New England Depot: Model Railroad

Strange name for a page, you are most likely thinking. Well, yes. I chose that name because while I only have a small loop of N scale track, I also have a growing collection of locomotives, rolling stock, and craftsman structure kits. So while I don't have a real model railroad yet, I am slowly building up to one.

For now, this page will show some of the items I have acquired or built that may interest people.

My second RR building, this N scale laser-cut wood kit is by American Model Builders Inc, and is called the "Corydon General Store & Post Office". It comes complete with self-stick roofing, such as the octagon shingles for the front porch. Half way through the project, I realized I installed the windows upside down! Thankfully, I was able to correct this. The large wood wall sections tended to warp while wet with paint, but in the end, things lined up almost 95%. I will have to figure out how to avoid this for future buildings. The building is screaming for signs, but as I don't have a use for it yet, it is staying "clean". If you decide to build this kit, keep in mind the roofing takes far longer than you'd expect!

The first N scale building I tried my hand at was this Northeastern Scale Models STS Series freight depot. The shake shingles are by Paper Creek. I am not totally satisfied with the look. I don't feel the brownish shingles go with the dark blue and black. But it is still a nifty little structure! The hardest part was getting the wood bracing off of the wood "parts tree". While the laser cutting is done very well, these bits were hard to remove without braking a few. They take patience and a sharp hobby blade.

JULY 2006 - I have begun fiddling with a new starter-layout. It wasn't easy, but I managed to get a 4x4 sheet of plywood up to the attic and started laying out roadbed and track. Pushpins helped a lot! I now have ballast (evil stuff). I have to make up my mind as to how I am going to finish this thing, but at least it is a step foward.