Has anyone built the Walthers N scale Glacier Gravel kit? I'm thinking about ordering one so I'll have an industry that needs hoppers and gondolas. It looks pretty good, and it's not overly large. Comments?
I've got that building on my existing layout. I thought they did a real good job with it. Any specific concerns I might be able to answer for you?
I didn't paint mine except for the hopper and conveyor chutes. No reason one would have to paint those... I just liked the way the box art looked so I copied. I did weather the building using watered down black watercolor paint and I think it turned out pretty good. The lower half is a concrete color while the upper section is gray. I assume the current kit is still the same as when I built mine 20 years ago. It's too dark right now to snap pics but if interested I'll grab some tomorrow and post them here.
I have a photo of the kit that's on the Walthers website. But you won't hear me complain if you want to take photos of the kit.
I have the kit.......I painted the concrete lower section and weathered the upper corrugated section. I painted the conveyors and outside hopper oxide red. It has the ability to service 3 tracks.......2 thru the building and a third with chutes on the outside.
It's a beaut in terms of quality, made one for a club layout. Parts fit was A1, no flash , I didn't need any filler at all. Sprayed the walls with aged concrete , red oxide for the steel work and auto primer gray for the roof, then weathered it. Add some signs and wall lights and it looks killer. Scale proportions are good (railings look only a little heavy).
I am not sure just what the Glacier Gravel Co. does. Gravel is usually defined as "a loose aggregation of small water-worn or pounded stones." Around here, gravel is either dredged from rivers or mined in open pits. The only operations performed, other than loading into RR cars or trucks, are sizing and possibly washing. Both of these activities can be and are, in fact, performed outdoors with mobile equipment. No building is needed as protection from weather is not really necessary.
