Rainbows in the Lehigh Valley Gorge

[ngauger]

When something like that won't go back together, wires is the first thing I look for.
There's always a wire that doesn't want to cooperate

[hillyard999]

Mystery of the shell not closing has been solved.... One of the lighting connectors that wasn't used was wedging itself between the circuit board and the top of the shell.  Moved it and everything fits nicely. 

Those lights on the front _do_ look really nice!

[TMo]

Agreed, Hillyard.

The shell came prewired with those ditch lights, headlights, classification lights and number board lights and included the LED boards and wiring back to the plugs... Executive Line shell, detail kits pre-installed, pre-painted, lights all for $45. Couldn't pass that up.

[TMo]

The CNJ station in White Haven....  it's an unknown in 1976. 

While I'm working on the south side of PA 940 in White Haven, I know I'll eventually need to start thinking about what structures I want to include on the north side.  One of the candidates is the CNJ station in town, which is a fairly standard passenger station design.  I've found one recently on https://www.scalemodelbuildings.com/cardstock.html. 

Before I buy, however, I need to try to find out what happened to the station.  It was still there in town in October of '66 - photo here: http://archives.anthraciterailroads.org/...hotoID=384.  If you take a look at the photo, you'll note that the tracks have already been taken up, since operations on most of the CNJ line from Jim Thorpe to Wilkes Barre were combined with the LV by that time.  Would that station have survived for 10 years right in the middle of town?  There was also a fairly respectable yard near that station progressing toward the river, but a lot of that land was sold off in the late 60's and provided the land for the ACME market I'm modeling.  My best guess is that the station was demolished by 1976 and there is a bank sitting there at the moment.  Internet searches have come up dry, and I have subscribed to a Facebook group devoted to the town - I'm hoping I might be able to access some pictures there.  My layout - my rules, sure.  I could just put the station in, but it won't be near my tracks (which are LVRR), and this CNJ station will sit just downhill from the LV station that I modeled.  As you can see, I'm leaning toward nixing the CNJ station...

Raining today, so I just might be able to do a little more work on the ACME.

[TMo]

Put the back of the ACME on.  The left side of the building is up against a slope, so I added a "basement story".  Probably not prototypical, but I need to integrate the building into the slope somehow.  Which gives me three very boring sides of the building - just cinderblock walls. 

   

I'm going to try to break up the massive boringness by building cinderblock or brick columns on the two sides of the building where I think steel beams would have been used to support the roof trusses.  Then I'm going to add some doors (personnel and delivery rollups) along the back and put it some shed roofs against the building.  I'm also toying with the idea of creating a basement add-on for a trailer delivery bay near the back of the building on the left side.


First, the columns.  To break up the boringness, I decided to go with brick - plenty of that in previous warehouse building builds, and the frontside corners were already done using portions of the Cream City building B.  I used some extra pages I printed out for that project, cut and folded the brick into columns and glued them right to the cinderblock sides on four equally spaced locations along the walls on each side.

   

I had flirted with the idea of painting the ACME logo over the cinderblock, but with the columns going in, I don't think I need to do any more embellishment.  Next I'll add the doors and the shed roofs along the back side of the building.  Didn't go overboard on these, because I don't think they will get much visibility.

   

My last work of the day was to add the roof which certainly makes it look more like a completed building.  The last things to work on with this store are the front porch over the entry doors and the that trailer delivery bay.  Not going to be today....  I'm ACME'd out...

   

[TMo]

Added the loading dock today since it's about 100 degrees outside.  Weeds are growing like wildfire, but the wife doesn't think I should be out there...

Started with a loading dock out of the Brick Warehouse kit and built a cinder block enclosure around it, fitted it between two of the brick columns against the side of the building. 

           

Next is the porch at the entry and exit doors and I think this project will finally be finished.

[hillyard999]

TMO,
looks great!

[TMo]

Thanks for the encouragement, Hillyard!  I got the front porch done last night and worked out a possible sight for the building...  Here' the approximate location.  I'll have to readjust some styrofoam since the loading dock is resting on air...  Next thing to get back to is the sewage treatment plant aeration bins...

   

[jim currie]

store looks great to bad i can't use anything paper on layout as the silverfish would be shopping there,
Jim

[TMo]

Thanks Jim!  Silverfish would be a disaster on my layout.  

I have been looking for a simple in-town bank...  No luck with the cardstock models, so I resorted to picking up a DPM #118 (1st National Bank Building) for White Haven.  Design Preservation Models DPM 118 1st National Bank kit HO SCALE - Premium Rolling Stock & Model Trains for Collectors and Enthusiasts

Since I reconfigured the styrofoam base for the front end of White Haven, I ended up moving about 6 locomotives, a flat car, a couple of hoppers and a bunch of miscellaneous parts and pieces that ended up on the styrofoam because it was a convenient flat surface.  Because I moved the styrofoam, the locos and rolling stock ended up amongst the clutter of my desk.  I'm going away on vacation soon and I felt like I needed to clean up.  However, these locomotives and the rolling stock all need some sort of attention and I don't want to put them back on the storage tracks.  What I really need is a "fix it" track...   Got me thinking.

My old DCC system allowed me to program AND run on the programming track - hence it was two full sections of flex track.  New DCC system?  Only programming in a stationary setting on the track.  So, I really don't need a whole lot of space for the programming track, and the old programming track can become my "fix it" track!  I just needed to add a new short section of track for programming.  This also solves the problem of storing a bunch of locomotives on the programming track only to have to remove them if I want to read the CVs on a single loco on that same track...

Got a piece of 1x4 and scabbed it onto the old programming track base with a few biscuits.  The glue is setting up right now...  

   

Rerouted the wired rail joiners from the longer track to the new short programming track and now I have a nice area to hold my stuff to be worked on AND a short programming track complete with a rerailer.  Now to clean up the rest of the mess...