Master Model Railroader

"An NMRA member qualifies as a Master Model Railroader when he or she has obtained at least seven of the eleven Achievement Certificates provided that he or she has earned at least one Achievement Certificate in each of the four areas of the Regulations. Earning the title of Master Model Railroader is the ultimate goal for many participants in the Achievement Program."

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Structure Model 4 - ATSF Automobile Unloading Ramp

After all this building with styrene, I wanted to try my hand on a totally scratchbuild structure. I also wanted to use strip wood instead of styrene. To find a suitable structure I browsed my Santa Fe plans and decided on a Standard Automobile Unloading Platform.



These ramps were completely build up with wood planks. That's what I did. I literally build it up board-by-board using the standard plan. As every board that I cut counted toward 1 scratchbuild part, I cannot tell how many I've glued to that ramp.




I painted the sideboards Colonial Yellow and weathered the planks with a mix of black india ink and isopropyl alcohol. I also punched nailholes where the planks touched the frame timbers.


The platform is used with 2 tracks. Both are for head-end unloading and one for side unloading.


The track bumpers are incorporated into the platform.

 
Although this is not a very fancy structure, it brought me the highest score until then, 97 points

Construction: 35/40
Detail: 12/20 (there is not much to it)
Conformity: 22/25
Finish: 13/25 (OK I did not stain the planks before I installed them)
Scratchbuilding: 15/15 (there were no commercial parts)


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