A shipping and receiving dock structure

[nycjeff]

In the process of planning for a new corner diorama for my layout I decided that I needed a scratch-built shipping and receiving dock structure along the siding that will enter the complex. In my research I looked at pictures of the great layouts of George Sellios and Cliff Powers for ideas. I narrowed it down to about six different types of structures before deciding on the one that I liked for my project.

Here's the one I decided to copy. It's from Cliff Powers layout. I liked the open feeling of the structure and the fact that it is accessible from the front and the back, which will be necessary for my project.



As with all of my scratch builds, I started out with a scale drawing of the footprint of the structure. Using the scale figure in Cliff's build which I took to be about 6 feet tall, I estimated that the structure would be about 13 feet tall, close to 30 feet long and about 20 feet deep.

For the floor I used some balsa wood strips that I had on hand. They are about 3/4 inch wide and I cut them to a 6 inch length.



Next I taped them to my drawing. I then made pencil marks at each end of about 1 scale foot width to make it look like the floor boards were 2x12's. I then used my #11 blade and scored the strips of balsa wood.



Next I laid out floor joists on about 2 scale foot centers. I know in real life they would be on 16 inch centers, but for modeling purposes the 2 foot centers look right to me. I used 4x6 stripwood for the joists.



Here's a look at the deck surface after removing it from the drawing paper.



That's it for now, more later.

[GeorgeD]

You're off to a good start.  Two foot centers are easier to work with in the modeling world and no one will ever know the difference.

George

[Jerry]

Nice work Jeff.  I think the 2' will be fine.

Jerry

[Philip]

Nice one!

[friscomike]

Howdy Jeff,

I really like open warehouses with a dock.  You've picked a nice one to copy.  Your technique for wall studs is neat.  This is going to be a fun build to watch.  Good luck.

Have fun,
mike

[Rick]

A nice structure to copy.
I'll be here to follow along.

[nycjeff]

You're off to a good start.  Two foot centers are easier to work with in the modeling world and no one will ever know the difference.

George

Hello George, thanks for looking in and for the nice comments

Nice work Jeff.  I think the 2' will be fine.

Jerry

Hello Jerry, I appreciate you taking the time to stop by. I've been using the 2 foot on center thing for a while and I think that it looks just fine.

Nice one!

Hello Philip, thank you sir

Howdy Jeff,

I really like open warehouses with a dock.  You've picked a nice one to copy.  Your technique for wall studs is neat.  This is going to be a fun build to watch.  Good luck.

Have fun,
mike

Hello Mike, I feel like you can never go wrong using the great Cliff Powers work as a guide. His ideas are all over my layout.

A nice structure to copy.
I'll be here to follow along.

Hello Rick, as I said just above, Cliff's work is always useful to use as a guide for a nice looking and interesting structure.

[nycjeff]

Continuing on...

Next, it's time to get the dock deck up off the ground. My planned diorama will be on a homosote base, so I set up some cork roadbed and track to figure out how high the deck should be next to an incoming boxcar. I cut some 3/32 strip-wood to the proper length and then glued the posts onto the bottom of the deck. As you can see I also glued three long pieces of strip-wood to the floor joists to solidify everything and to give me more gluing surface for the posts.



I then glued some cross bracing between the posts.



I made another drawing for the front wall of the structure and started piecing together the wall. I used some left over pieces of the balsa wood that I used for the deck floor for the upper wall covering.



Here's a look at the completed front wall.



The side walls have a small slope since I plan on a shed style roof for the structure. I still have to trim the balsa wood pieces to match the slope that you can see from the diagonal line in my drawing.



That's enough for today.

[IWannaRetire]

Next I laid out floor joists on about 2 scale foot centers. I know in real life they would be on 16 inch centers, but for modeling purposes the 2 foot centers look right to me. I used 4x6 stripwood for the joists.

As others have already inputted, 2' OC looks absolutely fine to this almost retired carpenter.

So does the rest of your build, I am following along as scratch-builds are my favorite thread, thank you for sharing.

FWIW, I have done a lot of 1:1 carpentry over my years, some of it on old and/or rural structures. The 16" OC "standard" really came about with the popularity of 4 X 8 sheet goods, and nominal 2X framing lumber. As most know, "nominal sizing" means a 2 X 4 no longer measures an actual 2" by 4" anymore, nor is a 2 x 12 really 12" deep, etc. 

Loads of buildings were and are constructed with framing spacing larger than 16" OC, especially non-residential structures.  So much depends on what goes on top of the joists or rafters.

[KentuckySouthern]

Looking good

[ACL1504]

Jeff,

Looking good.

Tom

[nycjeff]

Next I laid out floor joists on about 2 scale foot centers. I know in real life they would be on 16 inch centers, but for modeling purposes the 2 foot centers look right to me. I used 4x6 stripwood for the joists.

As others have already inputted, 2' OC looks absolutely fine to this almost retired carpenter.

So does the rest of your build, I am following along as scratch-builds are my favorite thread, thank you for sharing.

FWIW, I have done a lot of 1:1 carpentry over my years, some of it on old and/or rural structures. The 16" OC "standard" really came about with the popularity of 4 X 8 sheet goods, and nominal 2X framing lumber. As most know, "nominal sizing" means a 2 X 4 no longer measures an actual 2" by 4" anymore, nor is a 2 x 12 really 12" deep, etc. 

Loads of buildings were and are constructed with framing spacing larger than 16" OC, especially non-residential structures.  So much depends on what goes on top of the joists or rafters.

Hello Mark, thanks for looking in and for the real life info. I know that we all want our models to accurately reflect the real world, but many times I apply the "good enough" method. And I can always fall back on Rule #1 if some people don't like it.

Looking good

Jeff,

Looking good.

Tom

Thank you guys, I appreciate you taking the time to comment. It's always nice to know that someone is looking in.

[nycjeff]

All of the walls have been glued to the base deck, it's starting to look like something now. The deck base is level with the floor of the boxcar when it is placed next to the track.



At this point I have stained everything with my A&I solution. An area of the floor decking material warped up after the stain was brushed on so I had to apply a little glue on the bottom and put some weights on it to settle everything back to where it belonged.
 The edges of the deck boards have really come into focus after the stain was applied. My experiment of using the balsa wood sheets and then scribing board edges on them worked out well. I'm pleased with the results.



Next I cut a piece of cardboard for the roof and painted the edges with a dark brown color. I'm thinking about adding some more cross bracing between the support posts on the bottom and also adding some rafter tails on the roof edges. We'll see.



I dry brushed the upper wall covering material with a light green color and started adding some detail castings on the deck floor. As a tip of the hat to Cliff Powers, I added a figure standing at the front middle of the deck just as he did on his fine model.



The roof is just black construction paper cut into 3/8 wide strips and then glued on with full strength wood glue. I added a few patched areas and then applied some chalks to begin the weathering process.
There will be some more roof details and roof signage added when the deck becomes part of my diorama.



That's it for now, more later.

[Mark Dalrymple]

Looking good, Jeff.

Yes - it all depends on the thickness and type of timber used for decking.  In our last house 1 1/2" thick hardwood was used and the joists were spaced at 2' 8" centres.  It wasn't at all springy to walk on.  Of course 'use' would also come into the equation.  If you were expecting delivery of large woodworking machinery then you would need something more substantial.

I like the different pattern used on the cross braces along the front of the deck, but must point out that two of those posts are not braced.  Of course, you can apply a rule here.

Cheers, Mark.

[friscomike]

Howdy Jeff, the open warehouse looks amazing. It is sturdy enough to hold those 321 blocks.  Have fun, mike