My big purchase at Springfield this year was a pair of BESTTrains kits:
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The barn kit even comes with cows.
These will go on the hilltop across the farm bridge that I'm finishing (You can see the footer for the bridge ramp on the far right.)
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The barn is designed so the bottom opens out at a lower level than the top, but that's OK for the intended location. The barn has plaster cast foundation pieces. I squared them up and then measured the footprint:
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Then I constructed a wood template of the front and one side, including the proper height, to make sure I could fit it on location including the front lower level opening.
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Obviously if this is the final location, I'll have to cut a hole in the scenery. But first I'll need to double check the top of the foundation to see where that ends up on the hill.
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The footprint for the house is set by a plaster foundation casting. It's a bit hard to see on the left side, to the left of the clamp. I'll probably play around with the arrangement, including deciding if I'll use the annex from the BESTTrains kit. It might not fit, or it might need to be cut down a bit.
I'm not entering this in the winter build challenge, since at the rate I work, I probably couldn't finish in time. :-X
dave
These look like some really cool kits, Dave.
I think the Georgian home with extension will look fab if you can fit it in. It might pay to think about vehicular access at the same time. Looking forward to watching this one come together over the next few months.
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: Mark Dalrymple on January 25, 2026, 06:50:25 PMThese look like some really cool kits, Dave.
I think the Georgian home with extension will look fab if you can fit it in. It might pay to think about vehicular access at the same time. Looking forward to watching this one come together over the next few months.
Cheers, Mark.
When I did the plaster wrap, I kinda envisioned the road running in front of where the structure mock-ups are in the bottom photo. The bridge over the tracks to the right is almost complete, so this continues the road up to the farm area.
The house definitely fits without the extension, but I hope I can figure out how to make use of those parts, too.
dave
The BEST display at the Springfield show offers so many temptations.
Mike
They should be nice additions to that part of the layout.
Jerry
I look forward to these kits coming alive Dave. You may be slow but you do excellent modeling.
Dave, have fun building those kits and fitting them into the layout.
Quote from: Michael Hohn on January 25, 2026, 09:35:51 PMThe BEST display at the Springfield show offers so many temptations.
Mike
Yeah, you can spend a small fortune on the castings alone. Then, if you have any money left, you can walk next door and buy FSM castings from RailroadKits...
dave
I'll be watching with interest as I have the barn kit in "the stash".
Jeff
James Van Bokkelen and I swapped emails over the weekend. He lives in a similar historic house with a barn. My question was "what's the color history?" He replied "Both this house, and the old house I grew up in, were painted lead white as far as I know. I've seen no other color when scraping old paint." So my approach will be to do the house in 'lead' white, and the barn in 'whitewash'. For the barn, I've stained the wall siding pieces with HunterLine Driftwood, that's now drying under weights to prevent warping.
On the barn foundation, the siding dips down to sit on part of the foundation. I want that wall to sit flush on all the parts of the foundation, but the lower section was too high. I clipped a (fresh) fingernail file to sand down that part of the wall. You can see the line across that as the target mark for sanding. I now have a good tight fit across this plaster casting. (A conventional file wouldn't fit between the two outer edges of the casting.)
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I went back to the location and asked myself, "How will the barn sit when the structure is actually level on the foundation? Will I need to do any terrain adjustment? To figure that out, I used my wood mock-up of the foundation and ran a level line against the terrain:
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It's actually a pretty good fit. The front of the barn (that plaster piece I worked on above) is represented by the piece of wood the level is sitting on.
So good progress.
add: The foundation has been 'dug' for the barn:
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dave
I've often noticed that barns here in the Northeast, have a ramp up to one side and ground floor entrance on the other. My assumption has been the cows are housed on the ramp side, and the manure hauled away from the lower side. I would suspect the wagon is placed under a hole in the upper floor, and the droppings shoveled or broomed down the hole to the awaiting wagon for field fertilization
Dave I don't think I've ever seen a full size white barn.
Dave,
Those look like nice kit and the location seems right.
I'll be following along on this journey.
Tom
Quote from: Dave Buchholz on January 26, 2026, 02:57:05 PMI've often noticed that barns here in the Northeast, have a ramp up to one side and ground floor entrance on the other. My assumption has been the cows are housed on the ramp side, and the manure hauled away from the lower side. I would suspect the wagon is placed under a hole in the upper floor, and the droppings shoveled or broomed down the hole to the awaiting wagon for field fertilization
That's a particularly large space for manure... It's my very vague recollection that the cows went to the upper level, and the lower level was used for wagons and other farm gear.
Quote from: PRR Modeler on January 26, 2026, 03:19:25 PMDave I don't think I've ever seen a full size white barn.
I think I have, particularly one that was whitewashed. But frankly, this barn is probably under-sized for a full-scale farm. The instructions have prototype photos, showing it's painted white. James' barn is also white, if I remember correctly.
dave
Topic of barn designs came up on RR-Line once. My full-size "English Barn" was built with three bays, main door in the center one. Then another bay was added on the road end. When my grandfather was in the butter/milk/eggs business, he kept his cows on the main floor, hay above it, silage in a wood stave silo opposite the main door and the manure spreader in the cellar, waiting for gifts from above. My barn was sheathed with shingles when I first recall it, painted very weathered red. But AFAIK it must have been built with clapboard or board siding, as shingles weren't plentiful enough for sheathing in the early 1800s.
Another dairy barn on my layout is a resin kit from Sylvan. According to RR-Line members with farm backgrounds, this later style had hay on the main floor and in the loft, with cows in the basement and one door for people, another connecting the cows with pastures. Keeping the cellar passable must have involved strong backs and wheelbarrows
Quote from: Dave Buchholz on January 26, 2026, 02:57:05 PMI've often noticed that barns here in the Northeast, have a ramp up to one side and ground floor entrance on the other. My assumption has been the cows are housed on the ramp side, and the manure hauled away from the lower side. I would suspect the wagon is placed under a hole in the upper floor, and the droppings shoveled or broomed down the hole to the awaiting wagon for field fertilization
The ramp to the one side was for brining in the hay and other assorted feed for the cows. Which was then dropped through holes in the floor to the cows below. The cows were on the lower level which was concrete.
There was a trough in back of the cows with a chain type auger the would push the manure out to a manure wagon.
I don't think you'd want cows in the upper part on wooded floors. Your equipment below would not fare well.
Here's the offical word from Duck Duck Go AI:
I can't display images, but I can describe a barn design that fits your request.
Barn Design with Ramp and Open Bottom
Structural Features
Ramp to First Floor: The barn has a sturdy, wide ramp leading up to the first floor, allowing easy access for equipment or livestock.
Open Bottom Section: The ground floor of the barn has large openings on the sides, allowing cows to enter and exit freely. This offers ventilation and natural light.
Appearance
Material: Constructed from wood, giving it a rustic look, with metal roofing for durability.
Dimensions: The barn is spacious, typically around 30-40 feet wide and 20-30 feet tall, with the first floor raised to accommodate the ramp.
Functionality
Loft Area: The first floor can be used for storage of hay or equipment.
Cows' Area: The open bottom provides shelter and space for cows, keeping them protected from harsh weather while allowing them to roam freely.
Feel free to ask if you're looking for specific design elements or functionalities!
This barn is more for cows to roam freely. My parents land boarded up next to a farmer's land that had a barn open on the bottom. He kept his heifers in there till they were ready and old enough to produce milk. Used to play in the barn after the farmer quite farming and went to work for Kodak.
It also depends on what animals the farmer is rasing. Is it milk cows? Is it beef cows. Is it horses? Is it sheep? All depends on the type of farming you do and the landscape avialable to you at the time of setting up the farm.
Here's a couple of pictures of those barns for milk production. More so for the second one because it has windows in the bottom part. Also note auger for loading manure into the manure wagon
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Bernd
Thanks for all the feedback and discussion. The good thing is I don't really need to solve the problem of what's where, since the way this kit is designed, those lower floor doors are closed. But it could impact where I put fences and cows around the barn... :o
dave
Nothing to show, but I constructed the baseboards for both structures from my 1/4" plywood cut-offs. I'm still pondering the position of the house, having the plywood template for the structure will make positioning and then 'excavating the foundation' a lot easier.
I also experimented with the white HunterLine stain. It didn't produce the result I wanted, so tomorrow I'll try more conventional thinned white paint.
dave
Dave, I'm watching with interest.
To respond to the Q&A about what goes on in the upper and lower parts of hillside barns, I can answer from experience on the farms of cousins and schoolmates in PA's Cumberland Valley. Most barns like this are built into low hillsides or natural embankments, with a not-very-steep ramp making up the difference to the floor of the hay loft, which is essentially the whole barn. The ground floor, really the cellar, is where the live stock are housed ... on a dairy farm, that's where the milking takes place, as well, and where the livestock stay during inclement weather.
During the growing season, baled hay (something that is becoming a lost memory in favor of hay rolls stored in concrete trenches covered with plastic) and straw is stacked from floor to wall tops on either side of the barn doors leading from the ramp, leaving just enough room for an aisleway from the big doors to smaller doors that open above the barn yard (opposite the ramp), where the cows are fed when there's nothing to graze on out in the pastures. There are usually trap doors in the loft for hay to be dropped into the stable area to feed horses & mules (horses need cereals, too) and the cows when the weather's too bad for them to be let out into the barn yard ... some modern dairy and beef cattle farms are called "feed lot farms" because they don't have pastures, just large barn yards, or feed lots, where the cows and steers are fed and exercised.
Hay was for feeding; straw for "bedding", with the "used" straw mixed with manure somehow being moved from the basement floor to piles outside and from there to spreaders for fertilizing.
Somewhere I read that, back when tractors were first being marketed, a Fordson slogan held that "this horse only eats when it's working" received the rejoinder, "a'yep, but she don't make manure when she's not, neither."
Vagel, that's consistent with some notes on the model instructions, where the 2 doors on the main floor (versus the lower floor) are labeled "hay doors". (Those are the square doors on the 2 gable peak walls below.) Thanks for the info!
Here's the current coloring, thinned craft paint white over HunterLine Driftwood stain:
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I stained the trim pieces, they're drying under weights. Tomorrow I'll paint to match the walls, and then I can get on with assembly.
dave
I look forward to seeing it put together.
Dave the "whitewash" looks pretty good.
Jerry
Looking at my parts, I've found a small problem. The laser-cut wood frame over the big door on the lower level is the one that warped the worst. Plus, I think there's a "bug" in the kit with that part and how the wood wall fits over the plaster foundation. But I think I can do an easy work-around: (1) I'll file/sand the foundation piece behind that door so there's more space there. (2) Then I'll build new frame and door from wood strips, custom fit to the location. If I can increase the depth of the foundation space by 1/32", that'll preserve the overall shape/depth of the 1/16" framing.
But first, I think I'll assemble the other 3 walls. The kit instructions say to do that, since the 4th wall dips below the base of the other 3 walls. Usually I assemble right angle pairs of walls. One other comment on this kit: There's no corner post, as I understand it the edge of one of the walls is exposed at the corner. I might add thin stripwood corner covering if that bothers me once it's assembled. Again, easy to do with stripwood stock.
dave
Quote from: deemery on January 29, 2026, 10:31:26 AM...But first, I think I'll assemble the other 3 walls. The kit instructions say to do that, since the 4th wall dips below the base of the other 3 walls. Usually I assemble right angle pairs of walls. One other comment on this kit: There's no corner post, as I understand it the edge of one of the walls is exposed at the corner. I might add thin stripwood corner covering if that bothers me once it's assembled. Again, easy to do with stripwood stock.
dave
My 220-year-old barn has cornerboards about 6" wide, foundation to eaves. So does my house. So do the Newburyport structures I've scratchbuilt. All between 3/4" and 1" thick.
Dave,
OK, those definitely look like whitewashed walls.
Judging from the photo of the kit at the BEST site, there are corner posts. I must be misunderstanding what you're saying.
I like the paint.
Mike
Howdy Dave, the whitewashed walls look realistic. Nice work. Have fun, mike
I added bracing to the insides of the 3 walls. It would be a bit easier to do the window framing first, but the wall pieces can be a bit fragile. So tomorrow's task will be window framing, and then some work on the 4th wall. Coloring of the trim glued to the back wall looks pretty good.
There's a pair of drilled holes in one wall, and I can see the same spots on the prototype. It looks like there are NBWs for that, but I'm not quite clear what the purpose would be on the prototype.
dave
The two gable walls have bracing added in the back, and the other wall has been assembled from 2 pieces of scribed siding and a laser-cut piece of trim:
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The difference in paint treatment between the siding and the trim is OK, it's something I've seen in the prototype. I'll add the window trim and doors, and then decide if I'll assemble these 3 walls and add the eave trim, or do the eave trim first. More later today.
I'll also slightly touch up the paint in the joint line on the eave side walls That's where 2 pieces of scribed siding had to be joined, I think a little bit of white will make that line go away.
dave
Dave,
The walls look pretty straight now.
Here's a mock-up. The back 3 walls are assembled, and with that I can make sure the foundation is sized correctly and glue that together (tomorrow's project.)
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That block of wood to the left is a bit of a stand-in for the house.
dave
Great work, so far, Dave.
Now I really want the barn to sit properly on the foundation. That means it should be either flush, or even better the walls should overhang the foundation a bit. Given the location, i could get away with just fudging it to make sure the front and one side are OK.
Three of the wood walls are assembled, the fourth is held in place with the clamps. The foundation pieces are arranged with squares inside and outside to hold them square and in position.
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The front looks pretty good.
Here's the visible side:
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You can see there's some overhang at the back. The question is whether I can redo the foundation to remove that.
Here's a look at the back.
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And a look down the front.
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Another concern I had was whether there'd be spacing between the foundation and the wall that dips down in front to add some bracing. There's some warp on the wood siding piece, and I really should get bracing all the way down in front. Good news is there's space there for bracing.
So it looks like I need to remove about 1/16 from each side wall. The walls have a flush edge against the front piece, and a dado on the back where the back wall fits. I'll need to carefully remove that 1/16 from the edge here:
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I'll need to do this on both side pieces. I'll do that with my framing sander, I think.
dave
Much better!
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I'll need to add some filler in the back. That's not a problem. First I'll glue a spacer to align the back and sides. Then after the 4 walls are assembled, I'll go back, fill the gap with plaster, and re carve the rocks.
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Here's the framing sander, this is used for sanding the corners of picture frames. It wasn't cheap, but it does a good job. It's hand-powered.
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If you ever see a framing shop going out of business, see if they have one you can get at a good price. ???
This is it for today, I'll glue up the foundation tomorrow.
dave
Dave great work getting things correct. Should be a nice addition to your layout when finished; have fun.
Coming on nicely Dave.
I agree, the weatherboard should be slightly proud of the stonework. I assume a barn like this would have 6x2 or 8x2 framing. It looks like there will be quite a bit of material to remove.
Cheers, Mark.
Howdy Dave,
The barn is looking good. I like the way you are mounting the wood on the stone. I've seen a lot of similar barns on my travels up north. Is the stone base going to be shades of grey?
Have fun,
mike
Quote from: friscomike on January 31, 2026, 05:49:14 PMHowdy Dave,
The barn is looking good. I like the way you are mounting the wood on the stone. I've seen a lot of similar barns on my travels up north. Is the stone base going to be shades of grey?
Have fun,
mike
Yeah, consistent with the other stonework on the layout (more-or-less granite....)
dave
I had to do similar adjustments to Sylvan's resin "Barn With SIlos" kit. I recall using sandpaper glued to a marble off-cut as a leveling tool.
Dave,
I was unaware that this kit had a cast hydrocal foundation. It looks like a really nice kit and
your method of handling each segment looks great to me. It will be nice to see this in it final
location.
Rich
A lot of great modeling going on here.