I have been thinking about re-doing my roundhouse in Pueblo for a while. I finally started the new one and thought I would post pictures of the progress as it is being built. First, the old roundhouse; The old house was 16 stalls and the way it was built with a open bottom so that it could be lifted off the layout did not allow for any interior detailing. It was scratch-built. The doors were very close together and the size did not allow many storage tracks outside of the house. All the locos were hidden inside the building. This building is now history. The new roundhouse will have 9 tracks and some room for loco storage on tracks outside of the building so they can be seen. The base of the building will be solid so that I can do a little interior detailing. I decided to use the Atlas roundhouse (RH) as a basis for the new one. The Atlas RH can only hold locos 8 inches long and the mallets are longer than this. Atlas side I extended the side a little over a inch for the longer locos. Extended side and relief added to distinguish it from other RH's. There are six sides in the three RH kits so two of them were cut up to get the pieces for the extension. This shows the original side on top and the extended side underneath. The two sides showing the extension and the relief added. Close up of the two sides. The base was modified by narrowing the distance between the stalls and by extending the length of the base to match the side. As work progresses I will add more photos.
John: The Roundhouse looks great.. I like what you've done to extend the Atlas Roundhouse. Stay cool and run steam.....
John: Using the same turntable? Looks really nice. Having space outside allows for a lot more visible detailing.
Looks great John! Have you figured a way to open and close the stall doors? It is a good place to store locos to prevent dust from setteling and spoil a good weathering job.
Flash, Yes I am using the same turntable, it is big enough for the articulateds. Watash, In the past I have used small strips of fine cloth as hinges, or put in a wire running up and down the hinge side of the door. The wire is a little longer than the door so the bottom of it can go into a hole in the floor and the top goes into the wall above the door. a small slot can be cut to lay the wire in at the top and then a piece of plastic can be glued over the slot to keep the wire from falling out. This slot can be made on the inside of the wall so it is not so noticable.
John, I am always inspired by your work. Simply outstanding. I really like how you gave the plan sides relief. That will really make your RH a standout. Are you going to use the Atlas fronts as well or are you going to build your own? The reason I ask is becasue I know the Atlas RH spacing is huge and nine stalls would take up huge space. Eric
Eric, the base is my next installment and this will answer your questions. The Atlas front can be used because you need the space for clearance for the locos. You can cut down the distance between stalls by cutting the sections the way you cut a pie. Start at the edge of the front and draw a straight line to the back edge taking off a "slice". This has to be done to each side of each section. I have already cut the stalls down in the following photo but the red lines show how you would cut it down more. The red lines would slice a part of each section. The dark lines are where the pits for the track is. The next photo shows the base; The little thingys sticking out at the top is the wires from the track. There are wrapped in masking tape to keep them from getting paint on them. The green is putty that has shown through from sanding, it will be painted again. The bottom of the base; The extra length that was added to the base can be seen along the top of the base. There is extra bracing to hold all the sections together. The parts radiating out are the pits that I put in. The base flat showing the pits; A close up of a pit with the steps on one end.
Very impressive, John! I need to build a roundhouse for when I model Williams and/or Winslow, AZ. I'll be watching your progress here and saving your tips for that time. Great work, thanks for sharing.
Very nice, John! I'm thinking of starting from scratch, so your progress so far is inspiring. I'm going to take a hard look at what I've got for steamers, and perhaps shrink the number of stalls. I could certainly use the real estate for diesels.
Thanks guys, Glad this can be of use. Pete, more diesel? Oh well. Eric, The pits are just strip styrene that make up a box. I put in steps at one end with more styrene and will use ladders at the other end. The Atlas RH has a office that you can attach to the back of the building where ever you want. I decided to put it behind the first stall. Since I want to have some interior detailing I decided to modify the wall a bit. The original back wall is on the left and the one on the right will be used for the first stall and be part of the office wall. I cut out the area where the windows were because I felt that if the offce was built at the same time as the RH they would not have put the large windows there. Holgate-Reynolds has some brick sheets that are very close to the same size as the RH brick. I cut a piece to fill in the wall. After looking at it I thought it would be nice if there was some smaller windows that would allow the shop foreman to look out into the RH. This is side of the wall facing the office. Part of it will be on the outside of the building. I used parts of the two large windows that would have been in the wall to make smaller ones for the shop foreman. The rest of the line that is visible from the added piece of styrene will be disguised a little more later. The interior was covered with a brick paper and then the windows and doorway were cut out. This will be on the interior of the RH. Next I will have more of the other office walls and the modifications to the windows.
The other office walls have five windows and a door. Atlas made a frame plus the sill and the header for the top all in one piece. This is nice but the frame is much to wide if you view the window from the inside, it was not designed for that. The two sides and the back. They have brick paper added and the areas for the windows and door cut out. Look at the back wall and note the center window frame. This is the original frame . The frame to the right has been cut down. The next photo shows the exterior of the office ; Windows and door were put in place and then the three sides glued to the floor. Next the interior; Just about ready to have some office furniture brought in. One cabinet is already in the corner. It is easier to place the details in with a side open. That's as far as I have gone so far, will be back with more in a day or two.
Here are few more photos as I slowly make progress. The inside of the side wall with the paper brick added and the windows in place. The strip styrene above the windows have had some relief added to them to make them look like stone. When looking at the wall straight on it looks OK. When it is turned to a angle, You can see the plastic used for the glass all in one piece, not too realistic. So Mullions were scribed in and inside framing was added, Now the windows have a individual pane look to them. Time to put the first two walls together; Not quite ready for the locos yet. The outside of the two walls; The two "thingys" sticking out are the wires wrapped in masking tape for the first track. The office will be set in behind this first section of the back wall.
