With scenery having progressed through the yard area now, I have begun working on some related structures. The bigger projects to come will be the engine house and sand towers around the diesel service area. Meanwhile I have a few of the DeLuxe office / maintenance sheds, and a BLMA yard office filling some open space, but needed more structures to bring things alive. So I pulled out a couple brass Alkem yard light tower kits that had been sitting in a box for years. They arent perfect for what Espee had in this yard, but I was ok with them for now until something better comes along (or I want to take the time to scratchbuild new top sections). It was a bit of a challenge for me in getting the tower sections bent. I cobbled together some straight edges and clamps to hold things square while I proceeded through the bends, but felt uneasy about making the wrong move due to lack of proper tools.
Luckily things went well, and the rest of the project fell together pretty smoothly. I soldered the larger sections that were readily accessible and used ACC for assembly of the finer details. I built two of these kits together in an effort to be more productive with the assembly process. The lamp holders still need to be bent into shape, and then they will receive some black paint. They each have a home on opposing ends of the yard.
While I had sharpened my skills with these kits, it was a good time to drag out a pair of old brass yard tower kits I had from Traincat. These were a close match to what was on Espee’s property back in the day.
With these kits being a bit more complicated, I decided to get a 3-1/2” metal seamer tool from Harbor Freight, to ensure each bend was sharp and square. See link Hand Seamer. I would have preferred a few more line up keys on some steps of the overall kit, but they were fun projects to build otherwise.
I have all the glass cut out and ready for Alclad tinting, and I recently picked up the Vallejo paint colors for both these projects.
East end Eugene Yard
You can barely see the other family members at the opposite end of the yard.
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