MORRISTOWN & ERIE RAILROAD - WESTERN DIVISION

Erieman · January 05, 2014, 11:16:57 AM

Back in the train room after making breakfast. I have been working both on scenery and another structure. I luv structures as many of you know. Several of my scratchbuilt structures come from a book called " The Vanishing Depot" by Randulph Bye. He was a water colorist that painted railroad structures, mostly on the East coast. They are beautiful and unusual. Great ideas for models.
I needed a tower in Little Falls and once again opened the book looking for an idea. Now that I have found one and in the middle of construction. The structure is quite interesting because of the "viewing nose". This is a perfect solution for the placement that I have in mind. The tower needs to have a large viewing area because of the geography of the town of Little Falls. This tower fits the bill.
The design of this tower is a little more complex than most towers. The "Nose" is unusual and a challenge to keep it square. It has been a real difficult issue and continues to cause me some grief, but I am driven to get it square and level! Here are three pictures; the painting, the model and the town of Little Falls. The tower placement will be just left of the water tower on the knoll. Enjoy.

Frank / Erieman

Erieman · January 05, 2014, 01:15:19 PM

Sometimes when you are building from scratch, issues crop up. The building is basically two rectangles. I guess I lost sight of that fact because while final assembly, I found a dimensional discrepancy. The two boxes were not square. That being said, I am going to start over. Yes, I said start over. Certainly , I could take this model apart and rebuild it. That being said, I would prefer to start over . It allows me to concentrate on the design. I now see that I should build the two rectangles first, check the fit and then build the "Nose" last. While this sounds crazy, the next build will actually go faster and be more accurate. Isn't this fun? I'll document the build more in detail this time. I guess I need to make a big sign over the workbench that says "measure twice, cut once".

Frank / Erieman

ak-milw · January 05, 2014, 07:49:21 PM

Frank, It's surprising how fast a build can go wrong. Good luck on the start over.

Erieman · January 05, 2014, 09:38:58 PM

Quote from: ak-milw on January 05, 2014, 07:49:21 PM
Frank, It's surprising how fast a build can go wrong. Good luck on the start over.

Andy, thanks for stopping by. you are spot on with you comment. the problem is that I should have payed more attention to the design of the structure versus the outside of the building. fortunately, I have enough material on hand to get started right away. A few sketches of the two box concept, a couple of dimensions, a little paint and I'll be done. well, not quite, but I have the redirection and are already underway. stay tuned for a progress report tomorrow.

Frank / Erieman

Erieman · January 06, 2014, 10:23:34 PM

Well, quite a bit of progress has happened since yesterday. After looking at the design, I determined that the tower is basically two boxes. I cut all new walls for both boxes, cut the openings for the windows and doors. Today I cut the remaining pieces and braces. I then glued in the bracing. then I glued all the box components together and then added the floor support for the "nose" of the tower. The four pictures show the progress since yesterday. Now I am back to the windows and the lower trim pieces. This is the most time consuming part of the tower. Once all the windows are installed, I'll be glad. I'll post more progress pictures tomorrow.

Frank / Erieman

ak-milw · January 06, 2014, 10:43:01 PM

Looking good again.

Erieman · January 08, 2014, 01:22:01 PM

Quote from: ak-milw on January 06, 2014, 10:43:01 PM
Looking good again.

Thanks Andy,

I have been working intermittently on the tower. Here are a couple of photo updates. Windows and doors need painting. The rear porch and stairs needs to be built. the front "Nose" needs to be completed. And the list goes on and on. Enjoy the pics.

Frank / Erieman

robertseckler · January 08, 2014, 04:35:20 PM

Frank

As always excellent work

Love the colors!!!!

Robert

Erieman · January 08, 2014, 06:31:25 PM

Quote from: robertseckler on January 08, 2014, 04:35:20 PM
Frank

As always excellent work
Love the colors!!!!

Robert

Happy New Year Robert. Good to hear from you. You are probably getting ready for the Springfield Show. Can't make it this year. The wife and I have a couple trips planned with the family. I'll have to work on getting to the EXPO next year.

Glad you like the tower. I'll be glad when I am past the windows. This is going to be in Little Falls and the design is very suitable for its location. The viewing area from the tower is consistent with the width of the town. I'm building this scratch, working on an article for the newsletter and also working on the newsletter. It probably won't be the 86 pages that the last one was. More like 60 maybe. The color scheme is consistent with the rest of the towers and this is the color scheme that i will use on the station in Chester. As you may remember, I made 3 sets of parts when I made your Ft. Edwards Station. I have a perfect place in Chester. A few more SRMW structures in Chester, build the roads, a couple more cars and lots of trees and Chester will be done.

enjoyed your pics and the location of the station. More pics please. Enjoy Springfield.

Frank / Erieman

PHQRR · January 08, 2014, 06:58:11 PM

Really nice work! Looking great!

Erieman · January 08, 2014, 07:41:51 PM

Quote from: PHQRR on January 08, 2014, 06:58:11 PM
Really nice work! Looking great!

Thanks Al for stopping by. Glad you the build. Stay tuned, the real neat stuff is coming.

Frank / Erieman

Erieman · January 12, 2014, 09:49:31 PM

Today was a good train day. Almost completed the Little Falls Tower. Probably another day or two to complete it. Roofing, awnings, signage, rear porch and stairs are the major elements still to be finished. I'm sure that there are a few more things, but they will surface soon. The picture shows the tower in its approximate location. enjoy the pic.

Frank / Erieman

ak-milw · January 12, 2014, 11:43:52 PM

NICE!!

Erieman · January 16, 2014, 01:25:14 PM

Quote from: ak-milw on January 12, 2014, 11:43:52 PM
NICE!!

Andy,
Thanks for stopping by. Here are a couple more recent photos of the tower. Next step is to build the rear porch and stairs. Stay tuned.

Frank / Erieman

cuse · January 18, 2014, 08:15:38 AM

Great little structure. Good example of how a small structure with interesting lines can get you a lot of impact in a small area. The siting of the tower can compound that even more. If I recall, you had a comparable tower that you built onto a steep hillside going down from the track level. Great effect!

John