Coal Dock Decked

The sticks to finish the rest of the coal dock decking arrived on Monday, and I wasted no time staining, chopping and gluing them in place. I impressed myself not only by estimating the number of boards exactly, but by doing the arithmetic in my head! The India ink I have used thus far came […]

110 Posts for the Coal Dock

The laser-cut base for the Coal Dock made the alignment of all 110 posts a diddle. I made the holes so that the base held them, but not too snugly. So, each post slipped into its hole with a minimal fuss, and there was a little room to allow for straightening if required, but also […]

Coal Dock Base

For the most part, the coal dock is a simple model. The tricky bit is going to be getting the legs all evenly spaced and plumb. To help with that, I decided to cut a base with the laser. This, in turn necessitated a rough 3D design, which took an evening to put together. I […]

Little Sister

My post about the engine lead buildings prompted me to pull #10 out of the roundhouse, where it’s been languishing since giving up its decoder to #622 some years ago. This was the first time I’d ever seen #10 next to #1120, and the difference in size was so stark, I wanted to share it. […]

Coaling Two Engines

My last post about the coaling station prompted me to re-examine my sources. I found a second mention in the 1908 Bridges and Buildings book, which gives 92’x12’ as the actual size of the coal dock. There were half a dozen other coal docks on the Canada Atlantic, and they were all a more modest […]

Engine Lead Buildings

Thanks to Marty McGuirk for reminding me to think about the story I want to tell when putting together this scene. I’ve always maintained that the whole layout should build from right to left, getting more and more lively and optimistic as it goes. Here at the right end of the layout, it should be […]

Mock-up Coaling platform

The information on the coaling platform in Pembroke is scant. We have a mention that there was one in the 1908 GTR Bridges and Buildings book, with the note “Shovelled into Ten.” There is a turntable-long rectangle on the Grand Trunk Railway’s 1918 Plan of Pembrok (NMC 145203-1) that indicates its location along the engine […]

716 Mary Street Gets Clad

The plywood core for 716 Mary Street, coupled with accurately-cut siding makes for super square, solid construction. The model is in danger of starting to look like a little Ontario house. I wish I’d thought of curtains before putting all the walls together. They’re going to be nuisance now!

Laser cut bits for 716 Mary St

I always said that the Cricut is a gateway drug for a laser cutter. The more I use my XTool, the more that feels true. With the Cricut, I frequently have to redo parts where the knife has dulled and failed to cut through, or where the adhesive mat has failed and the material dragged […]

A Waste of Time on the Cricut

For June, I’d hoped to finish the house I started for the Cricut clinic back in May. However, the wall technique, with which I’d hoped to replicate something like novelty siding was an utter disaster. At the clinic, I demonstrated a technique that Greg Kenelly thought looked promising for replicating N scale novelty siding. Our […]