AMB: Railroad rooming house.

Nice to have the opportunity to get back to building wood structures.  Shelby is a crew change point on my railway, so I thought it would be advisable to have some quarters next to the station.  So this American Model Builders kit meets the need.

The model is freelance but I have seen similar structures in the west on the CN line.  Boston Bar comes to mind.  I like the design as it also offers a beanery and superintendents office on the bottom floor. 

 The instructions are simple to follow and for the most part it is a rectangular structure with balcony and stairs.



All the parts are numbered and are laser cut.  The windows and doors as well as the corner trim are peel and stick.  The roofing is a paper peel and stick as well.



Above you can see all the parts laid out.  Nothing too difficult.

 The most tedious part of the build is to rough up the clapboard siding.  There are laser cut lines for the siding but they are not deep enough to provide good relief when stained.  So I took my number 11 exacto and scored them all.  Then I roughed it up by drawing lots and lots of horizontal cuts int he siding.  Finally I wapped it with a wire brush to create insect damage (ala Jimmy Simmons at CSS 10).

I then braced the back to prevent warpage.

The picture above shows the effects of roughing up the boards.  Three light coats of AI were applied to darken the grain abd weather the siding.

 Then I stained the parts using a water based stain.  The brand is from Victoriaville Quebec and is available in Rona.  The brand name is Saman.

 The colours mixed for the siding were 1/3 white wash, 1/3 cherry and 1/3 spice.  It was applied full strength.

 When this dries, the colours will be lighter and the AI applications will be more noticable.

The next step when it is dry will be to apply some grime bragdom powders, highlight the clap boards and add some more AI.

Dick Elwell's Hoosac Valley Lines

Following CSS I had the opportunity to visit Dick Elwell's Hoosac valley Lines in North Adams Mass.  Deep in the Birkshire's it is an ideal setting for the New England Railroad.  Dick is a master model railroader and very fine host.  His style really captures the fall colours and his use of Craftsman Structures is spectacular.  Hand laid track and weathered locomotives and rolling stock really bring the railroad to life.  Thanks again for the opportunity to visit and take pictures.   A previous post of his railroad can be found here.

http://lyonvalleynorthern.blogspot.com/2010/02/springfield-here-we-come.html