FORD Auto Module

[Bigsteel]

over the last few yaesr josh i've seen your modeling skills progress (faster than mine ) and you ar making some really amzing plastic structures.and this one is no exception,keep up the good work man --josh

[Trucklover]

Josh..."THE KING OF PLASTIC KITS"TM
Everything looks great! I love the sheer size of it all and your eye just keeps getting better and better!
Keep dem pics coming!!!!

Thanks buddy

I dont know any better, ive never build a structure thats not either Walthers, or Plastic LOL. Honestly, the only structure i can think of that i have built that has not been Walthers Cornerstone Series were 2 Model Power Sand Bunkers LOL. I need to get more and venture into laser wood kits i guess, some of them look sweet, and i really like the coal distributor structure your building for your shelf layout right now!!

[Trucklover]

over the last few yaesr josh i've seen your modeling skills progress (faster than mine ) and you ar making some really amzing plastic structures.and this one is no exception,keep up the good work man --josh

Josh, this means alot to me, thanks for all the kind words of encouragement

[Trucklover]

Been a little over a week since i worked on the module, i worked on it for about an hour last Wednesday when my girlfriend was over at my house, she was helping too, it was fun LOL. She had spring break last week, so pretty much for the past 9 days, i have spent all my time with her Well she went back to skool yesterday, and i spent all day yesterday and a few hours this morning working on the module. Ive gotten a few things done, and im really happy with how this Assembly Plant is turning out.

First, i layed out some more Smooth-It for the Assembly Plant truck docks and "yard" around the building. I also paved the area where the 2 Auto Loading Ramps will be. Painted all the areas i poured, and i also weathered the rails that the Loading Ramps roll on. Loading Ramps for the Shipping and Receiving docks for the Assembly Plant were painted with "Concrete" Color, and the rest painted with a custom mix of Gray i mixed using the WS Asphalt Top Coat and some White craft Paint.

Retaining Walls for around the Loading Docks were painted and a yellow stripe was added atop all 4 of them. I also installed a section of Retaining Wall next to the Auto Loading Ramps to separate rail traffic from truck traffic and keep loading separate from normal truck traffic around the plant. Ive installed yellow Bumping Posts around all 3 large cargo doors on the front of the plant. Cadged Laddes were painted and installed in a few locations (2 of them from ground level to roof level, and 2 from roof level to the tops of the rectangular structures on the roof. I also added ladders on the "office" part of the roof)

Various Piping was added on the roof, and a rather large horizontal storage tank was set in place on the ground next to the plant and just in front of the large Receiving Cargo Door. The top rear of the Tank has a pipe coming out and leads to the roof where it goes into the building just past the cooling buildings ductwork, which is also located on the roof. 3 Pipes next to the large storage tank lead from ground level from an underground storage tank up to the roof and are distributed to various locations in the plant via wholes in the roof. One pipe goes to the front rectangular structure with the stacks. Another goes to the rear rectangular structure with the stacks. And the third drops down in the roof just past the last support on the roof for the piping.

Ive also added a large and small vertical storage tanks to the roof in front of the rear rectangular structure with the stacks. The pipe from the storage tanks drops into the roof. A small pipe was installed from the front rectangular structure to the rear rectangular structure with the stacks. Air Conditioner Units were added to the roofs of the "Office" portion of the Assembly Plant.

I also decided to change the color of the ducting for the Cooling Building. Ducting, pipes, tanks, and supports were all painted the same color to match.

One last thing, the roofs will all be covered in a layer of gravel when im finished detailing the roofs and such, so the paint you see on the roofs will not be visible when im done

Here are a few pictures i snapped off a few minutes ago of the recent progress i have made:



An Overall shot of the Assembly Plant




Shipping Truck Docks and the large Shipping Cargo Door




Receiving Truck Docks, Large Receiving Cargo Door, and the large horizontal storage tank with bumping posts




Cooling Building and Ductwork, Large Cargo Door, Piping, and some Auto-Racks waiting to be loaded with some new cars out of the plant




The right side of the plant, near the "office" of the plant. This is the entrance to the loading docks and such where a guard shack is located with chain-link fences and gates. In the upper right of this picture is the entrance to the "employee/customer" parking for the plant which also has a guard shack and chain-link fencing with gates.




Auto-Loading Racks on rails. 2 of the 3 tracks will be used as loading tracks for autoracks, the third, closest to the wall, will be used as a unloading track for flats and such, as it wont be a long enough siding for auto-racks.




The rooftop piping




Roof-Top Storage Tanks




"Office" Air Conditioner Units


And a few random pics:












Sorry for the "fuzzy" pictures, this is right in front of my window, and its hard to take pictures during the day, but i wanted to snap some off and post them before i do any more work lol. Even with the blinds closed, the light is still bright and shines through, making the pictures kinda fuzzy.... lol

[upnick]

Hi Josh looking good so far the UPS style truck has got in a tight spot next to the storage tank no wonder you fitted bump stops

[Steamtrains]

That's a great complex you've built there.....!!! All it needs is a little dirt & grime to give it that "rust belt" look.....
Looking forward to see more progress here...

[Ralph]

Cool! Pipes! Vents! Truck bays! I love it! I think my favorite pic is the recent "overall shot" of the assembly plant. Very realistic a"industrial".
Visitors won't be able to stop ogling your work.
Ralph

[e-paw]

great work.

[Bigsteel]

lots of details packed into that small space josh! i like it ,it would need lots more rust for me though .--josh

[Russ Bellinis]

Looking good, Josh! Just one comment, normally no one would attempt to back a delivery truck into as tight a spot as that UPS truck is in. We had a roll up door like that one at Carrier-Transicold as well as a loading dock. The loading dock was used to deliver trailer loads. Less than a trailer load was delivered through the roll up door next to the loading dock. If the UPS or Airborn driver had too many parcels to either pick up or deliver to carry them by hand, they would roll them out to the truck on a dolly. When we received the monthly parts order, it would be unloaded by pallet jack and fork lift.

[Green_Elite_Cab]

Man, you have like, all the same stuff i do. I just aquired an assembly plant, Stamping plant, and the distribution center.

I actually already had and built a distribution center, but i have not been able to employ it on my layout. I'm still working on a way to incorporate it some how.

Automobiles for a long time had been a big Industry in NJ. Until 2004, The ford assembly plant was visible from the NJ turnpike between Exits 9 and 10. they have since closed and tore down the factory. This was a big source of freight over the NEC, and there were loads of electric powered freights going northbound to the Ford Plant in edison and the GMC plant in Linden (this is one reason i've been aquiring E44 electrics, which were standard on these runs). Even today, we get lots of imported cars in the region from the port of NJ.

I have to say, the only thing preventing me from modeling this all is the space factor. Autoracks and automobile boxcars are huge. Its difficult to fit them anywhere! Anyways, good luck with the models.

[cn nutbar]

Hi Josh---another work of art---you've got a real talent

[doctorwayne]

This is turning out very well, Josh. Your choice of colours ties everything together nicely, and the added details really bring it to life. It's easy to see why you chose to build this module, too, as it's a great place to show off all those beautiful trucks - I especially like those auto carriers.

Wayne

[Trucklover]

WHOA, man its been sometime since I last updates and viewed this thread!

Nick, Ralph, Gus, Steve, Josh, Russ, Chris, Nutbar, and Wayne, you guys are too kind, thank you so much for all the awesome compliments and words of encouragement, I really appreciate it. Its time to get back to work on this thread and module, its been sitting up on the top of my wall above my bed for too long now LOL

I noticed that all the pics in this thread are now not visible, Ill have to fix that after I finish posting the latest update in a second. So bare with me, and ill get all the picture links fixed and back up again so they are visible again

I just got some Micro Engineering Code 83 Weathered Rail in. I also ordered some Central Valley Branchline Tie Strips, and 2 LH and 2 RH #7 switch kits so I can lay the track around the Auto-Loading Racks and along the front of the Stamping Plant. I will also lay a track back on the rear of the module for the boxcars to go in and out of the Assembly Plant

[Trucklover]

Today I changed the arrangement of the Stamping Plant to make it an an angle to make it stand out a little more then just having it straight and parallel to the module edges like it was before. This also gives me a little more room for the 2 truck docks on the right end of the structure, and will allow for a more eye catching loading dock scene for boxcars along the front of the plant. A small yard will be layed in the front of the Stamping Plant for some boxcars and auto-racks, and trailer storage will be along the back side of the Stamping Plant (the triangular section of pavment in the photos below). I made sure to leave just enough room for a single siding for the Assembly Plant track for the auto-boxcars to go in and out of.

These pics show the newly rough poured pavement around the Stamping Plant. You can see where the Stamping Plant will rest right up next to the "Paving Tape" once the pavement has been completed (still another 2-3 coats to get it smooth). You will notice that this first coat of pavement is a extremely ROUGH coat. It is very bumpy, but that is how you will get the best results with this Woodland Scenics Smooth-It stuff. Rough coat, followed by a sanding when dry, then a semi-smooth coat, sanding when dry, then a smooth coat. If more smoothing is needed after the smooth coat, then I will do so and apply a "fine" top coat of Smooth-It to get a good smooth finish. Then it will be time for some paint. You will also notice in the pictures below a few spots that were not filled with the Smooth-It, 2 of the spots were where I had to lay additional "Paving Tape" to allow for easier laying of the material, and the long joint along the crack where the 2 pieces of foam meet. These 3 gaps will be filled in the following coats, and in the end you shouldnt be able to see them if I can do a good job hiding them LOL

Without further a-do, here are a few pics of the progress made just a few mins ago. Now we play the waiting game and watch the Smooth-It dry