Superior & Seattle Railroad Build (Volume 3) Started 7/27/19

Started by S&S RR, July 27, 2019, 08:44:50 PM

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S&S RR

Progress picture of the Fox Run build.  Roof is on the main building. Next up roof rafters. Lots of them.


John Siekirk
Superior & Seattle Railroad

S&S RR

John Siekirk
Superior & Seattle Railroad

PRR Modeler

Curt Webb
The Late Great Pennsylvania Railroad
Freelanced PRR Bellevue Subdivision

ACL1504

John,

Oh yea, Mikey likes it a lot! Gold Stars AAA++.

Tom ;D
"If we are to guard against ignorance and remain free, it is the responsibility of every American to be informed."
Thomas Jefferson

Tom Langford
telsr1@aol.com

S&S RR

John Siekirk
Superior & Seattle Railroad

S&S RR

Quote from: ACL1504 on December 10, 2019, 02:52:18 PM
John,

Oh yea, Mikey likes it a lot! Gold Stars AAA++.

Tom ;D


Tom


Thank you to you and Mikey, too. 
John Siekirk
Superior & Seattle Railroad

S&S RR

A topic for discussion: Foundations - most kit manufactures don't provide for buildings setting on foundations. Clapboard just doesn't go all the way to the ground.  :-[  I just spent an hour looking at pictures and coming up with a plan that will hid the fact that these two builds do not have foundations under them.  George did cover 80% of the clapboard at the base with loading docks, etc. for the main buildings and I'm going to add a foundation to the out buildings. What do you do on your builds?
John Siekirk
Superior & Seattle Railroad

deemery

If I'm scratchbuilding, I explicitly consider a foundation.  Usually, but not always, I'll add one and make sure if there's wood siding, the siding overhangs.  (I didn't do that on my most recent big wood structure, the 'mill valley' warehouse.)  I also have added foundations to kits (most notably in my latest 'Bisgeier Tool' build where I added a brick foundation under the board-and-batten ell.)

Whether or not I do a foundation, I'll weather the base of the building to add mud splashes, mildew, etc.  That helps tie the building into the ground.

dave
Modeling the Northeast in the 1890s - because the little voices told me to

jerryrbeach

John,

I add a foundation to my builds in a couple different ways.  Most of the time I cut a solid foundation from either 1/8" Masonite or 1/4" paneling scraps.  I have also used 1/8" or larger strip wood, mitering the corners if I am going to paint the foundation to look like concrete.  Most of the time I use either embossed plastic sheets of stone or bricks to cover the foundation.  Other times I will use printed paper stone or the Micromark self adhesive stone to cover the foundation. 

IMO buildings that lack a foundation are difficult to place realistically on a layout.  There is either a gap under the structure where it meets the ground, or the lower clapboards end up being buried in the dirt. 

I plan the what I will use for the foundation prior to starting the build and adjust the measurements for any loading docks, porches, steps, etc., accordingly.
Jerry

Mark Dalrymple

Hi John.

I've been considering your topic for discussion all day.  Firstly

QuoteClapboard just doesn't go all the way to the ground.

This should be true but it really isn't.  I have seen multiple examples of timber going all the way to the ground - especially in old houses and especially on hills.  I was once at my friends old house (on the flat) and went out the back door from the wash house and had to step up to the concrete patio outside.  You opened the door inwards and there was 6" of concrete!  Surely it will rot you say - yes.

Often timber structures are built on piles - the same as a deck - and in such cases timber often goes all the way to the ground - almost - and inch (which would be almost invisible in Ho scale) is all that is required to let airflow (and vermin) under your building.  Below is a nice example taken from my inspirational walks around Lyttelton.  Yes - it is corrugated iron, but it is still fraught with the same problems and I'm sure similar examples in timber could be found.  Behind the iron there is no doubt untreaded timber framework, below the exterior ground level.  Inside that timber framework is no doubt dozy and the unpleasant smell of rot is in the air.

Baring this in mind I sometimes put foundations on my structures (always pre-planned and usually from Wills plasticard brick or block, sometimes my own plaster castings of concrete formers) and sometimes don't.  As mentioned, the timber frame of the structure typically sits flush with the floor/ foundation and the cladding sits proud of this by 2"ish.  Putting a foundation proud of the cladding will look wrong (although I'm sure there will be examples out there).

We do love to age our structures and pry off clapboards - here is a perfect candidate for some rot from the bottom up!

An interesting topic, John.  I'd suggest starting a thread on it but it would invariably turn into a nail hole debate.  I'm surprised it hasn't already!  Woops! I shouldn't have said that should I...

Cheers, Mark.

Mark Dalrymple

Considering your yellow paint considerations this photo is rather apt in another way!  Just look at that yellow glow - in the prototype!  And the clash with that green!

Cheers, Mark.

S&S RR

Dave, Jerry and Mark


Great discussion on the foundations issue. I always add them on my scratch builds, I know there are prototypes without them, but in this part of the country you will end up with water running in the building from snow melt, if you don't have them.  Most of them are 12 to 18 inches high. My rule of thumb for the S&S RR is going to be if you can hide the fact that their not there (with a loading dock, bush, or other natural looking view block) then I will not add them to the kits. If  you can see foundation area of the structure I'm going to add them, if at all possible. I need to do a little project and look ahead at my build schedule and see where that will be needed and what has to be done to add them.  I do like the looks of the paper material sold by Micro Mart for foundations.  I also bought some extra Monster Model Works stone and brick walls that I plan on using for foundations.  I sure wish that someone would take over making the laser cut walls from Monster Model Works.


Mark that is sure one colorful scene in the picture you posted.  ;)


     
John Siekirk
Superior & Seattle Railroad

S&S RR

I started assembling the building pieces for Swakhammers - it took a pretty goofy setup to get a tight glue joint between the two clapboard sections of the main building.




John Siekirk
Superior & Seattle Railroad

S&S RR

Update: Today, I added more subassemblies and roof cards to the Swakhammer build. Also, made considerable progress on my track rerouting in the Eagles Nest Yard to make room for a Brownsville Depot build in my future. I'll take some pictures of the site when I get a little further along.


John Siekirk
Superior & Seattle Railroad

PRR Modeler

Curt Webb
The Late Great Pennsylvania Railroad
Freelanced PRR Bellevue Subdivision

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