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

[Mark Dalrymple]

My days of building them like the instructions and then placing them on the layout are done.

Really looking forward to your new way of working, John.  I love to see kits chopped and changed, and its great to see someone unafraid to do this to the superkits.  35 SRMW & FSM kits...  I can only dream!  Although I'd have to build a third room to house them!

Cheers, Mark.

[deemery]

John, are you planning a 'city' or a 'small town' in that area?  In part, the distinction I'd draw is that a city would have pretty uniform 2-3 story brick buildings packed densely together (fire code :-) ), where a small town would have more wood structures spaced out.


dave

[S&S RR]

My days of building them like the instructions and then placing them on the layout are done.

Really looking forward to your new way of working, John.  I love to see kits chopped and changed, and its great to see someone unafraid to do this to the superkits.  35 SRMW & FSM kits...  I can only dream!  Although I'd have to build a third room to house them!

Cheers, Mark.

Mark


Thank you for following along on my journey. It's actually pretty rare that I build a kit per the instructions but I'm seeing kits more as a box full of great parts for this project. If you study the pictures of the F&SM it's easy to identify different subassemblies from kits and not just FSM kits. I have pictures of all the kits I own on my iPad and MacBook and I'm taking pieces from each kit and building a town. Sometimes a scratch built transition will be required, etc. We will call it Extreme Kit-bashing, so we have a name for it. It is not a new technique, but it requires some risk that you may come up with something that just doesn't work and you are using parts from some expensive kits. The upside for me is that the scenes will be somewhat unique for my layout. I just find it one of the more enjoyable parts of the hobby. I think you take a similar approach, based on following your build threads.

[S&S RR]

John, are you planning a 'city' or a 'small town' in that area?  In part, the distinction I'd draw is that a city would have pretty uniform 2-3 story brick buildings packed densely together (fire code :-) ), where a small town would have more wood structures spaced out.


dave

Dave


This will be a town (big by mountain standards) that grew up in a mountain valley.  It provides good and services mainly by rail to the surrounding mountain communities. There will be three mills, powered by the river, on the hill side overlooking the town. The buildings will be mostly made from wood, but a few stone and brick buildings will be in the mix.  The building code is build it with what you have or can get in by rail at a price you can afford.


Here are a few changes that are on the drawing board for the structures.


Franklin watch works will be a tractor sales and service shop.


Duffy's coal will be a boiler supply shop.


I'm making lists of goods and services and then figuring out which kit parts to use for an business that provides that good or service.


Here is a partial list.


Bakery

Butcher

lumber yard - mine will combine to FSM kits into on facility Barnsteads and Baxter's

tractor supply and service

Auto supply and service

Hardware store

Clothing stores

Gun and Hunting supply

Fishing

Farm supplies and Feed

Fire Station

Police Headquarters or Sheriff Office

And the list goes on until I run out of real-estate and or ideas. There will be a more run down area - the original town buildings, and a more modern area (1940's time frame). All subject to change as I go through the design an build process.

[Jerry]

Sounds well planned John.  Looking forward to the new town of Vansel!


Jerry

[S&S RR]

Sounds well planned John.  Looking forward to the new town of Vansel!


Jerry

Jerry


Thank you for following this thread and for your kind words. Having a plan help keep me motivated to continue the construction process.

[Mark Dalrymple]

Hi, John.

Your partial list got me thinking.  I found while researching for Tellynott information on small towns including a list of what one would typically find.  I realise there will be some New Zealandising ... but you may find it helpful.

Grocer, butcher, greengrocer, pharmacy, hairdresser, baker, stationer/ news agent, and a post office.

Larger rows might also include a real estate agent, draper, jeweller, confectioner, hardware store, service station and one or more banks.

Cheers, Mark.

[postalkarl]

Hey John:

Hope they all show up to run trains with you. My Grandfather got me started in the hobby with Lionel trains back in the day. Have fun with them.

Karl

[S&S RR]

Hi, John.

Your partial list got me thinking.  I found while researching for Tellynott information on small towns including a list of what one would typically find.  I realise there will be some New Zealandising ... but you may find it helpful.

Grocer, butcher, greengrocer, pharmacy, hairdresser, baker, stationer/ news agent, and a post office.

Larger rows might also include a real estate agent, draper, jeweller, confectioner, hardware store, service station and one or more banks.

Cheers, Mark.

Mark


Thank you for the reference list - I remember seeing it on your build thread, it is very helpful. As I'm going through the design process - I have completely changed the layout of the town three times - I have got more ideas than space so now I'm trying to combine things - like the Post Office in the General Store. I will post a complete list from Vansel once this design gets closer to completion. I keep telling myself it's better to make these changes in the virtual world rather than once I start building.

[S&S RR]

Hey John:

Hope they all show up to run trains with you. My Grandfather got me started in the hobby with Lionel trains back in the day. Have fun with them.

Karl

Karl


I'm hoping to have some great family operations sessions as the Grandkids get older. The three older Grandkids love running the trains, now.

[S&S RR]

Update: I'm slowly getting back at working on the layout after my trip to California. I returned to a yard that needs a lot of work.   I have three builds on my workbenches, Brownsville Depot, Tucker & Cook, and the Sayles mill are all waiting for the next step. I made a lot of progress on the design for the town of Vansel while I was traveling. I will be posting more on that soon.

[S&S RR]

Life has had me away from my workbench most of the time the last couple months so I thought I would post a couple pictures of my current projects as an update. The Tucker & Cook build is waiting for the final detailing and the windows are going in the Brownsville Depot. My third project, the Sayles Mill is just getting started - I have completed the baseboard buildup and the four main walls have been glued together.

[Jerry]

John is that all you have on your plate?? 


Jerry

[S&S RR]

John is that all you have on your plate?? 


Jerry

Jerry


I seem to currently be having time management problems - I'm not managing to have enough time at the workbench.

[S&S RR]

If you look back a few pages in this build thread I discussed the elimination of one of my hatches in the area of the town of Vansel. Well, today I completed the "bridge" as I named it, so I can crawl over the structures and scenery in this area to do any maintenance that might become necessary.





The first question you should be asking is how easy is it to put this "bridge" in place.  Here is how I decided to do it.


You slide the bridge in on a pole that holds the weight of the bridge as you slide it in place.  The pole will be mounted in the same location, which will be underneath a removable structure.





Once you get it extended out over the layout in position you simply rotate off the pole into position.







I can reach the back of the layout from this platform or "bridge".  I will be using it in more that one location on the layout. Here is a picture of a live drill where I put it in place over some very delicate structures.  You will notice that I added some side rails to minimize the deflection when my 191 lbs. gets up there. It didn't move much but the rails eliminated the deflection.





The footprint and leg swing will be design criteria for the structures that will be put in place in these areas. The metal brackets that hold the touch down pads have 2 1/2 inches of adjustment to account for uneven terrain and touch down locations. Its sure felt good to make some progress on the layout and complete a project.