Now it's time to detail it all. Pick your source photos and a date and go for it. My date is summer 1977. Choices can be made to follow the prototype or freelance it if your want to use this interesting structure on your fantasy line. The North Conway paint scheme would be a real challenge for example.
Photos of the prototype and model are presented here to show how the baggage room doors were mounted on the south side of the building. This photo is also a good reference to the rafters, sofit, corbels and shake siding. This mount can be built from scrap window and door trim material in the kit. The 2x10 mount board runs from the window west of the door across the notched out corbel, flush across the top door jamb and butts up to the next corbel east of the door. You may need to use two layers to space this mount board out from the wall properly. If you used shakes just cut an extra piece of the shake scrap to make the wall meet the mount board. Use ACC at each end to keep this structural member from "crawling" on the adhesive backing.
The barn door hardware is made from styrene angle ACC glued to the mount board with a small filler piece added on the extended end of the rail. Sand the angle corner to round it and make it look like formed galvanized steel. The mounting brackets are just thin strips of the shingle scrap pressed into place. You don't need glue. (See model and prototype for reference). The door hangers are .010 styrene strips which just project up into the barn door hardware. The door is positioned wherever you want it with double back magic mending tape on the back so it can be relocated when winter comes.
For freelancers who want another mounting method for the doors, you can make a simple sliding door by attaching a styrene channel section to the inside wall above the door. A small section of angle on the floor hidden behind a pile of boxes allows the door to slide back and forth until it comes to rest with the "broom" or a box providing a back up stop at the end of travel. The door can be removed by sliding it all the way west to escape the track and then the sub floor can be removed. The doors hold the floor in place when installed this way.
The platform side baggage door on the prototype is actually two doors swinging out from the center line and mounted on large strap hinges. At the time of reconstruction as the Museum in late 1980s both baggage doors were sheathed over inside and out to make them weather tight.
Doors, door jambs and sill plates all need to be "distressed" or weathered to get some character. I use a variety of emory boards as sanding tools. Take an old one and just rub the wear points lightly. The screen door is built from a scrap of lace ribbon and scrap door trim lumber. Hinges are shingle scrap on both the screen door and the coal bin door.
The utility power entry on the exterior bathroom bay is distinctive and was changed over the years. Power pole provided a weather head mount at the top feeding through a conduit running down the pole, underground and back up the exterior wall to the meter box. All these items are styrene forms. The meter housing is an EMD marker lens from the scrap box with a simple score line across the back and paint daubs to indicate the meter. Scale utility poles are created using styrene tube shoved over a bamboo skewer glued in place with ACC along the length of the skewer. This makes an indestructible pole. Taper these on a sander or scrape them to taper with an old zona saw. Cross bucks are cut from toy telephone poles with your rail nippers and then modified for each pole. Conduit is just various size styrene tube and the clamps are small strips of tape cut to size. Note that these utility poles were removed in the 1980s and a new weather head and junction box installed at the North West corner.
The second pole was for telephone, telegraph and had back to back crossbucks with signal boosters hung under them. This junction was connected to the station with two conduits extending to the ground. Insulators can be amber, white, green, brown and all mixed up. I paint them with a base coat color and then top them with gloss amber lens paint from Tamya.
Nenana signs are paper cutouts applied with white glue over white primered wood back boards. Let them dry overnight and give them two coats of gloss clear to seal the paper grain and keep em clean. I attached these with two short pieces of wire mounted vertically on the back which then fit into holes drilled in the roof. They are now removable for maintenance. Other details here are the fire ladder from the residence living room window and the electrical "hitching posts" outlets on the ground floor.
Access to the attic is via the roof mounted ladder extending to the roof vent box. This is a challenge to build the ladder and have it appear "dainty" the next one will be a success and will be built from styrene 2x4 rails and 1x3 rungs. You get the idea what was done here with wood using 2x6 rails and 2x4 rungs which approximates the original.
"Stuff" on the roof brings a model to life. The scraps of lumber on the roof are strategically located. Some pieces keep ice and snow from sliding off over the door ways. Others provide foot holds for maintenance folks installing and removing storm windows or working on chimneys. The bathroom window curtains must match the 1970's plastic shower curtain. The plumbing vent serves the bath and kitchen plumbing. Next to the baggage room door is a box for waybills.
A foundation is required to secure the model on your railroad or diorama. I used 1/8 by 3/16 strip wood to make a perimeter foundation. Two flat head screws go through the building floor, beneath the drop in detail floors, and secure the first floor onto the foundation. The building is now removable for service. The grading around the building adds depth to the scene as shown with the truck delivery on the track side. This ground form was created with Hydrocal applied quite wet as a first coat with a small sponge. The second layer then will bond better and in places is about 1/8 inch thick providing the grading around the structure and tracks. The ballast and ground cover is applied with "wet" water in a light spray followed with a solution of 1 part white glue and 3 parts water placed with an eyedropper. Tall grass and yarrow weeds with white flowers are made from fine fibered packing twine. Unravel about an inch at each end of an 8 inch strand of twine. Dye it with waste green paint diluted with water and alcohol. Let it dry overnight and then hold the top of each clump with old tweezers while you cut it off to length with scissors, quickly apply super glue to the "roots" and plant the clump upright. They usually stand right up and you can pick at it so it looks like grass not chunks of twine.
Every photo of the Nenana Depot shows mud puddles. These are just the surface of the foam core paper, painted "mud puddle" tan and covered with three layers of gloss. These forms were sketched out on the foam core before the ground forms were started so they would be left flat, the secret to it looking like water.
Trash cans changed over the years. Mine are 55 gallon drums with sanitary home built steel lids with swinging doors, painted yellow.
Train Order Boards were a standard feature at all Alaska Railroad stations. There are none on the market quite like these. They are made from 7 basic components some of which you can buy and others you must fabricate. It was a three evening adventure making the first one. Start with Tomar Industries, parts as follow:
One #6013 4" long ladder, one #6054 Finials, one #6026 Train Order Brackets, one 6063 Base Round. In addition you will need about 4 inches of brass tubing in each of the following sizes: 5/32, 1/8, 3/32, 1/16. You can scale this out pretty well by looking at the photos and adhering to this fact, each of the three succeeding sections of pipe that make up the mast has ten foot of exposure. The mast sections all telescope over each other and are soldered together, except for the finial which is part of a separate assembly that holds the arms. If you want to make these operational and add a light source keep this piece a slip fit on top of the mast. The ladder section is bent at the top and bottom and the long Train Order Brackets are soldered on the fifth and twelfth rung from the top of the ladder. The ladder is then threaded down over the mast and affixed with a little Goo so it can be removed later for service if required. The two arms are dissimilar in layout with counter weights and lenses laid out so they can share a two lens single white light source mounted between the arms on the back side of the mast. These are fabricated from .040 flat brass with the lens holders and counter weights built up with sections of 1/8 and 3/32 tube soldered on and then filed and polished. Horizontal the arms show red light at night when you want the approaching train to stop. I plan to finish the arms with bell cranks and links to a Tortoise switch machine to make them operational in the future. I decided to leave it clean brass for a while to admire my handiwork before it gets painted antique black.
There are a few more details, plus some trash and broken bottles before the scene is done. You may want to add some of these commercial items to finish your scene.
Master Creations: Two Door Knobs & Plates #
20747 $1.50
Grant Line: 4 wheel baggage wagon # 5033
Some items I am still looking for are a street sign for Front and A street and a good stop sign on a unistrut post. I guess I'll have to make it. Also need a furled flag for the flag post. The stone monument will come next summer when I can visit the depot in good weather. I plan to clean the top of the brass letters on the monument and then take a series of digital photos of the surface. With some luck I'll be able to print the finished plate about 5/8 by 1/2 inch and still be able to read it.
So, The Nenana Depot as of 1977 is built. Here are several views of the continuing work:
I'll continue to add interior detail as I locate it.
I have protected my diorama inside a form fitting card board box with a
liner in the bottom. Boxes with add on detail and vehicles for the
scene are in the bottom of the box and the foam core base sits on top of
those boxes. The lid flaps are closed and held in place with cord
ties around some bolts and washers held in place with cap nuts that protrude
from the lower flaps through the top flaps.
I am now collecting items to build the Nenana Depot in a Christmas winter scene about Dec 20, 1944. The war time black out has been ignored and the Depot waiting room is hosting Santa Claus and the Christmas train provided by the men of the United States Army 714th Railway Operating Battalion. A wartime Consolidation and three coaches are parked on the platform while the crew enjoys a pot luck community dinner and Santa does his duty with the kids. Wait until you see that tree!
It's been fun writing this account and it has kept me on task. I probably missed some major step while burdening the reader with minutia. If so let me know what is wanting and I'll try and fill in any gaps. I hope to see what other modelers are doing with the Nenana kit. Let's make these fly off the shelf and maybe, just maybe we will see other Alaska Railroad prototype buildings under way.
Best of Modeling to you all, Patrick
Durand
