Moving day...

[doctorwayne]

...at Elfrida. For some time I've been experimenting with structure placement and the layout of a couple of small towns along the line. I wanted to keep a grain elevator in Elfrida, but felt that it looked out of place in its original location:


After pulling the fence posts from the perimeter of the vacant lot in the foreground, I gave the plaster-on-screen terrain a bit of a workout with a hammer, then applied some freshly-mixed Durabond and pressed the elevator's "concrete" base into the wet plaster. I also squished a short length of flextrack into the plaster, extending the siding by a couple of car lengths. I didn't bother to add rail joiners, as no locomotives will need to run to the siding's end. After the plaster had set, I painted it with the same latex house paint (I think it's called "Layout Dirt" ) used on the rest of the layout and added some ground cover. With the elevator in place, it didn't look too bad, but not particularly interesting, especially for a foreground structure. I decided to add a farm supply store, and, since it would be so close to the scale house, incorporated a new scale house into its design. The scalehouse is attached to the new structure, but utilises the foundation of the original Walthers structure. This required digging into the new plaster in order to accomodate the addition.
"Design" consisted of measuring the available space and determining that I had enough Evergreen Novelty Siding to complete the project. The porch was an afterthought, the end door a later afterthought, and the trackside platform an even later modification. After the structure was assembled, I decided to leave the end door partially open, so added some interior walls and a ceiling. With the ceiling in place, an upstairs storage space seemed logical, so a window was added in the gable end. The roof and ceiling are removeable, just in case I want to add more interior detail (as if I'd ever change my mind ). After painting the walls and roof, it dawned on me that such a structure would be heated during the winter months, since not all farming stops when the snow flies. I used a razor saw to cut into the ridge of the roof, then cleaned up with the area with a knife and files. The chimney is from Grandt Line.
Here's an overview of the re-located structure and its new addition:


Here's a view from the west bank of Chippawa Creek, showing its proximity to the relocated business:


Here's a couple of closer looks. I also added a door into the elevator itself, as the only one on the original model is on the track side:




Doors and windows are from Tichy and Grandt Line (except the freight doors, which are simply scraps of Evergreen car siding). The front porch and rear loading dock are individual styrene "planks", distressed with a razor saw. The roofs are plain .060" sheet styrene, painted to resemble roll roofing, although it doesn't show too well in the photos.


Wayne