Drug Store Saga, Part 1

I'm calling this a Saga right at the get-go because I can already tell it's going to be one of those builds.  The drug store in the title is the Scale Structures Limited Corner Drug Store.  A classic structure, to be sure, but the model is not without its flaws.  Even on its release in 1972 the folks at Model Railroader took note of how the angles of the bay walls don't match the angle of the ornate wall cap casting.  (More on that later.)  However they also noted one of the kit's strengths; the construction allows for easy rearranging of the walls.

Early in the process, before the fitting frustration set in.

In that regard I have taken things one step beyond.  The space intended for this structure in Ocala Springs is located on an intersection and bounded by a spur at the rear and the next building down the block.  I've got leeway down the block as that next building hasn't been decided yet.  But between the street and the spur I can only go so far.  However, the problem was not that the building was too wide, rather it was too narrow.  I envisioned an alley between the building and the spur, but this space was large enough to shoehorn in another structure.

The solution was to lop off some of the long end of the drug store and glom it onto the shorter side.  Now my structure is a bit more squarish.  Careful measuring meant the window openings could be kept evenly spaced without trimming and the surgery was relatively painless.  But I'm making it sound all too easy.  Before I even reached this point I had struggled with the aforementioned angle difficulty, and realized another aspect the folks at MR noted; the need to carefully read the instructions (many times).  

Note the original rectangular "floor" set onto the roof of my reconfigured structure

This freedom and flexibility in construction means the kit doesn't drop together in a simple sequence of tabs and slots.  The stiffeners inside the structure are the floors.  To begin with I cut new ones from thicker card as I couldn't see the thin stuff provided doing a good job for the long haul, even sprayed with sanding sealer.  This allowed me to correct the issue with the bay wall angles.  You are instructed to measure and mark the floor levels.  The plans give you an indication of where the first floor goes, and the roof along one wall, but not the others.  

And you're instructed to build the thing "upside down", aligning walls from the top.  That's fine for the front walls and bay, but not the back walls which are two different heights.  Add to that the challenge of a too-small wall and laying out the floors gets confusing quickly.  This tiny wall is some sort of mistake, a wrong part.  At first I thought it was N scale but a quick examination with my scale rule checked against the plans and no, I have no idea what this shrunken wall is.  I didn't lose sleep over it but, using the plans, I was able to fabricate a new one which is fine since I had planned to move that wall's windows to a different wall.

"Shrinky Dink" wall in the center, replacement on the left, relocated windows on the right. And all this before I decided to reconfigure the walls.

To recap at this point; building the original kit as instructed is already challenging and then I had to go and make it even more so.  But the problem became the solution.  I don't have a set of precast plastic walls that don't fit, I have cardstock.  Cardstock can be easily replaced.  The card in the kit for the die-cut walls appears to be good quality material.  It cuts cleanly and sands well.  No watermarks but I'd suspect a quality similar to Crescent or Strathmore board.  

This post has already gone far too long so I'll save the tribulations of working with the castings and printed wall textures for another part.  Thanks for reading.

Pine Branch Park Redux

 ...or, back on track, again.

It is that time when I reflect on the accomplishments of the current year and look to the goals of the next.  However this moment, this time around, feels oddly familiar.  It occurred to me that I've been here before, in a way.  Let me explain.

Back in 2018 when I started building my current railroad I wrote the blog post, "Pine Branch Park" (click the link to read the post).  In that post I discussed the name itself and showed a revised plan laying out the track, street and structures, but the bulk of the remainder was devoted to a sort-of inspiration I found in a series of articles in Model Railroader back in 1991, "Just for Beginners".  

In that seminal series the MR staff and contributors built the Cripple Creek Central.  I was inspired not only by the railroad itself, but more so by the progressive, sequential way in which they constructed it.  So often these project railroads begin with that glamour shot of the finished road and the declaration that you too can build this!  But not the Cripple Creek.  No, this was an evolving, changing project, altered by the whims of its creators and guided by the shape of the thing itself as it grew.  

I like planning, but I also like that evolutionary approach.  The dioramas I've built over the last two years are proof of that.  So too the Pine Branch Park model railroad.  The layout is bound to change as new ideas come along and new ideas come along as the layout changes.  New vistas open up for possibilities unseen before that moment.

In 2018 I speculated that I could complete this railroad in two years.  Five years later and it looks much as it did in 2019 - bare soundboard with mostly ballasted track, well edged for a clean presentation, and some cork strips in place where the paved roads will go.  But I still believe it can be completed in two years.  Not as some deadline hanging over my head but as a matter of consequence from continual effort (fun) spent bringing that world to life.

We all know what came along in 2019 (yes, public acknowledgement didn't really come along until 2020 but the virus was called COVID-19 for a reason).  And personally that was a challenging time - a challenge which I met and overcame thanks to the support of my family.  The death of my father in 2020 followed by helping my mother move in 2021 and then again in 2022 now feels like a rapid succession of events in hindsight.  

But while the work on the layout stagnated, model making did not.  In fact, the first NMRBO diorama I built included structures which will soon find their homes on the Pine Branch Park layout.  Building those dioramas in the midst of a major transition was instructive.  It reminded me just how much I love building highly detailed scenes that tell a story.  

So that's what I'm going to do, and that's what this blog will focus on.  Reviewing this blog itself reminded me of the importance of one aspect of "blogging", that is, keeping a web log as an archive.  So if for no other reason than that I will keep sharing my progress though perhaps not as frequently.  I've kicked around the idea of making videos but my hobby time - as generous as it is - is still somewhat limited, and editing takes up far more time than the model making itself.

But I'm not complaining.  I'm caught in the middle between caring for teens and a parent with some health concerns, but I'm surrounded by a wonderful family.  I've got a long list of honey-do home improvements but we live in a neat old house in a nice community.  I don't make much but I do get paid to make music two or three times a month instead of being stuck in a miserable job.  Each challenge comes with a blessing.  

So too my hobbies.  I've been able to make good connections with like-minded folks around the miniature war-gaming community and while I haven't found any folks in my town with an interest in trains, that's okay.  I'm genuinely happy in the quiet moments of the morning sitting at my workbench building a model, or stealing time during the day to run a train.  And of course sharing my progress with you, dear readers.  Thank you for your continued support of this blog, and best wishes for your own hobby endeavors in the coming year.

The afternoon winter sun, low in the southwest sky, shines on Ocali Creek box car 1603.

Twelve Days Trail Drive!

Howdy Pardners!  Set a spell - this may take some time.

No, I've not gone Quarantine Crazy, I'm channeling my inner cowboy.  One of my earliest memories as a child was playing a card game with my mom called "Trail Drive".  The cards were pictures of cowboys, cattle, chuck wagons, rustlers and sheriffs.  The game was simple - designed for young children - but I remember the vividly colored characters, and getting frustrated losing.  Good times.  

Anyway, it's the concept of the game I'm referring to here.  To get a trail drive started you needed a chuck wagon and two cowboys in your hand.  After that you collected cattle, as many as you could - but watch out - a rustler could stop the drive and you'd be stuck until you were dealt a sheriff.  The concept of needing a few elements to get started before expanding is simple, but crucial to the game.

At the same time I've been reading through Model Railroader back-issues from the '40s.  It seems many model rails would write in describing their pikes and listing off their rolling stock and stable of locomotives.  There was a sense of early beginnings that was palpable in these letters.  Usually there was an indication that the budding magnate had plans to purchase a certain engine or set of passenger equipment, etc. to increase the fun, of course.  There were also mentions of seeking a land grant from the spouse to extend the road, but I want to focus on the equipment.

I view my current situation as a bit of a Trail Drive game.  Most of the trains from my modular club days are packed away because I've narrowed my focus and scope down to a relatively small railroad setting.  Physically I've limited myself to a 4'x6' pike with the 2' aisle space all around (see my post Garage Railroad Plan for more thoughts on this choice).

But the limitation is also applied to locomotives and rolling stock.  I purchased my 2-6-0 and began modifying it in order to have a unique, fine-running locomotive.  Likewise I had purchased long before the mogul a pair of cabeese with parts to customize them as well.  See where this is heading, pardner?  The rolling stock - even if they're not stock cars - are the cattle, so to speak, while the engine and hacks are the chuck wagon and cowboys (you decide which is which - I'll carry the analogy only so far).

Now I've been working on these cabeese and this locomotive for a while.  I started the caboose project back in Washington just over four years ago.  The engine has been running well but recently I decided to deal with the leaning cylinders that have been bothering me, as well as get a coal load in the tender...and tick the boxes on the remaining details like the bell and whistle cords.

Technically the twelve days of Christmas run from the 25th to Epiphany on the 6th of January.  But I'm looking at twelve days UNTIL Christmas and feeling like I might just be able to get a Trail Drive going with my Mogul, the Cabeese, and this here pair of freezers I've been building.  Can I do it?  With parts to add, paint to dry, decals, maybe some weathering...hmmm...as long as no rustlers show up I may just pull it off.

...the concept and plan...

...but not the whole railroad.

From "At The Throttle", Model Railroader, January 1962, by Linn Westcott

"OUR TOWER OF BABEL FALLETH"

"We model railroaders have many names for the same thing and sometimes several things for the same name.  For instance, is a 'loop' an oval or a baloon-shaped thing?  What is a block?  Sometimes we wonder which end of the train has markers and which has classification signals.  Last year I had the pleasure, along with Whit Towers (our chairman), John Allen, Heube Heubenthal, and others, of serving on an NMRA committee to dig out the various meanings of model railroad words and to assemble them into a glossary.  The result of the first year's work is now in the back pages of the NMRA yearbook.  The work is by no means completed; we may have overlooked many important words and our tendencies to narrow some meanings may not meet with general approval.  For instance, we felt 'layout'* should mean the concept and plan but not the whole railroad. (emphasis mine).  Take a look at the glossary and let the committee know if you feel things are wanting."

I found this editorial while reading through the MR 75 years collection.  Were there responses to this editorial?  I hope so...they should make for interesting reading.

*You may or may not know my thoughts on the word "layout" (click the link to find out).