Building a complete 1841 Depot. roundhouse, shops, train shed and station.

zathros

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The historical significance, the accommodation for the immigrants, this really was an important place, and needs to be remembered. You really chose an excellent subject for building. Hard to imagine how many people went through there. :)
 
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Gandolf50

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That switch work with the hand throws is truly wonderful to look at! I can almost see it with the ballast and gravel as it sits!
 

toptrain1

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Well nice to see everybody. I have the roof where it still needs work, is removable , and not falling apart. I still would like to put in skylights I cut out of a few Revell engine houses but really am afraid that handling the roof as much as I will have to will break it. Well well see how it all goes in the next two weeks. Heres some photos.
frank
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toptrain1

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A little something else I will add to this build to show that what I do is insignificant to what was really done.
frank
*** Problems,Problems,Problems ***
*** Problems, problems, my problems! They come with the fact this is no kit pre designed by a very much better equipped, professional model builder, with great information on the building he is making a kit for. My problems are nothing as compared to the engineering challenges faced by the engineers who designed and built this first railroad from Powel’s Heck on the west bank of the North River in East Jersey as it was known then, to New Brunswick.
*** Problems,Problems,real Problems ***
** Just think of what happened and what this engineer who was assigned to build this railroad was thinking. Man this guy probably attended an engineering school or was trained by the people who have been building the first railways in England. He most likely was given to view a ruff drawn map of the proposed route that he must build, and he seen his assignment to included 3 rivers to cross and Bergen Hill as his main problems. His first section of the railroad to build is from Powel’s Heck to the City of Newark, the hill being the most difficult obstruction, the next the two rivers. Well, the Patterson and Hudson River Railroad have already bridged the Passaic and Hackensack Rivers, how bad an obstacle can the rivers be. So the young engineer and his group of assistances get in the carriage for the trip up hill. The driver takes them to a viewing place called “Point of Rocks”. On the way up the carriage road follows a cut into the rock of Bergen Hill. It has been naturally made by thousands of years of the runoff of rain. This will be the route of the cut his workers must excavate for the line of tracks up and over the hill. Now at Point of Rocks he views Powel’s Heck and the ferry to New York City. It is high tide in the North River and Powel’s Heck is but an island connected to the land by a road. Many small islands are seen to the east where both the railroad tracks and the depot must be constructed. Most of the acres are underwater. These islands are dotted with trees and shack, fisherman shacks! Seen at low tide all these islands are connected by roadways which the tide covers. A major problem not known has to do with the swamp the road must cross on the west of the Hackensack River and between this river and the Passaic River. The road that appears on the map as straight but it winds back and forth through the swamp, connecting many high points and filling in between. The railroad must go straight across. The excavation of the cut across Bergen Hill has been going on for a while now and the rocks and fill removed is being used by dumping it in the swamp to build a base for tracks. At the end of the day a big pile of rocks is seen on top of the swamp. This is good BUT next morning the rocks have disappeared. Well just put more in, is the contractors answerer to this problem. This goes on and on. The problem becomes a dilemma. Flooding occurs even after a small rain fall. This dumping must stop. After some time this problem disappears and the river starts acting normal again all the fill now has been piled up and stored on land with most going over to the river side of the hill and used as fill there. This isn’t made up but recorded in the railroads history in Bulletin 88 of the Railway and Locomotive Historical Society. Also in this History is the fact that this flooding reoccurred after the PRR took over the line and was widening the cut for more tracks. They also thought they could just throw their rocks and fill into the swamp.
* Now about those first 2 bridges they must build over the Hackensack and Passaic rivers. The rights to build bridges over the rivers were controlled by two different corporations and a third the Newark Turnpike claimed they controlled the right to build any kind of road across this swamp to the City of Newark. They had monopolies on theses rights. The State of New Jersey gave them these rights. So right now they are stopped. They will lose their right to build this railroad unless something is worked out. The New Jersey Railroad had to make a deal with all 3 corporations. What they wound up doing was buy or trade stocks till they had control of all three corporations. Once that was done they were able to build across these 2 rivers and the swamp between, don’t forget the filling in of the North River. The problems just went on and on. You would think that the problems in building this less than 30 mile long railroad would have an end to them, but more Monopolies and Cities were waiting with their problems and demands and still the engineering needed to excavate the cut, design and build three long bridges, and lay track across swamps all needed to be answered. Progress isn't easy, and it is expensive.
* Almost all here is Historical facts. The problems weren’t. They happened. I just embellished and condensed them into this story. This was not an easy railroad to build!

________________________________________
toptrain
 

Doctor G

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Very nice and interesting backstory. I am always impressed with the work our forefathers did to build this country. I am learning a lot of history watching your model progress. Thanks for sharing! Dr.Tom
 

zathros

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Those were rough times too. A lot of people to pay off, and other influences running the companies and right of ways that weren't on paper. Quite incredible they got it done. Maybe the need was really seen, but like always, everybody wants their piece of the pie. ;)
 

toptrain1

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Well guys I have a roof for the depot but it still needs work. The most obvious thing is it still looks like wood. Before I paint it white I got to wood putty the 4 corner seams and get them sanded to where you don't see any seams. Next would be the horizontal details across the facid. Then I'll paint it white and see how it looks. Last is the columns. I ordered 20, 7 inch columns that are fully ornamented with fluted columns, stepped bases, and capitals. The capitals are the ones that look like a opened scroll. They came in either 4". 5". or 7 ". The space is a even 5 and 1/8". I can think of some of the problems in cutting the columns, but I'll wait and see how it goes before I panic.
frank

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toptrain1

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Very nice. I like the clock tower a lot. Where did that come from? Doc Tom
Hey Tom. The clock tower came from a buildings that I took apart for windows and doors for this project. Here is what it looked like without its roof. i think it is a model of Independence Hall in Philly
frank

well I'd like to post a photo but site need s more space.
 

toptrain1

Well-Known Member
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**John, Tom, I am glad that you liked the Video. Being a pessimist and not having the columns done I started on them yesterday. I'm sitting at the computer this morning with my cup of coffee. I got only 4 put together using wood. Michael's still hasn't notified me that i could pick up the plastic columns I ordered. Micharl's is a Craft store that is here in Bayonne and also online. Their name popped up when I was searching for the columns made by Wilton, A company that makes baking supplies for these plastic temple columns. They are used on wedding cakes and other fancy cakes to tear the sections one on top of the other. Well I only got 4 made of wood because of the difficulties working in a small area. I had many difficulties making the columns. I had to make a jig to hold the column together till the glue set. It just came to me that people just may not or really don't want to know what it takes to build a project like this. So I'll stop and wait till i have something done to show.
frank

link flicker album on build;
https://www.flickr.com/photos/30431536@N03/43717621930/in/album-72157674632190762/
 
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