Blair Line Blairstown Depot

[Oldguy]

Next on the schedule -a depot.  The prototype was on Frisco's Highline between KC and Springfield, MO. 

Laser cut parts, Tichy Windows, and 3 sheets of instructions.  For the detail parts, Dale kindly marked the fret to where one needs to cut the part loose with small >'s.   Got the parts laid out  and noticed that there is a floor base with secondary floor sections that basically brace the lower building section.  There are corresponding square bracing sections to be installed at the roof level.  No other internal bracing is provided.  Since there is no box top, I placed all the parts in a container to keep bits and bob from wandering off.

More to follow

[Oldguy]

With the board & batten siding, one must cut out the battens that interfere with the window and door placement.  And of course, a couple of battens ran right along the window frame requiring the removal of just a little material.  I picked up a couple of sets of these little gouges that made it easy to remove these small sections.  Then there where the one story freight house meets the station.  Those battens had to be roved as well. 

It was unfortunate to note that he used a different supplier for the ends than the sides.  The side material has very sharp battens, while the ends are barley there and pretty much all rounded.

[Oldguy]

Next up was a quick test fit, and something was off.  The floor brace was longer that the sides.  According to the instructions, these lower braces are to be glued to the floor first.  Good thing I checked, as it is easier to fix this issue before gluing.  Now to which side is off?  The bay window alignment pretty much told me which end was good.  So, tomorrow, I'll hit with a true sander.
Looking ahead - Dale suggests that one builds the building and then paint it to minimize warping.  Nope.  Not happening.  I'll take my chances. The building is a light gray with dark gray trim.  So on Tuesday it's a road trip to Hobby Lobby to see what they may have.

[GPdemayo]

I'll be looking in Bob.....does the kit say what town it was in.....I might have gone by that station when we went from St. Louis to Rolla on the Frisco when I was a kid. 

[PRR Modeler]

Looks like a interesting kit. I'll definitely be following.

[deemery]

Bob, think about getting a can of spray shellac (from Home Depot/Lowes) to seal the wood before painting.  I've tried that, and it seems to work very well.

I don't remember seeing a Blair Line kit build thread before, so it'll be interesting to see how this goes together.  Your comment about the differences in the board&batten siding was interesting.

dave

[Oldguy]

I'll be looking in Bob.....does the kit say what town it was in.....I might have gone by that station when we went from St. Louis to Rolla on the Frisco when I was a kid. 

Um, yes - Blairstown. MO.  But it was on Frisco's Clinton Subdivision at mile post 69.6. (Between KC and Springfield).  Originally known as the  Kansas City Osceola & Southern, AKA, The Blair Line, was owned by a New Jersey investor John Blair, hence the Blairstown moniker. 

As an aside, Dale Rush (owner/operator of Blair Line LLC) was raised in Blairstown. 

So you probably didn't pass by this depot.

[Oldguy]

Bob, think about getting a can of spray shellac (from Home Depot/Lowes) to seal the wood before painting.  I've tried that, and it seems to work very well.

I don't remember seeing a Blair Line kit build thread before, so it'll be interesting to see how this goes together.  Your comment about the differences in the board&batten siding was interesting.

dave

I might have to give that a shot. Any big difference between spray shellac and sanding sealer?

I am considering spray painting the wood parts anyway.  It's been decades since I've fired one up.

[deemery]

I think the spray shellac will provide a greater 'seal', making the wood more resistant to warping.


dave

[GPdemayo]

I'll be looking in Bob.....does the kit say what town it was in.....I might have gone by that station when we went from St. Louis to Rolla on the Frisco when I was a kid. 

Um, yes - Blairstown. MO.  But it was on Frisco's Clinton Subdivision at mile post 69.6. (Between KC and Springfield).  Originally known as the  Kansas City Osceola & Southern, AKA, The Blair Line, was owned by a New Jersey investor John Blair, hence the Blairstown moniker. 

As an aside, Dale Rush (owner/operator of Blair Line LLC) was raised in Blairstown. 

So you probably didn't pass by this depot.

You're right Bob.....only made the trip from Springfield to KC by car.....don't remember Blairstown. 

[Oldguy]

I'll be looking in Bob.....does the kit say what town it was in.....I might have gone by that station when we went from St. Louis to Rolla on the Frisco when I was a kid. 

Um, yes - Blairstown. MO.  But it was on Frisco's Clinton Subdivision at mile post 69.6. (Between KC and Springfield).  Originally known as the  Kansas City Osceola & Southern, AKA, The Blair Line, was owned by a New Jersey investor John Blair, hence the Blairstown moniker. 

As an aside, Dale Rush (owner/operator of Blair Line LLC) was raised in Blairstown. 

So you probably didn't pass by this depot.

You're right Bob.....only made the trip from Springfield to KC by car.....don't remember Blairstown. 

I you had, it meant you got lost.  To say that it is off the beaten path, is an understatement.

[Oldguy]

I managed to get a bit more work done on this.  I played around with the color combination, I think I found a winner, but we'll see.  I also tried a bit of Badger stynylrez primer, brushed on to see what the paint would look like versus just paint on bare wood.  Meh.  Then some Vallejo matte varnish.  This might work and was better than the Badger stuff.  I'll look for some surface primer while at Hobby Lobby tomorrow.
I decided to go ahead and glue the two floor braces to the floor.  It took a bit of fiddling and found it was better to put the depot section together, held with corner clamps.  I wanted to us the gluing jig, but realized that battens would interfere with ensuring the siding would at least come even with the lower floor piece.  Otherwise, the battens would be even with it.  I found the sweet spot and applied the glue.  I also needed to ensure that the freight section floor brace was even with the depot section.  No need to have the building have a kink in it,  Once I was satisfied, it was matter gluing it on and adding a weight.  Again, a quick double check to ensure everything was straight.  Then, place everything on a flat surface and apply the weights over night.
All this fiddling with the building raised more questions as to its construction.  I have several photos of this depot plus a 1916 floor plan.  It never changed until it was torn down in the late '60's  First up - no rafter tails provided.  Must install.  No verge material.  Will add.  Not entirely happy with the built -up door.  May just turn a blind eye.  Roofing - the kit provided white self-adhesive material, will most likely be replaced with 600 grit black sand paper as it had black rolled roofing. 

There was a window facing the freight portion that was not cut out.  Since it is a Tichy part, I have spares,  But, it physically won't fit in the space provided.  At this point, I decided to step back and try not to obsess why it wouldn't fit.  Roof pitch too high, building not prototypical width?  I'll just let it go, or at least try to let it go.

[GPdemayo]

I'll be looking in Bob.....does the kit say what town it was in.....I might have gone by that station when we went from St. Louis to Rolla on the Frisco when I was a kid. 

Um, yes - Blairstown. MO.  But it was on Frisco's Clinton Subdivision at mile post 69.6. (Between KC and Springfield).  Originally known as the  Kansas City Osceola & Southern, AKA, The Blair Line, was owned by a New Jersey investor John Blair, hence the Blairstown moniker. 

As an aside, Dale Rush (owner/operator of Blair Line LLC) was raised in Blairstown. 

So you probably didn't pass by this depot.

You're right Bob.....only made the trip from Springfield to KC by car.....don't remember Blairstown. 

I you had, it meant you got lost.  To say that it is off the beaten path, is an understatement.

Oh my, you're not kidding.....I looked up Blairstown on Google Earth and it is way past the beaten path. I've been all over MO, but never anywhere near that area. 

[postalkarl]

Hey Oldguy:

It's coming right along. Looks great so far.

Karl

[Oldguy]

As I mentioned previously, I was unhappy with product used for the side walls.  I had a PM exchange with Karl O as to a plan going forward.  I knew I had some B&B sheets from Camino, Kapler, and Mt Albert, so making new end pieces shouldn't be a problem.  They may not match the sides, but should be better looking.  Welp, that was an idea.  The first three photos show my concerns as to what is supplied.  The Camino was a lot better but too narrow, but I'm hesitant in cutting and splicing on top of the cut outs on this aging wood.  The Kapler was an upgrade.  But I recently bought a bunch of Mt Albert Lumber B&B sheets for future scratch projects.  Their product is shown in the last photo.  Rounded battens?  Really?
I should mention, I didn't photos of the other products.