs a chimney, and large amounts of weathering and rust, but mostly what it needs is some detail on the platform. If anyone cares to make suggestions...

 

[jimtyp]

Some images I like of boxcar sheds:

another, pic too big for forum






another link, pic too big for forum

 

[altterrain]

a different kind of box car shed (an idea from an MR article way back when in my HO daze) -

-Brian

ps - Jim, you need to get rid of that last pic. Its way too big!

 

[DennisB]

I even turn old passenger cars into diners. Looks great and a lot cheaper than a building kit. Dennis

 

[lownote]

Well I cut a window and did some hasty weathering and added a few odds and ends--I think it may find space on the layout

 

[smcgill]

Looks great!

 

[Great Western]

Hi Lownote (sorry I couldn't find your name),

As you have a Maine potato car and the others could, presumably contain anything, maybe some bags of Maine potatoes should grace the area in front of the boxcar/store.

It all looks fine to me anyway.

 

[VillageRail]

Just adding the window goes a long way towards giving it the "shed" look. Adding a door and a chimney could turn it into a "workshop". Perhaps a step or two added to the platform for access.

With what you've done so far, it would already fit right in on a layout.

Paul

 

[Semper Vaporo]

I see lots of farms around here that have a boxcar used as some sort of storage, or barn, or whatever. A couple are actually maintained with original paint jobs, but most are plain and a few are quite derelict, but recognizable as RR boxcars.

 

[Paul Norton]

Here is a freight shed made from a retired Kalamazoo boxcar.

The concrete platform and stairs are painted pressure treated lumber. The stair railings are soldered brass rods. The toolbox was made from balsa.

 

[lownote]

Thanks everyone--I put th boxcar shed out and it looks fine from ten feet.

Paul, that's a remarkable finish for pressure treated lumber, remarkably even and true. all the PT lumber I get is twisted, warped, knotty, cupped, etc.

 

[desertrat53]

Posted By DennisB on 05/14/2008 5:08 PM
I even turn old passenger cars into diners. Looks great and a lot cheaper than a building kit. Dennis




I started with a combo car, a lot of ambition and time and plans "etched in chalk" (translation: figured it out as I went). Our dog Molly frequents the layout and because our RR is a family affair, was the namesake for the new diner. Made up some cross-facing dinettes and tables, plunked in some hungry townsfolks and thought I was thru. Therein lies one of the main attractions of this hobby....you aren't done even when you think you are done. Up went the awing and a picnic table and a pass-thru door...now we're done....I think.

 

[VillageRail]

The diner is a great idea. I have one of the combo cars I received with an old set. The plastic is warped on the back, so I was not likely to ever get around to fixing it. It's perfect for a diner, and I can hide the back without having to fix it.

Paul

 

[VillageRail]

Lownote,

I just checked out your site. Like yours, my railroad is more decorative than operational. The car barn is impressive. I've been thinking about something similar, but I may end up just running the track onto the covered front porch.

The video is a perfect example of the problem with combining a garden with track. It looks like the train is running through a jungle. My first permanent section went over an area that was previously planted heavily. I cleared quite a bit, but I'm still getting plants coming up in odd places. Several years back my wife planted a small batch of something with little purple flowers about 20 feet away. Not only did it naturalize, but it has spread everywhere. It comes up in the tracks as fast as I can pick it out. Kind of like Kudzu.

Paul

 

[Guest]

Looking good Lownote! Keep it up.....you can make one for me
Toad

 

[mgilger]

Here is the one that I did last year. It was an interesting project. I want to use an unused caboose for the next project this winter.

Regards,
Mark

 

[MasonsDad]

well I have seen it done to the real ones and was wondering if someone does it to the models and now i know, They look great too I might add

 

[blackburn49]

Posted By lownote on 05/14/2008 6:31 PM

Well I cut a window and did some hasty weathering and added a few odds and ends--I think it may find space on the layout

That worked out quite well !

 

[blackburn49]

Posted By desertrat53 on 05/15/2008 3:49 PM

Posted By DennisB on 05/14/2008 5:08 PM I even turn old passenger cars into diners. Looks great and a lot cheaper than a building kit. Dennis

I started with a combo car, a lot of ambition and time and plans "etched in chalk" (translation: figured it out as I went). Our dog Molly frequents the layout and because our RR is a family affair, was the namesake for the new diner. Made up some cross-facing dinettes and tables, plunked in some hungry townsfolks and thought I was thru. Therein lies one of the main attractions of this hobby....you aren't done even when you think you are done. Up went the awing and a picnic table and a pass-thru door...now we're done....I think.

Nice conversion ! I imagine most all of us have extra coaches, box cars and cabooses we'd consider for conversion, but I don't see many such projects.