Model Train Journal

More of a mid-week photo, but hey, let's start the thread for December.

Continued working on the guts of the project. Glued the tunnel liner to the side rails, which took a bit of time, mostly because I only have a pair of large spring-clamps (got a ton of the small ones, but they are too small). The thing is quite strong now.

Then I added a pair of supports for the "plateau". I cut them using the template I made for the portals. I was going to trim them so they fit down tight over the tunnel, but decided I needed/wanted more height. By lengthening the tunnel from the original, I realized I was effectively flattening out the hill. I want this thing to have more of a pyramidal scale/appearance, so to do that I jacked it up a couple inches and slightly expanded the footprint of the "plateau" (which has been cut and is ready to go). Other things may require a bit of scaling upwards as well.

The supports are attached using a healthy dollop of Titebond and four 2-1/2" exterior screws.



I think the next few steps will be to (1) sand the face of the portals to remove any liner that's sticking out because I didn't trim it close enough, (2) paint the interior of the tunnel black, and (3) cut and attach the thin plywood or masonite base(s) on either side of the tunnel. After that, I think it will be safe to attach the "plateau". The trick will be getting the tunnel base(s) plumb to a flat surface and keeping them that way when the "plateau" is attached.

Is this going to be a free standing tunnel ? Maybe made to look like a tinplate prewar tunnel ? or maybe incorporated into another part of the layout like a mountain scene ?

This will be a free-standing piece, the tunnel being a feature of the overall structure. I'm attempting to replicate a prewar piece, or at least the spirit of it. It will likely become a bit more obvious what I’m up to after I add a few more bits.

Cool. I have an early 120 here, an unlit version. I use it with an occasional run of the standard-gauge.

The 120L packed an interior light. What was really neat about the 120L was that there is a hole behind the building on the side that catches light and shows through the windows.

Some of the Flyer tunnels featured signal lights on the portals and top-side telegraph poles. The problem with Flyer tunnels is that most have a shell made of papier-mâché, so the shelf life while in storage was not too great. I've seen them with rodent damage, water damage, or simply crushed while being moved around. Not too many have survived. Lionel had a similar problem with their larger tunnels; those were made of wood, glue-saturated felt, and a fiber-board base.

I thought I had a shot of my 120 in my Flickr account, but that one may not have made it through the Photobucket purge.

This project will not look like a 120, or any other Lionel or Flyer tunnel.

Finished this from a kit in 2018. I never could stand some of the corny names that they would come up with. In this case Picklers Cannery. I decided to name it Ogden Canning since I mainly model the west. At the time my youngest daughter was learning about tea staining. What she showed me looked kind of old and worn so what better way to get your kids involved in the hobby. Below is Ella’s handiwork and the finished product.




electronic die

A beautiful building, for sure. Here in central Maryland we at onetime had quite a few canning companies. Those were long, single-story buildings, where produce was unloaded at one end and canned product in packing cases came out the opposite end.

I think the squirrely names for kits originated with Frank Ellison and some of the industries he parked on his Delta Lines, the Oblong Box Company and Quick Sand & Gravel Company being just a couple. I think someone tried to make some of them commercially at one point, but I don't know if that ever happened.

I've heard of tea-staining for fabrics, but never for modeling. What's the process? Looks like Ella's using a dry tea-bag.

Here in central Maryland

What part?

I think the squirrely names for kits originated with Frank Ellison and some of the industries he parked on his Delta Lines, Oblong Box Company and Quick Sand & Gravel Company being just a couple. I think someone tried to make some of them commercially at one point, but I don't know if that ever happened.

Yes! As in Hap Hazards! Here’s Dennis Brennan’s kit I also built. Hap Hazards for some reason didn’t strike me as corny but now that I’m thinking about it.....


electronic die

What's the process? Looks like Ella's using a dry tea-bag.

Slightly dampening a tea bag and then blotting, moving the tea bag in different shapes to get different patterns. Lightly moistened for a darker look and vice versa.

gregj410 wrote:

Here in central Maryland

What part?

Carroll County, smack in the middle up on the Piedmont, about twelve or so miles south of the Mason-Dixon.

Any out door train shows up that way?

Zippo...our big local show, indoor, was scheduled for mid-November, but it was bagged. No outdoor shows that I’m aware of. Even an outdoor flea market would be fun at this point. I’m hoping for the April York meet.

Any out your way?

Not that I’m aware of. Hartley DE fire dept normally has a show in early December. Not sure of the status. Probably bagged too.

My favorite show of the year is the vintage toy “extravaganza” at the York fairgrounds, Thanksgiving weekend. Two buildings stuffed full of toys, plastic models, games, trains, diecast...just a freakin’ great time. Sarge and I usually hit that, come out loaded with all kinds of stuff. You never know what you might stumble onto. Understandably, that got cancelled too.

Next year is going to be epic.

Cut the base(s) from 1/4" exterior-grade plywood. I figured if I end up soaking it when doing scenery, the plywood will hold up better than masonite. A bit of Titebond and a half-dozen cabinet screws attached them to the underside of the tunnel (the interior of which I gave a quick spray of satin black):



Sanded the portals flush, so none of the liner protrudes even the smallest amount. This would be critical when I cement in the faux masonry. BTW, the portals and the supports are cut from pressure-treated 1X6, so that should reduce the chance of insect problems

Next up, the "plateau". I have cut one, but I'm worried it might be too small. Since I lengthened the tunnel and base, I need to make sure I up-scale the top bit. I might ponder it for a few days.

I like the angled liner, it looks like the RR came through concrete-lined the bore in later years.