The structural plastic has arrived and the parking lot on the layout has been razed and the surveyors have been at work staking out for the parking garage. 100_0003-1 by John Moore posted Aug 27, 2022 at 10:34 AM And over on the work bench the base for the parking garage has been cut out of a sheet of .040 styrene. Horizontal supports have been cut from 1/4th inch 3/16ths inch styrene tube. Vertical supports will be the same tube on the outside and 1/8th inch rods on the inside. This will form the base for the high rise parking garage and option two if I cannot get the high rise parking garage kit then this will become the base for a two level open air parking garage. Both the high rise parking garage and the 3 story shops are on order from Japan with the parking garage on back order of about 15 days. 100_0004-2 by John Moore posted Aug 27, 2022 at 10:34 AM
Completed the vertical supports last night with several left after I test fit the platform today. Trenched the building site to allow for height adjustment. Then tested with loco cars and a caboose for clearance. The trench will get filled with a plaster slurry mix in the final placement. 100_0005-1 by John Moore posted Aug 28, 2022 at 1:41 PM 100_0006-2 by John Moore posted Aug 28, 2022 at 1:41 PM Now I can start the ramp on the left front side. At least an 80 foot ramp with a 8-19 percent slope. And it will curve paralleling the track,
Well this afternoon designed the curved ramp which is about 180 N Scale feet long, and it comes right to an intersection with traffic lights. Now need to design the supports using .080 x .080 styrene and the side rails. The ramp starts back about 14 feet into the slab. 100_0007-3 by John Moore posted Aug 28, 2022 at 6:00 PM
Installed the support columns and cross members on the ramp to the parking garage today. 100_0008-1 by John Moore posted Aug 29, 2022 at 10:21 PM Installed some cut stone retaining walls at the lower portion of the ramp. The Loco and cars appearing on the photos are to check clearances as I go along. 100_0009-2 by John Moore posted Aug 29, 2022 at 10:21 PM Now waiting on more supplies to complete the retaining walls but I can start painting the lower portions.
Got the first coat of paint on the parking slab and support legs. A 2nd coat will get applied late today. The bottom portion of the ramp up is asphalt and applied some color to the cut stone retaining walls. The rest of the retaining walls will be concrete. 100_0011-1 by John Moore posted Aug 30, 2022 at 3:38 PM Will probably know whether I am going to get the parking garage tower by weekend and if not then I will develop this into an open air parking. When I trenched the layout to plant the parking garage I went all the way through the foam to the hard base so that it would be level. Thus the little black footers you see to raise it up to a level that has clearance for locos and cars. While messing with the parking garage I decided that I did not like my train station arrangement. So in the blink of an eye I have ordered a Kato Unitrack overhead train station. If my current Kato passenger platforms do not play well with this station I will order some that do. Amazing how a project grows.
If it's the newer green overhead station (23-200) you're fine. If it's the older, red roof station (23-122), the platforms (23-120) are a bear to track down, Ebay will likely be the only reliable place and most sellers are well aware of it. Start saving now if you need those. Coming along nicely!
The station is the 23-200 so I should be good. And even better news is my back ordered parking garage has arrived at the Japanese vendors shop and should be shipping in the next two days along with my Greenmax shops.
Spent a whole day figuring out then building two exit stairs from the parking garage slab. About 8-10 pieces in each support column for the stairs. Now everything is building code compliant with the stairs laid out at the proper diagonal from each other. 100_0012-1 by John Moore posted Sep 1, 2022 at 10:32 AM 100_0013-2 by John Moore posted Sep 1, 2022 at 10:32 AM Now the real fun starts in designing an elevator on the backside next to the main street.
Since the high rise parking garage kit is made of White acrylic resin I got to thinking about my adhesives so ordered a tube of SCIGRIP 10319 Acrylic Plastic Cement which I found on Amazon. Pfunk you may want to take notice of this because it may solve some of your assembly problems. Also laid in 4 pounds of dry plaster of paris in order to make a very thin slurry to set the parking garage platform into the deep trenches on the layout. To handle applying the very thin plaster I have coming a set of big syringes that I can reach through everything and apply it, 30-60 ml type. Much better than trying to work fast and sinking the support columns into wet plaster and having overflow. These syringes are like the big kitchen type that are used to inject fluids into a turkey, and they come with large bore needles.
Well I designed and installed the lower half of the elevator shaft and outer lobby this afternoon. The upper half will wait until the garage kit arrives. 100_0015-3 by John Moore posted Sep 1, 2022 at 6:24 PM
Thankyou for the kind words. I am drawing on my experience as a construction inspector on my 2nd career as far as placement of doors and fire escapes and other items. And a MacGiver nack of turning things into things that weren't meant to be those things. My elevator lobby is a Kato Platform ticket stand or Kiosk and the top lobby will be the same thing.
A coat of paint and just needing a little touch up at the roof line of the awning and the lower elevator lobby is done. Today I am going to go ahead a design and build the upper lobby but will not attach it yet until the parking garage is mounted on the slab. Good news is that my parking tower and set of townhouse shops is in DHL's hands and on the way with arrival expected by next Wednesday. My new Kato overhead station is due to be delivered today. And the next batch of structural plastic may get shipped today so I can start the retaining wall on top of the parking garage platform. 100_0018-1 by John Moore posted Sep 2, 2022 at 8:38 AM
Finished the top elevator lobby/shaft and machine room. The roof hatch gives access to the top of the elevator car and the side doors access to the machine room. The big syringe with the large bore blunt needle is for injecting the thin plaster slurry when it comes time to finally set the parking garage on the layout. And my new Kato overhead station. Assembled it is 13 inches long but I already see where I can modify it to just 9 inches long for a better fit. I probably have to adjust my track centers to accommodate it. I already know my existing platforms are not going to work with this. The parking tower kit and the shop kits are now in the air somewhere with DHL. 100_0022-1 by John Moore posted Sep 3, 2022 at 11:09 AM
Assembling the Kato overhead station. I have shortened the footprint by removing one flight of stairs and then close the opening with styrene and setting back and matching the paint. Going to construct two elevators, one going where the stairs used to be, and the other will be on the center train platform. 100_0023-2 by John Moore posted Sep 3, 2022 at 4:50 PM
Knowing now that I cannot use the existing passenger platforms I went looking for the platforms that fit and overnight they had basically dried up. A few out there on E-bay at outrageous prices. Then I got lucky at the vender up near Baltimore and came across a set of them that has two sections plus two end sections for a good price. So an order is in.
Well both elevators are built, one to get into the station and one for the center platform. When the platform kit gets here I will measure and cut a hole in the station floor for the platform elevator. Still need to install a section of sidewalk that leads to the station elevator. 100_0024-1 by John Moore posted Sep 4, 2022 at 2:00 PM My parking tower and the set of 3 story shops are now in the US moving through the DHL process. And I have started removing track and things at the station site. Was knocking myself silly looking for track placement measurements for the overhead station when I realized I had them on the instructions that came with the station.
Well the main line of the Turtle Creek was shut down today while the track gang shifted the passing track and the main line. Amazing that they completed the work in a half days time. But now the track is ready for the center aisle platform. Will take about a month to return the landscape back to normal. 100_0026-2 by John Moore posted Sep 5, 2022 at 6:19 PM 100_0027-3 by John Moore posted Sep 5, 2022 at 6:19 PM DHL delivered two day early from Japan today so the parking garage is in hand and right now in an ultra sound bath getting cleaned prior to assembly. And my shops also arrived with sprues full of parts so let the fun begin. 100_0028-4 by John Moore posted Sep 5, 2022 at 6:19 PM Little white package is the parking garage.
Well last night after washing the parking garage parts in the ultra sound and rinsing and drying I started assembly of the garage. Parts were all clean cut and fitted perfectly. Only one section gave me any hiccups and after study of the assembly diagram I figured it out. I finally have a turntable on the layout but one designed for automobiles rather than locomotives. Because of limited space the turntable rotates the autos for storage. A lift system takes the cars up and then shunts them into the allotted spaces. The system is in actual use in Japan. In hindsight I wish I had waited before designing the support over the tracks because this is smaller in footprint and I could have designed a smaller support footprint. 100_0029-1 by John Moore posted Sep 6, 2022 at 8:23 AM Still parts to be painted and added.
The parking tower is finished. Now waiting on more supplies which I need to complete the parking deck. Meanwhile I have started work on the 3 story shops by Greenmax. 100_0031-2 by John Moore posted Sep 6, 2022 at 10:54 AM
