Monk Subdivision - Armagh Station Drawings

This title can be misleading if you believe I found architectural drawings of Armagh station. On the contrary, I have nothing on my hand except a few very blurry old pictures from the 1950s and a 3/4 view of the east gable when the station was in derelict state in the 1970s. From these pictures, we can surmise the station was very long, with an extended freight house section and most likely based on standard Grand Trunk Pacific designs, which was common on National Transcontinental Railway. That's where the detective work starts to find a few key information such as general dimensions, internal layout, roof geometry and many more. So here we go! 

This is probably the best picture of Armagh Station (source: Facebook)

One of the first thing that we know is that GTP had several standard designs classified by letters: Type A, type B, type C, etc. With that knowledge, I wanted to see how far I could go online, within a day, to find everything I needed to replicate a decent version of Armagh Station.

The first step was to Google simple terms such as "Grand Trunk Pacific" "Station Drawings" "Type E". Luckily enough, there was a short PDF file produced by the Province of Manitoba which collated informations taken from Charles Bohi’s book "Canadian National’s Western Depots". In the PDF, there was a set of station plans identified as GTP Type D and Type E, with Type E looking identical to Armagh if not for the shorter freight house. Upon further investigation, it appeared the authors had inverted the caption and it should have been Type D.

Drawings recovered from a PDF (credit: Province of Manitoba)

I tried to find it Library and Archives Canada had some drawings online, but I didn't find a lot to help me. So I imported that drawing into SketchUp, a 3D modelling sotfware, and scaled it to HO. I didn't take long to have an entire set of drawings, however, no a single one was fitting with the other one, particularly in the roof. I was puzzled until I manage to discover that these drawings had been pieced together and badly stretched, making them only reliable in the X axis. Unfortunately, the drawings were so blurry it was impossible to read what was written, including the dimensions. I could fiddle a bit, but I needed more help.

Scaling the drawings became quite tricky

That help came from Charles Bohi's book which I searched for a copy online with the intention of probably buying it. It wasn't hard to find and some only shop displayed a few pages to show the content. Once again, luck was on my side because of there very few pages, two were about station Type D, listing interior and exterior dimensions that I could use to scale the drawings from the PDF. Better, Bohi was giving an excellent description of the hipped roof shaped, in particular the presence of a flat spot on top of the station main building. That was the key to understand why I couldn't make sense of the roof. It was just a matter of time before I had a set of perfectly scaled drawings that could be used to built a station.

However, the extended freight house layout didn't seem to be a standard practice on GTP and since I only had very poor pictures of Armagh, I was hard to guess the overall dimensions and location of doors and windows. It then struck me that since Armagh was a sizable town on the line and the midpoint between two division points, it was probably why the station was so large. You only require such a warehouse if you have a lot of goods for larger customers. It was a common pattern on the old Monk Subdivision: many station had GTP layouts but with extended freight house. If such a thing was common on Monk, it would also be shared by stations on other NTR subdivision.  At that point, I asked myself which towns in the Abitibi area could have such a larger stations. I selected Amos because it wasn't a division point, but still a very large settlement.

Amos station in 1945 (source: BAnQ)

I tried finding information on Quebec National Archives (BAnQ) and found many pictures of the town in the 1910s up to the 1940s. Not only the station was almost identical to Armagh, but I even had aerial pictures of it. In general, Amos station photographs were of much higher quality, with helped to figure out key details and dimensions. The only noticeable difference was the location of the second freight house door.

Extract of Amos insurance plan by Underwriter's Laboratories (source: BAnQ)

But while these pictures were of a great help, I still needed to figure out exact dimensions of the extended freight house. At that moment, it crossed my mind that such a large town as Amos was bound to have been surveyed by insurance company mappers. A quick BAnQ search shown it was the case and that the station had been documented. This was the final piece of the puzzle and what I discovered was a very large station that really as a lot of presence.

Locating the freight house openings in Illustrator

The last big challenge was locating with some precision the openings that existed in the freight house. Most pictures of Amos and Armagh stations are shot in such angles that you can't see everything. However, we can assume there was, from left to right, two large sliding doors, two windows, a door and, most likely, another window right by the telegraphist bay.

Crude 3D rendering of the station

At that point, I was content with my work and the 3D model fitted almost perfectly the photographs of Armagh Station... until Chris Mears pointed out that CP Tracks website had PFD files of old GTP drawings! They had the 100-154 drawings available in much better quality, even though it was based on a photocopy and some deformations were clearly visible. The interesting part is these plans were different from the one shown in Bohi's book. They are quite similar, sharing the exact same dimensions and window placement, but I could see that interior partition walls in the office was different and there was much more details on chimneys. Also, there was a basement right under the office, something I wasn't aware.

Using that new data, I compared my first draft and started to correct it. The section drawing were of higher resolution, so I was able to figure out the way they built the curved roof eaves. That was the linch pin to finally get the dormers right.

Improved drawings

All in all, it was a fascinating and quick project while I can barely do nothing on the layout. I had some issue with the sanitary drain and a contractor will replace it by Christmas. It means a new trench must be dug in the concrete floor of my hobby room to install the new pipe. I will give me an opportunity to improve the benchwork and backdrop later on.

Meanwhile, I will check if it's worth 3D printing or scratchbuilding the station. Maybe it will be a mix of both mediums. I feel like 3D printing is cheating though!

 

Monk Subdivision - A Fresh Restart

Work has resumed on the Monk Subdivision while I put the Quebec and Gosford idea on the back boiler until trains can run on that old project of mine. I like my old time Canadian stuff and you can rest assured that the exploration started with Stanstead a few years ago will continue, but the show must go on and here we go again with Monk.

Removing the second staging level and the grade really put back the project into the achievable realm which is a good thing. Monk was never intended to be a basement filling empire and I'm glad I've corrected course before it was too late. So, over the weekend, I started to both test my ideas and rebuild the layout.

The final and simplified staging plan

Why test my ideas? Because track geometry is what will make that layout work. If it doesn't run smoothly, it all goes down the drain. To make the plan work as intended, I have a tricky crossover to create a returning loop. While it doesn't suffer from nasty S-curves, this arrangement is made of Peco, Atlas and Walthers track components, each with their own rail profiles that are nominally compatible in code 83. Atlas track is clunky and Walthers is that much better. Their curved turnout have extremely sharp diverging routes, something that is endemic of all products descended from Shinohara. In won't start to rant about commercial tracks, but suffice to know that Shinohara track geometry may be based on prototype about diverging route, but that doesn't work very well with model trains. Long prototypical passenger cars hate it, particularly when riding on 3-axle trucks. Thus, the importance of experimenting a little bit.

Working out the geometry... and cars

The first tests were done with Rapido first release Supercontinental coaches. These cars are faulty right out of the box and can be considered the most capricious piece of rolling stock I own. As expected, the car derailed on the crossing then ran poorly over the Walthers curved turnout. I then tried with a Walthers stainless Budd car which has similar proportions and trucks. Unsurprisingly, it ran very smoothly over the track. A quick inspection shown that Rapido wheels were grossly out of gauge, some piping was blocking the wheels from swiveling and the shell was poorly snapped over the chassis. Back to the benchwork, I discovered the pipe had been glued with its locator pin not inserted in the mounting hole. Two wheelsets had to be regauged and finally, poorly trimmed sprues on the interior prevented the shell to snap on the chassis. Once everything was put together as it should be, the car ran as well as the newer releases. It wasn't a matter of poor design, but extremely poor implementation and execution. At least, I'm glad the remedy was rather straightforward. It's just sad to witness how bad quality control was when that business started. 

The second round of test was done with WalthersProto and Atlas heavyweight coaches and sleepers. They both ran over the trackwork nicely, but I could feel some slight binding in the truck when navigating the turnout points when running over the diverging route. The issue was the wheel backs touching the flanges of the fishbelly underframe. It was a matter of cutting a small portion of that flange on each side to make the trucks swivel more freely.

All in all, I consider this experiment a success and I feel like I can go forward with the new staging plan. I already know that my locomotives will run over the curved turnout flawlessly. For this reason, this morning I dismantled the old staging, removed the fiber board to make a few changes to the benchwork and cut a new hole in the wall to provide the second access to the yard.

I've also almost completed the Monk locomotive roster. On Saturday, I visited the Vermont & Essex Railway model club located in Montreal. This is probably the most famous club layout in Quebec, being both based closely on a prototype and being almost complete.

The Vermont & Essex kitchen and dining lounge

It depicts the Central Vermont/Canadian National mainline from Windsor Station in Montreal to Bellow Falls, VT running through places such as St. Albans. The layout space is also wonderfully finished, with an elegant kitchen area reminescent of old time dining cars and a neat lounge. Well worth a visit and we had the chance to meet Clément Pot in real life, a young modeller who often post on Quebec Railway modelling Facebook groups. It's always nice to meet people and exchange with them.

Windsor station is the centerpiece of V&E

What I didn't expect was to find two True Line CNR ice reefers in 1950s paint schemes and a Proto 2000 GP38-2 locomotive in CN colors which was the last engine needed to complete the Monk roster. I've heard rumours that Rapido will probably do its own version, but that Proto unit runs silk smooth, has great details and a decoder. It would have been stupid not to jump on that occasion.

In the next weeks leading to Christmas, I will be installing a drop ceiling in the main layout room while trying to complete the new staging by then. I may be dreaming, but laying tracks in the main room during the holidays and maybe running an inauguration train would be quite the feat if you ask me!

Quebec & Gosford Sidetracking

Those who know Chris Mears and discuss with him frequently have come to fear him as he can elicit fascinating conversations that literally derail your train of thoughts toward the deepest fiber of your soul. Such a thing occurred to me recently when our discussion took a tangent toward the 1870s-1890s and the elegant 4-4-0s of the era. Add the nice Bachmann retooled 4-4-0 in the game and various old time equipment kitbashes and you have a recipe for disaster. Or should I say, a joyful recipe for fanning all over the fundamentals of railroading. But honestly, nothing is new about this discussion since it has been going on over and over since I was thinking about doing Temiscouata, then Stanstead which I always wanted to expand but with is too big for my layout room.

 

Bachmann retooled 4-4-0 (credit: Bachmann)

I can’t recall what sparked the exchange of thoughts, but for some reason, I ended up digging into the venerable Quebec & Gosford Railway which was the first railway built in Quebec City between 1869 and 1870 and operated from 1870 to 1872. Ill-fated because it adopted the wooden rail system developed by the American engineer Hulbert to save cost and was plagued by 4% grades, it was almost a financial success and would later be redeveloped and entirely rebuilt when the company was reorganized under the new name of Quebec & Lake St. John Railway. Unsurprisingly enough, Horace Jansen Beemer would be the man that would save the day and accomplish this undertaking.

 

Original Quebec & Gosford plans (credit: BAnQ)

The only picture of Q&G under construction circa 1871 (credit: Collection Marc Carette)

While only a very few pictures and drawings exist of the Quebec & Gosford, some contemporary descriptions and company documents give a good idea of what it was. Hadn’t it been plagued by the evitable engineering mistakes, the line would have been quite successful as demonstrated by the impressive earnings the company was able to generate during the few months of the year it operated.

 

The engine house at Rivière-à-Pierre on Q&LStJ (credit: BAnQ)

Q&LStJ, the spiritual descendant of Q&GR is much more documented and nice photographs of the era documenting its construction gives an excellent idea of what was happening in the backwoods of French Canada in the 1870s. One thing is sure, small shacks, settlers’ homes, railway structures and sawmills were quickly dotting an otherwise pristine forested land. And in that archetypical Canadian landscape, we know that the first Quebec & Gosford locomotives, bought new from Rhode Island Locomotive Works were working hard with their colorful paint, their brass appliances and gilded ornamentation. That contrast, between state-of-the-art machinery and the frontier is always appealing, hence why so many modellers are entrenched in that era that surprisingly never gets the coverage it warrants.

The second bridge over Jacques-Cartier river in 1879 (credit: BAnQ)

All these thoughts make sense when you understand what I tried to achieve with the demonstration Stanstead layout that served the purpose to prove that early pre-nationalization Canadian railways were worth modelling and fascinating. Each time I go to the basement, I see the module and its beautiful landscape and can’t help to gaze upon it, sometimes running even a modern locomotive on it.

A typical settlement along the line (credit: BAnQ)

I’ve always wondered if this layout could be expanded, and this is certainly the case. However, I have hardly the space in the house to currently do that. Nevertheless, I recently set a shelf over Monk Subdivision staging room to set a Kato Unitrak testing and programming track. As Chris mentioned, it was in some sense, the start of a layout. When I tried to run a pair of Bachmann Brill trolleys, I dug out my Montreal & Southern Counties track plan tailored for that room and looked at ways to improve upon it. From that point, I was doomed.

Q&LStJ No.5 was similar to Jacques Cartier (credit: BAnQ)

For some reasons, I revived my old Rivarossi Genoa 4-4-0 and seeing it runnings around the room was awesome… Some kind of revelation about the nature of what that shelf could become. I loved it and decided to start sketching based on descriptions of the first railways around Quebec City. At some point, the descriptions of our first locomotive, the “Jacques Cartier” and its sisters “Quebec” and “Gosford” came back. The original terminal in downtown Quebec City (St. Sauveur borough) was spartan with laconic descriptions of a house serving as a station, a reservoir, an engine house and other temporary structures and I suspect it was the same about Gosford, albeit much more simpler if newspaper accounts of the era are to be trusted.

Anyway, I find that era both fascinating and providing a plethora of small and achievable challenges. Building Stanstead was the epitome of "Model Railroading is Fun" and as mentioned, I always wanted to expand it to provide some running length to the trains. Time to move forward by making my railroading small and achievable again, and that includes Monk. I always perform better on more focussed projects that stand out and it was always my desire to continue my journey documenting what modelling pre-nationalization railways in Canada is all about. Doing frontier stuff that happened 150 years ago in what are now Quebec City northern suburbs is both thrilling and fascinating.

Monk Subdivision Track Plan Revision

I haven't written that much lately, or should I say, I didn't publish a lot of articles event if a string of first drafts are waiting in Blogger to be finalized. But they probably won't be published anyway because this hobby is about passion and when you write about a passion, it is often raw emotions captured on the spot and it's hard to come back a month or two later to alter them. Among them is a neat article about visiting hobby shops in Japan and the Kato Hobby Center last September and I think it's worth to be published. Another one is dating back to last fall when I railfanned Monk Subdivision again to shot photobackdrops.

Often, just having to edit and upload pictures on Blogger, which is very old technology by current standards, it enough to cut my desire to publish... we get lazy isn't it!

That said, I have continued modelling recently, in all directions to be honest. One thing is about completing the DCC sound installation in Monk CN fleet from the 1960s to the 1970s. Among them is a pair of Atlas C424 which will pull The Cabot passenger train and which my friend David Mira-Landry installed LokSound in them. It was great to spend an evening with him and seeing his workflow and tricks to get it done efficiently.

Atlas C424s going through decoder installation and detailing

Also, I had a lot of deep conversations about modelling and trains in general with good old Chris Mears. I wish these could be published as they are. Sometimes, I feel he is that reassuring voice that both listen and suggest. With him, no rocks are left unturned and this is a blessing. We have explored recently our deeply ingrained love of old time 4-4-0 from the 1860s-1870s but also thought about Monk once again. Jérôme and Louis-Marie also gave sound advices of keeping it simple and they are probably right. "Making it run" is probably the recurring theme and I agree. So let's dive into the future of Monk Subdivision.

Let's be blunt, I didn't work on it at all since I completed the staging first level and that gave me time to rethink the layout. Recently, to be able to run and tune my locomotives and cars, I added a Kato Unitrack loop in the staging room. It's at eye level and runs currently on DC only for older locomotives or those without decoder. I've ran a few trains since it has been put up there and that has helped me to better grasp what I'm doing in the basement. It was supposed to be fun and all about scenery, yet it degenerated into an intricate mechanical and technological issue that seems to never be resolved. What can be done?

A Kato Unitrack loop provide an excellent test bed

First, I took most of my high quality modern passenger cars (Rapido, Walthers, etc.) and tried to run them on the staging curved turnouts. It was a nightmare. Half of them don't negotiate the 28" radius curve properly. Sure, the Walthers turnouts are unforgiving, but it's ludicrously impossible to run a passenger train on the staging. Even on the flextrack, it barely works. The culprit is a mix of poorly design underframes, trucks and details. The Rapido Supercontinental cars (first release) are junk, even the couplers are operating poorly due to the diaphragm. Hard to believe someone designed that, tested the preproduction samples and went forward with it. Also, the wheels don't run freely and often the brake shoes on the sideframe are really braking. They aren't free rolling and this is a big issue. Fortunately, the newer releases are much, much better. As for Walthers, it's a mixed bag and fishbellies under the heavyweight cars makes them barely able to negotiate a 28" radius. So, I made a test, put 8 Rapido cars on the test loop (28.75 inches radius) and tried to pull it with an Intermountain F7. Didn't move and stalled. Added a Bachmann GP9 to the consist and it started to roll, but with serious drag and getting slow on curves. Basically, forget about running the Cabot (16 cars) under these circumstance, forget about a complicated yard throat and forget getting over a grade. This is a disaster in waiting.

So let's rethink the concept and go back to the basics. The two level staging is making thing very complicated in terms of trackwork, wiring and control. Some loves that stuff, but I don't and trains should stay accessible. So only one level. The new staging is basically a similar shape, but it feeds both end of the visible layout. I may plan to add extra capacity and a crossover later so I can turn passenger trains. Otherwise, keep it simple.

Grades are an issue because I had to get rid of the feed mill scene in Langlois which I really liked and added that touch of working a local train in the countryside. The recent QSSR module proved that I really liked shuffling cars at a small industry and I want it on Monk. Grades are also an issue because I have to make sure they are perfect and they were a real problem when dealing with the curved Abenaki bridge (which could most likely be modelled straight to save myself some problems).

Having the town scene 6" above the benchwork created a problem because the trains were much too close to the IKEA wall cabinet and it left very little backdrop. Having everything on a single level means that vertical clearance is the same and optimal everywhere.

At the moment of writing, I'm back to the original concept of Langlois and Armagh, with Lake Therrien and Abenakis bridge. It's as simple as that. In terms of work, I just have to lower the spline and shuffle some tracks in the staging room. No major benchwork surgery is required because I planned with sufficient reserve. I knew that things would change.

Revised track plan

The lesson behind that story is that running trains do help to make decision. That Kato Unitrack loop took me out of fantasy land and back to reality. Switching trains on the module also had a big impact. My slow progress was partially motivated by the fact I was constantly questioning the validity of my choices. The thing is that you can't validate them if you don't commit to build. Once again, Mike Confalone strikes: build, run then make changes. Not the first time I write about that.

So what is the future of Monk? First, we had some issue with the house drainage in the basement and a new one must be installed and the path is right in the train room. It doesn't impact the benchwork, but it means I need to clean the area, which in hindsight is a good thing.

Then, the mainline spline will be lowered and levelled. Finally, I will rebuild the staging according to the new geometry, but after taking some time to test it with various rolling stock. My goal? Run a train by Christmas.

I see more old time modelling in my future...

Meanwhile, the Kato Unitrack loop has raised interesting possibilities which I will explore in a later post. Let's just say there is a second life to that old time exploration I did with Stanstead.

QSSR Mark VI - What I have Learned

I've been modelling a lot lately... the bug bites again has we say and having a small module right by my modelling workbench makes it perfect to keep the inspiration going on. Be it telegraph poles, farm implements, asphalt shingles roof or building and weathering countless grain hoppers, each of these projects are small and fulfilling.

I've also learned a lot about myself and my relation with layouts. As much as the QSSR was just a fancy idea to make something generic as possible, the more I interact with it, the more it turns into something familiar. First, it was that old feed mill from my home town which has been a staple of my layouts since 2000. Then, it was the track plan... the rolling stock and the motive power.

Yet, today, it struck me that the scene was eerily similar to that famous Richard Manicom photo of Langlois station on Monk Subdivision shot in 1963. How couldn't I had made that connection before just baffles me, but it is there, in plain sight. This is Monk subdivision, or should I saw, a slice of it. Even the small and unassuming station isn't that far from reality. I'm am certainly at that particular point in my modelling life where everything is converging fast into something very simple and coherent.

Yesterday, another realization came upon me when I took a few early 1950s green CNR passenger cars and coupled them to a locomotive. I ran them slowly on the module, back and forth and just looking at the train running back felt great... It kind of convinced me that my initial vision for Monk as a staging platform was probably right on the spot for my need.

An interesting lesson out of that is the module gives a sense of purpose and accomplishment, a vitrine for my modelling work. It also serves well my needs for switching which are real but not to the point of design a layout around them in a complicated manner. I'm laid back with my approach to switching, just a few cars and a track or two. The module is, in some way, a device to separate the close and personal switching chores from running main line trains. This is more than enough for me! It also helps to experiment a lot with what I wish to implement on the large layout in terms of scenery and rolling stock. 

Another Hopper... Another Dream...

The QSSR Mark VI brings me joy in a new way. This layout isn't great nor flamboyant nor original. Once everything two days, I set a random operating session, moving around cars following a match plan devised on the spot. A few cars are spotted, some catch my fancy, I take them to the workbench and start to work on them. When a step is completed, I screw back the trucks and they are ready to run again for a while until I add another layer of details or weathering. No need to finish everything, I let the inspiration of the moment define what I will do next. Fortunately, keeping it simple means that even if I lack focus, I have so little projects to complete that I can't stray very far. 

In my folders, I have that group of covered hopper pictures that I downloaded years ago from rrpicturearchives.com, my favourite prototype website. All have one theme in common; they were all shot in Ste. Rosalie and Farnham in Quebec, back when MMA was still a thing. This collection of ragtag cars brings infinite inspiration and some cars just begs to be modelled. One of them is that nice DWC yellow hopper with spartan lettering and data. It is one of many cool pictures shot by Richard Marchi.

DWC hopper in Ste. Rosalie (Credit: Richards Marchi)

I find great solace in modelling these unassuming subject... Krylon paint from a can, an old Intermountain kit, pieced together decals... Nothing classy, almost prototypical, genuine character and full of personality.

A fun and rewarding project

This is a great way to enjoy the hobby in an achievable, meaningful and successful way. It is both whimsical and sensible at the same time, which fits my needs and personality for these times when I don't feel like replicating a specific railroad.

Weathering a Walthers Mainline 54' PS 4427 CF Covered Hopper

A few days ago, I discussed the topic of weathering with Louis-Marie, who seldom model and never weathered a single car. Indeed, we weren't talking about "weathering" but about the effect of "weathered" cars on our interacting with trains. We came to the conclusion that weathering was that immersive process that transforms plastic toys into replicas of heavy steel prototypes. When weathered, there is a sense of weight and of mass than draws you to them and trigger that desire to play with trains. And since the QSSR is all about decrepit Southern Quebec operations... cars need to be decrepit. Fortunately, I've been able to collect dozen of heavily weathered cars that ran over the MMA rails back in the days and they provide countless inspiration.

However, that CNW hopper has never shown its face on pictures I've seen of MMA, but it was still in service in that era and given the wide variety of hoppers that wento to Farnham and Ste. Rosalie, there is a big chance that it could have visited the area at some point. But enough about that, back to the model and weathering!

Taking your time with weathering projects is always the best way to assess what you are doing and correct trajectory if required. Otherwise, you rush, you take these supposed shortcuts and butcher your work. Not that I’m advocating to make prize winning models at each time, but just not running mad with the pastels and washes.

Paint faded with a mist of diluted white paint

 

In this Walthers hopper’s case, the dark green is quite dark and while it was indeed darker than other CNW hoppers, photographs clearly show it turned lighter with UV exposition. Not only it was faded, but it also acquired a more yellowish hue with time. Trying to replicate that may sound tricky but with some washes and pastels, you can achieve a lot of depth.

Regarding this particular hopper, I made two acrylic washes made of blue mixed with harvest yellow. The mix wasn’t perfect to have color variation and streaking patterns appear on the surface. To have plenty of time to work the paint around, I pre-emptively added water to the matte surface, and also added dots here and there of pure harvest yellow, mixing it directly on the model with a large flat brush.

Subtle streaking with green and harvest yellow acrylic washes

When done and dry, I ground pastel chalks; pure green and lime green. Once again, with a flat brush, I dabbed the surface and blended the powder with the gritty matte paint. The trick was not to add pigment everywhere, but randomly in the middle of the panels. This lighter color would replicate how the buckled panels catch lights. In some way, we can say I forced the shadows and highlights with this technique. Military modellers would call it post-shading, or pre-shading… or whatever expression they use for that. Basically, it’s about adding color variation to the surface and using it to creates fake shadows that enhance the 3D aspect of the model. The smaller the scale, the sharpest contrast will be required.

 

When I was satified with my work, I simply sealed everything will dullcoat. This step blends the pigments and tone everything down. It will be also easier later to apply various washes and effects with oil paints.

 

Subtle color variations with regular powdered pastels

In terms of details, I also added the COTS placards which were soldered to the ribs on the prototype. This is a nice modification that I preferred to do when the initial acrylic washes were done because I didn’t want weird streaking patterns around the placards.

 

A gritty and varied surface showing rain streaking

That said, in an excess of zeal, I added steel end platforms over the coupler draft boxes. Seems I was ill advised since these old hoppers didn’t have such a safety measure. The will be removed later when I continue the weathering process.

Improving Walthers Mainline 54' PS 4427 CF Covered Hopper

 A few years ago, I acquired a few Walthers Mainline covered hoppers for a good price. Though it was a bargain, it was also an ill-advised purchase since I had a lot of trouble finding a use for them. It didn't help either their end cages were from 1960s-1970s quality with very thick grabirons. However, the paint job was crisp and generally accurate and they sat in my stash until a few days ago.

Removing grabirons with a pair of nippers

I still have a hard time find a purpose for them on the layout, except for a nice dark green Chicago & North Western car that was still in use back in the early 2000s at least.

New Tichy and wire grabirons primed in Tamiya Gray primer

It's not the first time I have to deal with lesser quality cars. Not that I hate them per se, but they do look silly when running with higher quality cars. Let's face it, mating a Walthers Mainline hopper to a top of the game Tangent one isn't particularly a winning formula. However, there is hope an here is what I did in less than 3 hours.

Phosphore bronze grabirons are easy to make and look great

Keep in my your friend when doing this kind of work is to use Tichy #3062 18" ladder rungs. They are perfect to replace grabirons on cars because you don't have to drill a gazillion minuscule holes through flimsy plastic members nor care about precise alignment. Sure, they have their limitation, but for covered hoppers, they can truly save you some sanity.

Modified VS original

Another big offender are the longer grabirons which must absolutely be replaced, well before you start wondering about the ladders. They can be easily replaced with phosphore bronze wire. In this case, I used 0.015" wire from Tichy.

Painted wire grabirons VS molded plastic ones

Finally, I replace the roof corner grabirons too, using Tichy parts and photoetched eyelets sold by Yarmouth Models.

End cage now look like a real steel car

Matching paint was a matter of mixing blue, yellow and a touch of black to get a similar dark green color. There is no need to mix a perfect match since heavy weathering will be applied, but trying your best to be close enough always pays in the long run.

The completed model ready for weathering

I won't claim this car is perfect because a thinner photoetched roofwalk would make it shine better. I could add cut levers (you know, that fancy detail that is the craze among prototype modellers) and other stuff like that, but I think I've reached the sweet spot. 3 hours is equivalent to a nice evening spend at the benchwork. No need to drag the project for longer.

The car now has a finer silhouette which match my higher end model and it makes a huge difference, one big enough that I want to keep the car on my layout. More detail work will be done in the future (decals and weathering), so stay tuned to see this car find a new lease on life.

QSSR Mark VI - Layout Early Assesments

Exploration continues with the QSSR Mark VII and along the way, many serendipity moments are discovered, while some well thoughts ideas just don’t materialize. I’ll sum up here my few key observations over the last few weeks.

Wiring… I’m bad at wiring. My brain isn’t wired for wiring. And as such, I’ve been unable to do a good job at wiring the turnout frogs on my Peco Unifrog turnouts without getting shorts. I tried to trouble shoot them, but it’s a mess. Will wait for Louis-Marie to sort that mess out. It’s probably a very simple issue. Speaking of turnouts, I’ve also observed that Peco code 70 turnout with solid rail points have a slight flaw. When the points are pushed against the rail, they sit a little bit higher than the stock rail. That’s annoying because it makes cars wobbles in an unrealistic manner. I’m thinking about adding some fine shims on the throwbar so the sit at the perfect height. Robin Talukbar also shown me his wonderful turnout control mechanism in St. Louis. He developed the idea from products his company manufactures and distributes. It’s really interesting because it is a turning motion which I feel more realistic. He can also control the fake scale stand switch without complicated links. That’s something I really want to try. 

"Close and personal" is the name of the game

A nice discovery was that my feed mill which I scratchbuilt earlier last year for a different module based on the same concept do fit the layout without alteration. I’m looking at ways to enlarge it by adding warehouses, but for now, this is a neat and fairly nice looking structure that fills the gap conveniently. I’ve yet to decide how I will handle it in the future, but it’s great to have something already made.

Operations: Will it get boring? I don’t know. That layout isn’t about big operations but rather as a whimsical diorama which I can turn out at the flick of a finger and move around some nice cars. It is a close and personal layout, meaning it’s more about seeing nicely weathered cars and engines in motion. For such a purpose, it seems to be a success and operating session last about anywhere from 10 to 15 minutes. No preparation required, I just turn my chair around, plug the control cab and move freight.

One thing that worked according to plan was to use the station as a view block to hide the staging entrance. Not only does it work well, but it also frames the train in a perfect fashion as you see it emerging behind the structure. It distracts the eyes and you don’t question where the train is going outside the modelled scene.

Another advantage that appeared after a few operating sessions was that I would leave the locomotive idling by the station, as if it was a natural spot to park it between different scenarios. In some ways, it is the anchor point on the layout and just shows that this structure is not only a view block but also part and parcel of the narrative. Hence, the interest in making it a maintenance of way dedicated area. I’m really tempted to park a fuel truck there from time to time.

Station hiding the staging and loco ready to work

On the other hand, another scenic idea that I developed kind of failed. It is the raised foreground which seems to trick my eyes when I’m sitting on my chair and looking at trains. For some reason, when my eyes are close to the ground level in that area, the little bumps and lumps on the fascia start to trick my vision. My eyes focus on the fascia bumps and that makes the trains go blurry. I would have never expected something like that, but it sure does happen and makes the experience less immersive.

That little bumps really tricks you eye...

...and will be lowered to create a smoother transition.

I will probably need to alter the raised foreground left to the grade crossing to remove the bumps and make it smoother and lower. However, the raised terrain on the left corner really works well and will be kept as is.

The raised terrain and vanishing yard tracks

This raised terrain really frame the tracks which looks like a small yard in that area. I’m really glad to have curved the main line and sidings because when you look at them from the grade crossing, you can’t see their end against the backdrop. If you leave a cut of cars on these, you can’t really see the end of your train, thus it really creates the illusion of a full-length yard when it’s just a bunch of short tracks. In that regard, the unplanned optical illusion is a wonderful quality I didn’t expect.

72" of fun is good enough...

That really helps to create a sense of immersion as both the station and the curved tracks do blur the layout ends. It really feels like you are at the center of something really big, just like when you stand trackside in real life. In that regard, I consider the layout to be my best version of the QSSR experiments. I did love my other versions, but this one really provides a compelling experience.

It doesn’t feel like an artificial slice of reality, but rather like standing in the middle of a real place. It also proves that 72” long is good enough to fool your brain if your design is well thought out. All kind of locomotives are at their place on this layout, be it large 6-axle modern diesel, big steamers or small switchers.

Speaking of locomotives, the layout is so focussed on accurate and slow movement that I’m really considering the acquisition of a Proto Throttle. This is truly a layout where I feel it could shine and add an extra layer of immersion and realism. It would be wise to start saving money for such a controller.

QSSR Mark VI - Stop the Bashing

Working on the Atlas station has been a fascinating experience. It started as an icon of model railroading then took a new, or should I say improved, identity by acquiring a new footprint and clearer functions. Then, that new roof line changed everything… I could detail my process, but at this point, I want to share some discussion snippets taken out of a discussion with Chris Mears. At the end of the day, the goal wasn’t really the station itself, but the fun and quality time derived from working on it and experimenting with different ideas.

Chris: I love how this station is like seeing someone in a crowd in a city you haven’t been in a while and it makes me think: do I know you?

Matt: It has acquired a transcendent identity that makes it familiar because it's generic and relatable, but also because the Atlas parts are still familiar.

All these thoughts are driven by the desire to make something "good" out of a pair of Atlas stations. At this point, I'm pretty sure you will all say I should have scratchbuilt it from styrene and it would have been faster and better. That is absolutely true.

But the other alternative was to throw them away in the garbage bin to free some space because I’ve reached that point in life where cluttered collections no longer make sense. So better recycle nicely molded sidings and roof brackets, do the best I can, save some money and plastic products from waste. I still want however to improve the windows a little bit…

Back to the station, making the roof was an exercise in patience. For some odd reasons, I had the hardest time to find the correct geometry. However, I did some experiment with angled cuts. Theses cuts make mating cardboard edges easier and virtually eliminate gaps and discrepancies. Not very hard to achieve with a hobby blade and saving some extra steps down the road.

I’ve also painted and cut to length an old Atlas brick chimney. It is quite high and may required to be trimmed, but on the other hand, I like that it can tell the storey of a chimney that was lengthened due to poor draft issues. For the foreseeable future, it will stay like that!

For now I only need to reinforce the roof, apply distressed asphalt shingles, fascia, drain pipes and gutters, then call it a day.

 

 

QSSR Mark VI - More Bashing

Bashing never stop at Hedley-Junction, but it's the fun kind of bashing. Taking my brushes and pencils to add some colors on the bare plastic and merging the new parts with the old ones, I couldn't help but see new ways to improve the station.

Slowly build color layers... still more to do...

Blending weathered colors wasn't easy at first, but as you add more layers of paint, the effects build up. You may start with the "wrong" color at first, but you can modulate it and even drybrush some specific colors all over the walls to really feather the effects and create an unified appearance.

A salvaged Tyco door makes for a convincing shed

A small detail I kept for later was the old telephone booth. The telephone and some other details were molded directly on the wall part. They could be removed, but I would need to graft another piece of wall in their place. Not the kind of fun surgery to do on an assembled model. So I decided build a small shed made of wall leftovers and an old door I had salvaged froma Tyco freight shed many years ago. After some cutting and gluing, I was quite satisfied with its look. Just what I had in mind to break the monotony of the station.

For the roof, I had to give it some deeper thoughts. Replacing the original Atlas roof was a given, but how to do it was more of a problem. My goal was to have a continuous pitch all over the new roof to make it more mundane and generic. This is not a fancy station, just your ordinary rural depot on the old mainline.

The roof really helps to bring everything together

The first problem I encountered was the fact the roof brackets sit lower than the top of the walls. It made sense with the intricate Atlas plastic molded roof, but if you just want to slap a sheet of carboard or styrene to model the roof, you have to add a double layer. Not only this makes the intervention more complicated, but makes the roof extremely thick... i.e., not to scale at all.

Thus I decided to remove about 1mm from the walls so they could be flush with the brackets. Once done, building the roof would just be a matter of gluing together 4 parts together in the right angle.

Speaking of angle, I didn't know what to do at first with the roof overhang over the platform. In front of the station, the roof has a lower pitch that used to fit the Atlas platforms you could add to the station. However, with a much simpler design roof like I intend to create, this lower pitch just look silly. The solution was to replace the long front roof brackets with the shorter ones that can be found on the three other walls. Many leftover brackets where in bad shape, so I had either to rebuild them or simply kitbash the long ones into short ones, which was simpler than I originally thought.

Tichy #8071 window over the original opening

Finally, I also discovered that the chunky Atlas station windows can be replaced with Tichy #8071 double hung 8/8 windows which fit the wall openings. They can be bashed to create the larger front ones without too much effort. I always found that the thick mullions and weird trims provided with the kit looked a little bit silly and over scale. This is another easy way to change the appearance of that ubiquitous structure. Don't just forget to cut off the trim under the window sill so it fits and looks better.

I'm honestly fascinated by the possibilities with the Atlas station and I'm already planning to build another one without reusing already glued models. I already have a few ideas about how I would improve upon my design.

QSSR Mark VI - Bash the Station

Your typical poorly assembled Atlas station from the flea market

As cute as the Atlas station may look, I’ve always thought its ground floor didn’t make any sense. In particular that large baggage door at the back that doesn’t connect to a room that opens on the platform. If you had to place partitions into that footprint, you would get a very small and unpractical baggage warehouse right at the back of the office. That’s the kind of details that bother my architect eye to no end!

A typical early 20th century Intercolonial Railway depot plan

Not far from the Atlas station...

When I was younger, the local model railroad club had a large station made of two Atlas station spliced together. While it looked a little bit silly, I always thought the idea of bashing several kits together to get something more substantial did make sense. Discussing the idea with Chris Mears, he started to send me neat Prince Edward Island Railway stations photos and plans that sure did had a lot in common with the Atlas parts. Interestingly enough, ICR had copied some of PEIR designs and I happened to have a book containing several ICR architectural drawings.

I'm baffled... How can something like that happen?

Fortunately, someone gave our club an assembled Atlas station some years ago and thus I had all the required parts to experiment a little bit. Like most of these pre-built structures you can find at flea markets, it was atrocious and poorly glued. It seems Atlas was THAT kit that most people started (or ended) their modelling careers! Count myself included in that since my building skills back then weren’t that great. But let’s just say I had no regret tearing that building apart. 

Rethinking Atlas station ground floor

Some sketches before committing to the project

Using the old drawings as a starting point, I drawed a few references lines on graph paper and started to play with the parts to make a larger and more logical station. I followed a basic station ground floor plan with a general waiting room, a central office room and a medium sized baggage room. Having that design in mind, I was able to select the right parts for the right functionality. As they say, form follows function.

Disassembling the station

Cutting walls to length

Reassembling walls

I ended up keeping the original Atlas front and left walls and adding a shortened back wall to the front to create the baggage room. The new rear wall was made by splicing together an entire back wall and using heavily kitbashed front and left walls. During all the process, I made sure the roof bracket would always be spaced by 20mm centerline. Using an uneven spacing would have made the building look weird and poorly designed. I was really surprised how everything went together fast and nicely, as it was intended right from the bat!

Replicating a missing baggage door

Et voilà!

For the rest of the kitbash, I will follow some reader’s comment who advised to modify the roof. I will in fact scratchbuild it to a much gentler slope that with fit the roof brackets. I think the Atlas roof was far too much ubiquitous with its unrealistic dormers.

The new enlarged front elevation with the baggage room

New rear wall

While the new kitbashed station isn’t an exact replica of a specific station, it does follow the general arrangement and proportions of a very typical depot that could have been found all over our continent not so long ago. I hope this kitbash may inspire others to try it. After all, older kits are easy to find for a few dollars and provide countless of rewarding hobby hours.

Reassembled structure

The new back... still need to address the old telephone booth