The "Original" Kittom Lumber Company. Part #2

[Doctor G]

The neighboring Amish brethren in this part of Kentucky are skilled craftsmen. They construct well made barns and sheds. Kittom Lumber Co asked a few of the Amish to frame up the engine house at rail camp. Once a few logs have been cut up into boards the remainder of the walls and roof will go up. Rail Camp is starting to look the part of a backwoods engine and rolling stock facility.

Here is a prototype inspiration shot in the early part of the 20th century.

The model is a Deerfield River Laser kit and is going together nicely.

Thanks for looking. Doc Tom

 

[zathros]

I think Videos mounted on the nose, and tail of of the train would make an incredibly pleasant video to watch. Get some fiddlin' in there. I play a little violin, and some fiddlin" would really fit in. What an elegant, beautiful layout.

 

[Doctor G]

Thanks Zathros. I will be making a video in the future. I think it would be a lot of fun. A few more structures to come and some development of the scenes before the cameras roll and the fiddles play. Doc Tom

 

[Doctor G]

"Stanley can you hammer a nail?......Well son you just done become a carpenter. Put down your logging axe and saw and lets get this here Engine House built."

Doc Tom

 

[Bill Nelson]

I like seeing the progress.

 

[Doctor G]

I like seeing the progress.

Thanks Bill!!! Here is a little more:
As the sun is setting, today's work on the engine House is wrapping up. The boss man wants Smitty to clear the dirt away so they can install the EH doors. Boss man is pretty cheap and never hires enough men for the job.

What I like about a “O” scale model railroading is the chance to put in nail holes, splitting wood, and growing mold and rot on wooden structures.

Thank you for looking.Doc Tom

 

[Doctor G]

Well, last week Smitty was assigned to dig some dirt so the engine house doors could be hung. Unfortunately, Mr. Smitty went wild with his new “DREMELLO”tool and cut into the electrical wiring in the foam he had forgotten about from last years work. Big Boss Man had to put four guys on the job to dig up the wiring, repair the wiring, replace the dirt and finally hang the engine house doors.

Well, today they saw their work was paid off as the engine house doors swung open revealing a real steam spittin’, fire breathing, Little Porter Lokie ready for a days work………….

………. of moving big timber.

Thanks for looking and hearing my....Errr Smitty's confession

about the cut wiring. Forgetful Doc Tom

 

[Doctor G]

It took a week but Big Boss Man got the boys to hang some windows on the backwoods engine house.

I think these are Grandt line castings. They were distressed and weathered. There ws no material for the glazing. So Evergreen products to the rescue.

I obtained their clear styrene sheet and carefully cut two windows to fit each frame. I toyed with leaving them "glassless" but since this is a mini layout set in winter missing window glass would be noticed.

Thanks for looking. Doc Tom

 

[zathros]

I can diddle on the fiddle, just a liddle'.

 

[Doctor G]

This weeks adventure on the mini logging layout was to build a simple wood burning stove for the engine house. Using an old metalcasting of a 55 gallon drum in “O” scale and bits and pieces of styrene from the scrap box I built up a backwoods stove. The stove pipe is from a piece of shrink tubing.

The wood burning stove was positioned to avoid fouling the locomotives and kept a good distance from the wooden walls to avoid burning down the engine house.

I purchased a package of micro LEDs wired to look like flickering fire and installed it into the stove. The LEDs provide a nice fire effect that will look good on future videos.

One little trick I tried was to make the open firebox doors visible through one of the windows on the outside.

To complete the scene there will be good ole boys sittin’ back in chairs keeping warm and feeding the fire.

Thank you for looking. Doc Tom

 

[Doctor G]

This week I put in some kerosene lanterns in the 1910 backwoods engine house. They are flickering LEDS mounted to a round bottom fuel bowl from the spare parts bin.

I mounted them on shelving above the height of the engines. This gives overall illumination and allows for peaks inside the engine house.

Thanks for L

king.

Doc Tom

 

[bigpetr]

Can not look long enought at this

 

[zathros]

Could you post the schematic for making the LED's flicker. X2 on what "bigpetr" said, some excellent photography on an excellent project.

 

[Doctor G]

Can not look long enought at this

Thanks bigpetr. It has been an enjoyable project. You can pack a lot of detail in to On30 1/48 scale modeling. Tom

 

[Doctor G]

Could you post the schematic for making the LED's flicker. X2 on what "bigpetr" said, some excellent photography on an excellent project.

Hi Z. Unfortunately, I do not have that schematic. The electronics to make the lights flicker are micro packaged in the lead wires to the LED. They are made by Evans Designs www.modeltrainsoftware.com and are inexspensive. Tom

 

[zathros]

Thanks for the link, that's just as good!!

 

[Doctor G]

Took the day off from the clinic today. Placed some rafters on the engine house.

Before sealing it up and putting on the roof I put a few details inside..........including "Old Man of the Woods" warming himself by the fire.

Thanks for looking. Doc Tom

 

[Doctor G]

Two of the Amish Brethren have nailed up a roof on the Engine House at Railcamp. Next to come tar paper rolls and a clerestory roof to let out all that locomotive smoke while the engine simmers through the night.

Here is an overview of the Railcamp Engine House from the posterior view.

Thanks for L

KING

Doc Tom

 

[Doctor G]

2 and a half months later the backwoods engine house is finished.

The tar paper roof will keep snow off the locomotives and the hostlers.

The build of this structure has taken so long that some more Winter trees have sprouted up around the EH.

Thanks for looking. Doc Tom

 

[Bill Nelson]

Love the look of that engine house, especially the moss on the bottom of the wall, have some of that on a section of my entry deck on the back side of my farmhouse.

The wood stove is a neat effect. I got a fire module I was going to put in the grand fireplace of the Union station. Thinking of putting it in the Still that used to be hidden up in the old Gizzard. Trying to find a place for it in the new Gizzard. The new Gizzard is much more crowded than the old one, in spite of being much larger. The only place I have found is right across the ravine from the log transfer at Eagle Rock.