CPR 40 Ton Coaling Tower Scratchbuilding

[tetters]

Good Evening Everyone,

It's been quite sometime since I last posted on the board. I've been doing other... stuff. Quite frankly, modelling was getting me down. I found I was spending more time on the internet looking a MRR'ing stuff instead of actually doing any modelling! So I took a break from it all and focused on other more personal things as I recharged.

That said, I've been quite active the last couple of months and gave myself a reality check and a swift kick in the backside. I still play with trains and dream of the day when I'll finally have some scenery to brag about on my Kootenay Branch Line... getting there. But I am trying to get some of the track side structures out of the way before I start to focus on that stuff. I've had the drawings for the 40 Ton Coaling Plant for sometime and always wondered if I could use one on my layout. I've recently developed a real affinity for steam and figured out a way to work one into the operating scheme of the layout.

So that said, without further ado, lets get started. I apologize for the first few photos as they were taken with my phone and the resolution is not that great.

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The build was started simply enough I guess. I laid out measurements for the four "trestles" that make up the lower timbers for the Coaling Plant. I made one mistake with the two middle trestles in that the front timbers were supposed to be 8x12's. I used 8x8's for all of the them. Unfortunately I did not catch this mistake until much later in the build. What can you do?

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The cross timbers and wailing timbers added. The challenge here was to get it all square and true without things getting askew. I used a combination of squares and even the Fast Tracks tools to get everything lined up and held in place while the glue dried sufficiently. (I use carpenters glue, its more forgiving then CA if you make a mistake and need to take something apart and re-glue).

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Here I've added the floor timbers for the bin.

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In this photo I've added some cross bracing and completed just about all the work on the lower portion of the structure... except I was feeling a bit gutsy and decided to scratch build a ladder...

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...and attach it to the back of the tower.



Here I am building the three uprights for the Bin Tower as I likened to call it during the build. Same methods as before. I drew out the dimensions on a piece of paper, laid wax paper over top to keep the glue from sticking, squared them up and tacked everything in place.



Then I cut a bunch of "3x12's" out of some cereal box.



...and started to plank the bottom of the bin as well as the front as well.



Shortly after came the walls for the bin. You may notice different pieces come and go in different pictures. I cannot tell you how many times I test fitted and refined the fit of certain pieces until I was happy with their appearance.



Once I was happy with the fit of the bin walls, I glued the three uprights for the Coaling Plant Tower in place.



Time to start thinking about the roof framing...



Here I've added the back wall for the 2x6 that is the roof line for the back.



Now adding the rest of the roof timbers. I didn't worry about making an exact 2x6 frame. i just needed something to glue the card stock roof to, that's all.



Motoring right along, I made some "1x6" wall pieces for the roof and back walls to cover the framing. Eventually a square hole will be cut to allow a pair of timbers to exit the side for the counterweight mechanism. The top timbers for the Bin Uprights will support these timbers on the inside as well as another pulley for the coal bin.



Oh and I added the wall for the other side as well as a window. I should add that the large roof section is not glued on yet. I won't be gluing it on until the final stages of the build.



The structure also calls for some 4x4 blocking to fit under certain timbers. So I chopped up a bunch of little pieces and glued them to the tower.



I was getting to a point in the build where I was feeling pretty good about how much I'd been able to do. I kept telling myself, "You are building this entire thing from scratch! Don't rush it!" So I took sometime to carefully scan the drawing again and noticed I almost missed adding another ladder and platform at the front. So I got busy and built the needed parts.



And added them to the front of the structure.



It was about this time I started to think about the Motor House for the Plant. A small simple structure, but not without it's details and worth taking the time to build properly. I also fabricated the covered thing... I honestly don't know what it's called... for the pipes and cable for the bin counter weight and mechanisms.



It was also high time I prepped a base for this all to sit on eventually. So I drew a '"site plan" on a piece of paper, cut out a piece of 1/4 ply and used some 3M Spray adhesive to glue it together.



Hey, look we have footings!!!



I also made the back wall with two windows for the Bin Tower. This will not be glued in place until I get some of the bin details built and mounted inside.



And here is where I am at with the model right now. It will sit right on the edge of the layout. I plan to extend the bench work out a little more to accommodate a siding for a loco to spot hoppers with coal and sand as the Sand Tower I built will share this particular location. I will most likely extend the track past the Coaling Tower and also install a small diesel re-fueling station where a tank car can be spotted.

Stay tuned there is lots more to come in the days ahead.

Thanks for looking.

Shane