(Click on small pics for a larger view)

Some of you who are contemplating building a layout may not have considered large structures - mostly industrial - because their set-up may be rural or mostly passenger. Nevertheless, even rural branch lines had some industry, such as a dairy or a timber mill, or perhaps a quarry. Other modellers may not have large structures because the structures that they want (such as an LMS coaling plant) may not be available commercially - as was my case. (It appears that Superquick is bringing one out.) Yet others may perceive themselves as lacking the skills (or courage) to scratch build or hack into commercially available buildings to create what they want. (As I also was.)

This article is about large structures in general, and specifically about scratch building an LMS concrete coaling plant, surely one of the largest railway structures around in the days of steam. It is also about giving you the confidence to get into scratch building if you have never done it before! (But would like to try.)

The 'problem' of perspective

Firstly, the 'problem' of perspective. A railway modeller colleague of mine of many years' experience has said that: "…railway scenicing is principally about perspective." To understand this comment, consider the following. A model of anything - trains, cars, trees, people or whatever is a representation of reality. Most modellers who are starting out in the hobby do not concern themselves with the intricacies of scale - they just buy track and rolling stock in either N or 00, lay it and run trains. However, when the time comes to go to the next step and scenic their railway, scale does play a part - especially vertical scale.

Any railway layout is a compromise and this is where the problem lies with the coaling stage - they were 95 feet (or 29 metres) high. At 1:76, this is approximately 380mm! If you build one, on your layout it is going to be a dominant and dominating structure which will dwarf everything else. However, this is exactly what the real ones did - they could be seen for miles around. (A parallel would be modelling the cooling towers of UK power stations; they are huge, too.) So, while the structure might be true to scale according to the strict rules, when it is on a layout it may look wrong. The reality is that it is out of proportion in terms of perspective. Because of this, some compromise may have to be made in terms of height because it is the apparent proportion that looks right, rather than the true scale, especially where verticals such as walls are concerned. If this is the case, it can be made shorter without changing the width or the depth. Look for example at the one that was modelled in Plasticard featured in the Railway Modeller of July 2001 page 331.

Conversely, you can build it to true scale and wear it, as I have done. I'm no 'rivet counter', but I felt that if I was going to build a coaling plant, then it was going to be 1:76 and if it looked 'wrong', then so be it, in spite of the 'proportion' argument. If you do build one, then it will be your personal decision as to whether you do it 'true' 1:76 or to shorten it for the look of it so that it does not look out of proportion to its surrounding structures. (If you do shorten it, take it out of the middle section to keep the proportions 'right'.)

Scratch building - grasp the nettle... (or: why do it?)

In March 1923, in an interview with The New York Times, the British mountaineer George Leigh Mallory (1886 - 1924) was asked why he wanted to climb Mount Everest. He replied, 'Because it's there'. I think that I scratch built an LMS 'Number One' coaling plant - a "cenotaph" for the same reason!

Now I readily concede that if you did not know how to scratch-build any building, you would not start with an LMS coaling plant. However, in spite of what it looks like in photographs of both the model and prototype, it is essentially a big box - really a boxed in frame with some additional 'fancy bits'. (And all buildings from a cottage to a warehouse are essentially boxes.) I also found that it is not half as difficult as I imagined that it would be. If you don't have room for one on your layout, or your layout does not lend itself to such a structure, you could just build one for the hell of it and stick it on your coffee table as a conversation piece!

Building the thing

I can only give you the benefit here of how I went about it. You can probably take a few shortcuts. (Really you can build it just by following the illustrations - the words will probably get in your way, which is why they have been kept to a minimum.)

Firstly, I looked at a lot of railway books that contained photos of coaling plants. This gives you a good idea of size relative to other structures, locos and people. One that I found particularly useful because it contained 'working' drawings was LMS Engine Sheds Volume 1 by Chris Hawkins & George Reeve. (ISBN 0 906867 02 9, published by Wild Swan Publications) I took all of my measurements from this drawing. I then drew a scale drawing of the plant on A3 graph paper. To my surprise, the structure is roughly the size of a large box of cornflakes, albeit not as wide, but certainly the same height and depth! I also drew it up in isometric projection (120 degrees) on a sheet of A4 graph paper on a smaller scale to get a three-dimensional view.

Materials

You will need 6mm square timber (I used Tasmanian Oak in a 3m length, but you could use other timber that is available in this size.) cardboard, wood, wood glue and super glue. You will also need matt black and grey acrylic paint. I got my cardboard from my local photo/picture framer as off-cuts for nothing. For fine detail work like hand rails I used florist wire and some 2mm steel rod that I had. I used Plasicard strips for stairs and plastic RSJ for the wagon slides. The whole cost of materials was less than $A10.

As to tools, all that you need is a sharp modelling knife, a fine wood saw and perhaps a Dremel and fine drills (1mm) for the hand rails. You may also need small sash-cramps to hold the frames in place while the glue dries. I didn't, but I wish that I had! Finally, you will need a piece of old track. For weathering I use black and dark grey Mungyo pastel crayons available from art supply shops. (I also use these for weathering rolling stock.)

Method

If you follow the drawings and dimensions you can't go wrong. Firstly, cut all of your pieces for the two side frames, glue them together using the wood glue (undiluted) and let the glue dry. Note that if you are going to use this thing on your layout (rather than a bit of "Art" on your coffee table) you will need to make the clearance dimensions of the first (bottom) stage (where the loco goes under for coaling) to suit your track. For example, my track is on 6mm cork, so rail height determines clearance.

Next, cut the pieces for the front and back frame and glue them into position. Effectively, this process will join the two side frames together. Don't forget to make the front and back frames 12mm narrower to allow for the thickness of the legs, i.e. to get the correct overall width of 160mm. At this stage, also glue in the two extra small pieces at the front, inside the top 'rectangle' that will be used to glue the wagon slide rails to. (This will eventually be up under the canopy.)
When the glue is dry and the structure so far is rigid, add the 'hood' frame. This may be done either as a prefabricated frame which is glued into position, or it may be added to the main frame a piece at a time, i.e. added onto the existing structure. I found the former method the easiest.

The Bunker

At this stage you are now about half-way, for the rest of the process is 'cladding' with cardboard (with the exception of the winding house, which is just a box with windows made separately and added to the top of the frame.)

The bunker that I made was the same shape as a hire bin for the disposal of garden waste or whatever. It is longer than it is wide and its ends are sloped like a punt. I found that it was easiest to make it up and then drop it into position, rather than to make it piece by piece and fit it into the frame. I use undiluted wood glue on the cardboard. It dries fairly quickly and holds well, giving a rigid joint. When you have made the 'coal-holding' part and ensured that it fits correctly (It does not need to be a 'dead' fit. In fact it will drop in better if there is some clearance - about 1mm - between it and the frame) cut a rectangular hole in the centre of a piece of cardboard the same area as the 'bin's' top. Then paint the inside of the bin and the 'lid' matt black before you glue the lid on. Note that if you find that making the sides angle inwards (as I did) then make them straight like a rubbish skip, rather than a true LMS coaling bunker. (Getting the angles in the cardboard right drove me crazy!)

The next step is to paint one side of your cardboard sides matt black and the other matt grey. This is a much better idea than trying to paint inside the structure when it is completed! Alternatively, you can measure the card area needed for front, back and sides, cut it to size and then paint it black one side and grey the other.

The Rest

The fine detail of the hand rails on the stairs and the safety rails were made from fine florists' wire. The rail posts (uprights) in the bunker section were made from some thicker wire that I acquired. I'm not sure if this thicker wire is commercially available, but you could use fine nails and cut the heads off them. For these uprights I drilled 1mm holes at intervals from beneath - through the wood and cardboard - and inserted the lengths of pre-cut wire, after dipping one end into wood glue. Then (as always) leave it to dry. I then drilled a 1mm hole in the 'legs' of the structure level with the tops of the rail posts. Next, slide a length of florists' wire through the hole in one leg and out through the hole in the other leg. The wire should touch the pre-inserted supports for it. Put a drop of super glue on each end of the horizontal wire and a drop on each of the vertical/ horizontal wire intersections. Trim off the excess horizontal wire. Repeat this for the other 3 safety rails.

The winding house is just a rectangular box with windows and doors. To make it, do the following: Make the base platform (the "floor") wider than the rest of the structure so that it sticks out. Then cut the windows out of the front and back pieces of card and glaze them. Then glue the sides and end pieces to the base board. Make the wall around the overhang and glue it (them - the 3 pieces - the front and sides) onto the overhang. For the lip around the hood, make a rectangle of card 5mm wider and longer than the hood and cut the centre out of it to create the opening inside of it and glue it to the hood frame.

As for the ladders, you could buy commercially available ladder kits of plastic or brass, but you will need a lot of them and they 'ain't cheap! (To some extent this is also true of safety trails. You could by plastic fencing and use that.) I made my own ladders and safety rails as well as hand rails on the ladders. It's a pain and it's tedious work, but if you want ladders and hand rails you will have to make this choice. Describing how to make ladders would also be tedious. However, it's only two strips of plastic with lots of little steps glued between them. Don't forget that the ladders go up the sides on an angle, so you will have to glue the treads in at an angle and not straight like an extension ladder. What you will need to do is to make small rectangles of cardboard (or Plasticard) as platforms for the ladders to attach to and to fix the hand rails to.

Finally, I made supports for the ladders and fixed them to the structure to brace them - they are a bit delicate. Having cut the RSJs at an angle (see above) I kept the wedge shaped i.e. triangular off cuts and I used them as supports for the piece of rail that holds the wagon. I also braced the slide rails for the wagon to the structure.

Good luck and have a go - if you stuff it up you can always put the hammer through it - but that will not happen!

Think positive!

Copyright © Peter J.Baddeley 2006