Improved roundhouse wall parts

Today’s lesson: when you’re cutting many window panes, don’t aim to cut right through unless you’re willing to babysit the Cricut. If the panes are cut right through, then they may pop off the cutting mat, and eventually the blade will land on one of the freed squares. Then, dragging the square around like a kid […]

Learning from Roundhouse Test Cut

Well, this is why we test! As you can see, something went horribly wrong with the studs this time out. They are the same .034″ dimension (3″ in HO) as on the previous test wall, but for some reason they came out thinner this time. Indeed they are so thin, and perhaps the blade is getting […]

Roundhouse ready to test

It’s a sad reality that creating models with new tools like the Cricut leads to more time in front of the computer. What’s worse, my wife and kids are never even feign enthusiasm when I show them the output of a night’s drawing. I doubt you are interested either. The partially tested plan is to make the roundhouse […]

The right time to find a mistake

In software development, we call the prevention of defects earlier in the process “shift left testing.” The idea is that if you can find a bug earlier in the development process, it is less expensive to fix it. Tonight I was just about ready to go and upload my roundhouse side walls to the Cricut […]

Test wall for Pembroke roundhouse

In 1908, the Pembroke roundhouse was listed in “fair” condition. It stood for another 48 years until it burned. So, I read “fair” to mean that it was not dilapidated, but also, perhaps not first class. I speculate, therefore, that perhaps it wasn’t painted. The other challenge with the Pembroke roundhouse is that it is […]

Roundhouse Sheathing

I’m starting to think about modelling the roundhouse, with a view to taking it to the PNR regional meet in Salmon Arm in a month and a half (!). From Del Rosamond’s notes, we know that it had “Colonial Siding,” which was apparently similar to clapboard siding, but with full-thickness boards. Clapboards are tapered. Now […]

Ghost Buildings Come to Pembroke

Last night I put the last of the roofs on what model railroaders call building mockups. I think architects would call these white foam core boxes “massing models.” As with an architect, they enable me to study the shapes from various angles. I may colour them with soft pastels at some point, but right now […]

Roundhouse doors may be too close for magnets

It’s been a rainy weekend here in Vancouver – at last! The kids and I spent a lazy afternoon raking through the Lego. They’re working on some very inventive cars, and I’m plugging away at mocking up the mechanism for the roundhouse doors. I foolishly went out into yesterday’s storm to get some magnets at Lee […]

Roundhouse pits should be oversize in baseboards

What was I thinking when I routed out the inspections pits in the baseboard? I made them just slightly over 4′ wide, which is the correct width. However, I left almost no space for a veneer of any sort. The result was that I was forced into making concrete pits with .010″ thick walls. Following […]

Driving roundhouse doors magnetically takes more metal than expected

I arrived home this evening to find the Boy had taken a stab at working up the roundhouse door mechanism in Lego. Like all the people on my team at work, he had very high-level instructions, and as with them, he exceeded my expectations. I’m sure there are more bevel gears in his collection, and […]