Texas Interlocking Tower 24

Tower24;
Your talent constructing and and your attention to detail is outstanding!
I have built N' scale structures and I know the time and patience this requires.
Your work is terrific!
Hawkdriver

 

Thanks, Paul!

 

Thank you, Mike!

 

Lol it needs a good cleaning, doesn't it? Thank you, Boxcab!

 

Thank you, Hawkdriver! I very much appreciate the complements!

 

That auto repair shop is incredible. Good job!

 

Thanks, Hoss!

 

What paint scheme will you be using on the GP-7 build? Since you are modeling late '50's I would presume solid red with a cab side herald. The one set of MKT diesels I'd like to have are a pair of F7's in the passenger scheme.

 

Definitely red -that green color scheme makes me seasick! I like the F-7s too. I would like to model the Texas Special stopped at the MKT depot. I've drawn up plans for the depot, but building it will be a daunting task.

 

Some more progress in planning out the diorama. I’ve added a business car siding next to the depot which was actually an extension of Gulf Oil Co.’s siding. I plan to model MKT’s business car no. 403 and have it sitting on the siding with power and water connections. The interior will be lighted... lited... lit? Since I get bored very easily, I will be working on various parts of different modules concurrently (this also helps spread out the damage...).

Thanks for looking in!

 

That's cool how you're planning individual modules to be pieced together. That's a nice part of the state, too. It's not completely flat but not mountainous, either. A very good friend of mine from high school days is a doctor in the Temple / Belton area.

Regarding your depot, a friend in Alabama is possibly the best modeler I know. He models the L&N because that's what he grew up with. He scratch built the Georgiana, AL, depot--every part, inside and out. He said he bent syringe needles into an s shape to make the traps under sinks in the bathrooms. Every piece of furniture, every mirror, etc., is in the model. He also scratch builds brass steam locomotives.

Just down the track from the depot is a pedestrian bridge. He scratch built the pedestrian bridge out of brass stock. Every piece is soldered together. Attached are a couple of photos. This will give you some motivation to do your depot!!!

 

That's not just impressive, that's humbling. He's one patient, meticulous, skilled - and determined - man. Wow.

 

Thanks! I've never done it this way before so I'm not sure how it will work out down the road.

Motivation??? Scares the h*** outta me Makes me want to crawl away and hide That is really tremendous! I doubt mine will be anywhere near that good. I assume the roof is removable; would be a shame to do all that interior detail and then permanently cover it up. HO scale, right?

 

His depot is HO and the roof is removable. And from what you've shown so far--your interlocking tower and auto garage--you are definitely capable of the depot project. One of the hardest things for me about a large project like that is planning the construction. That's one of my greatest downfalls in modeling. Probably why I get in the middle of so many projects and have to change directions. Then there's the skills to build the thing...

Attached are a few more photos: one a screen cap of the pedestrian bridge and the other two are locomotives my friend scratch built. The drivers and running gear came from a brass 4-6-2, but the rest he made--boiler, streamlining and all.

 

Thanks for the suggestion. Actually, there were at least two crossovers between the two tracks back in the 20s and 30s but they were removed sometime before the 50s, probably to keep any switch engines from tying up the mainline. The lower track actually tied into a small yard just past the water towers, an area I would like to include someday should this thing evolve into a real layout.

While a crossover would make for interesting switching, for the moment I want to stay to prototype.

 

I've revised my module layout a bit more. I re-sized the modules so I can cover most of the points where they will join with roads. The trackside industry became a wood products manufacturing company which was actually there as of the 60s as far as I could find out. I took a little license with the arrangement of the buildings so that I could accomodate the long siding in this compressed version of the area. It actually represents two sidings which started well to the left of Knob creek.



Ok, Paul, you got my interest piqued for my depot! So I cut out a piece of styrofoam for the base and now it's just sitting there on my work table...staring at me...waiting...

 

I finally got off my caboose and cut out the depot floor. This was no easy task as the main part is made up of two sheets of .080 styrene glued together and I had to cut them with an Xacto knife. The higher level to the left is the floor of the station proper and the lower level to the right is for the baggage room and the Railway Express room.




The station itself is not that big, but the roof is large and extends out about 8 feet beyond the walls to shield travelers from the hot Texas sun. And there is a tower attached that makes the whole thing look huge.




The picture below shows the station (now UP territory) from the northeast looking southwest. In the distance about a mile you can see an overpass which crosses above the ATSF-MKT tracks where Tower 24 was located.

 

Unfortunately, it's still a dreary view, although there are a group of dedicated people trying to restore it. Thanks for posting that picture - it's better than any I have so far.