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Header: Hal-Zuzzu Model Railway Build Blog |
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| Published: Friday, November 22, 2024 | ||||||
| Post: #172/174 - Views: 45006 |
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The Engine Shed Yard I think the engine shed yard is something that all model railway layouts should have at least one of, depending on the size of your layout and the amount of space you want to dedicate to the idea. I was very restricted with space but I am pleased with what I managed to fit in the little space I could afford. I drew up my yard on AnyRail and printed it out to see what it would look like in my dedicated space. It looked ok to me so the next day I would start laying some cork and track, 
It didn't take very long to get started and before I knew it I had quite a lot of it done, that is on the surface, as the real work was going to be under the baseboard, what with servos, dropper for current sensors, and a main supply for future lights around the yard, inside some of the buildings and whatever comes to my mind later on, you know, be prepared. 
I then started with the hard standing. Well, this was the part no one would see because this was raising the bed to the same height as the top of the sleepers. It will all be covered in a layer of 1mm styrene to reach the height of just under the top of the code 55 rails. This way I can clean the track without damaging the top of the hard-standing paint, at least that is the plan. 
And here is the finished surface. I used the scoring wheel on my Cricut to give it some realism. 
Painting it sure made it a lot better. As for weathering it, well, I figured that in no time at all, it will weather itself, what with my hands, working on the area and the elements, it will be just fine. 
I had some surface area to fill, so being happy with my new Cricut, I decided to start putting it to work and build a shed. It is a very plain and simple shed and is designed mainly from local sheds. Our buildings have flat roof-tops and a large percentage of our buildings are made using solid limestone blocks, hence the colour. There is no such colour for limestone, so I have to mix a few colours to get the shade of limestone I want to use. In reality, bare limestone gets darker over the years, and you rarely ever see two houses with the same colour of limestone unless they were built within a year or two of one another. 
I liked the shed so much that I built a second. It was rather easy once I drew the sketch for the first one. It was simply a matter of cutting the drawing again and applying glue. Then came the nightmare that many I know dread. Ballast! I was sure that by the time I glued it all, I would be replacing all the turnouts. I was sure they would all have dried solid, but it was so nice to be proven wrong 
Then came one of my favourite builds, the first engine shed. I spent a very long time thinking of how I would make an engine shed with a motorised roller shutter and when I came up with the idea, I was ready to start drawing the design and cutting the styrene. Designed from a local building in an industrial area about 15km away. 
This is my second engine shed and I wanted a different door system, so I went with the traditional hinged doors but motorised them separately (dual servos) so they open and close in a more realistic manner, unlike many sheds I have seen with hinged motorised doors opening and closing both doors at the same time (single servo) and the lights in this shed have an effect I am sorry to say you cannot see in an image. You can watch the video on my YouTube channel for the effect. OH! Subscribe while you're there. 
With all this in place, it was time to get some vegetation in the area. I wanted to do this before the next step. Oh, there is another video which shows the making of the motorised barrier too on my channel. 
Added some grass on the ground and some bushes by the surrounding wall. 
Last but not least, I am happy to show you the 95% finished product. Someone said that it is the greenest area for miles around where I live, and he's right 
What's left? Yard lighting and second engine shed weathering for now. Stay tuned and don't forget to register for post updates...Check out the live CCTV camera HERE |
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