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These craftsman kits are based on the prototype.
The Northern Pacific was a very interesting railroad.
Not only did they roam some of the most beautiful country side around but they
did it with class. Perhaps it wasn't the most eligant, but it was all railroad.
To support this effort the NP, like many other railroads
developed standard plans for their buildings. They had a certain feel and style
that identified with the parent railroad.
These standard designs guided the construction of facilities
across the system. Local requirements, readily avaiable materials and other
factors such as the construction crew's techniques could modify the plan, but
still they carried the NP brand.
The first NP model I built was chronicled in Mainline Modeler
magazine. It was a model of the Standard Plan of 1899 1st Class 70 ft. Brick
Round House. I like that name. Unfortunately, or at least it was a hard taught lesson,
I followed the 1899 vintage prototype plans exactly and after the fact, learned that
11 ft. wide engine doors are, well, sort of really tight, especially on a model!
Only the tiniest of locomotives would ever fit in. So much for Proto:87 for me!
I wouldn't make the same mistake twice though the railroad
wisely increased the engine door width on my next NP roundhouse model, the 90 ft.
Brick Round House based on the standard Plan of 1910. At 13 ft. we are still tight
but it works.
Just like the real railroads we model railroaders are ususally
very tight on space. When it comes to roundhouses we usually make a major mistake.
We don't allow enough room. We should blame it on the model railroad press. Almost
every plan you look at shows the roundhouse crammed right up against the turntable
pit.
WRONG, wrong, wrong!
As you get closer you actually start wasting room as your rear
walls start to balloon out. The real railroads seldom did this. Instead, the
roundhouse was placed well back so the stalls were narrower (wide roofing is
expensive!) and there could be more stalls. The NP standard plan is based on a
60 stall circle with 23'-6" rear walls. The face of the engine house was set
back 139'-9" from the turntable center.
This makes a lot of sence to me. Think about it. You also gain
additional room in front of the roundhouse to exhibit your locomotives or allow
the longer ones to stick out a little. The real railroads did this you know.
I shouldn't do this, but okay, I broke down and made some wider
rear walls for those of you who just don't have the space or have already
commited a certain space and there is no way to modify it. Unfortunately, if you
choose this option you will not be able to take advantage of the cast inspection
pits and brick floor option. Because they are cast to the specific angles they
cannot be modified.
As I said, the NP had a whole series of standard plans. Next
we have what I call the NP Brick Freight House however that name is somewhat
misleading. Actaully, this building was used more as a railroad supply and
storage house. I've seen them at Centralia, Auburn and Pasco, Washington yards
and no doubt they exist, or existed, at many other locations.
Next on the NP list we have the Missisippi St. Tower. This too
is an example of a standard plan (for a 32 lever Interlocking Electric Machine),
modified with a flat pitched gabled roof. There are several other standard plans
for interlocking towers, both larger and small, that I might consider doing in
the future.
Currently, I am working on another addition to the NP line, a
back shop addition for the roundhouse. This model could also stand alone as
either a car repair shop or as a two-stall brick engine house.
With the purchase of Builders In Scale, these projects have
been delayed a little. The good thing is I'm now working on some laser kits
for the NP modeler. Just check out the NP Hotel at Easton! And yes, I'm working
on Lester, too. I'd better not say any more, until we are certain of release dates.
Indeed, the Northern Pacific Railway was a very interesting
railroad, one well worth modeling and these are excellent kits with which to
get you started.
HO SCALE KITS by C. C. CROW
ON-LINE HOW TO CLINICS
HOW TO CLINICS
Here are a bunch of my on-line how to work with Hydrocal mini-clinics.
Each kit includes specific instructions of course- and there are lots of ways
to do things, but here are my thoughts, tips and techniques.
Coloring BRICK
My traditional techniques for coloring and mortaring brick.
Coloring STONE
With a little practice you can color realistic stone walls too. Here's how I do it.
What are we going to do now that Testors/Floquil has dropped their Flo-Stains?
SCRATCH-BUILDING STOCK
Standard Common Brick- fine
If you like to scratch-build or just want to practice before you do, check out my
stock castings. These are the same building blocks I use to create my kits.
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