peterbunce
1880's Colorado Narrow gauge on 45mm track
In the recent issues of the ?Narrow Gauge & Shortline Gazette? magazine there have been adverts for a kit of a hotel, the drawings of which are from the long running series by Harry Brunk on his layout (recently sold) on the narrow gauge ?Up Clear Creek?
Through the kind assistance of both Richard Smith (of MLS) and Bob Brown the owner of the magazine, I have a set of plans of the building. It is quite tall being three stories high: which rather over-powered my small hamlet for my railroad (the kit is to ¼? scale and being made of Hydrocal plaster, and as my scale is larger I could not use it). I have bought the magazine for a long time but of course the plan (from May/June 1989) was just before I started buying the magazine ? hence the request for a copy of it.
The plans were studied, and the chief planning officer who naturally is SWMBO, who is also in charge of the cash reserves, (though I do have most of the material in stock), for the town was asked for ?planning permission? for a small hotel (just like the song, sung by Frank Sinatra and others) ? eventually, after much drawing and scribbling, on my part and discussions were completed to a reasonably satisfactory conclusion. These made a ?mock-up? of the building a good idea, so that was done in heavyweight corrugated cardboard, and displayed on its intended foundation slab.. The committee (of two: me the builder and my wife, holder of the keys and cash), again discussed it and permission was granted subject to certain conditions.
First it will be only two stories high ? most of the buildings in my hamlet are single story and it will still ?tend to dominate? the area, but it managed to grow in width sufficiently to add a window to the width, and the building will be made to look like a wooden building, it also gained what I call a ?Western shop front? that was used in early hotel buildings in Telluride and other early mining towns of about 1880ish, you see my library does sometimes, produce ideas.. The result is quite different to the plans that I started with!
Many windows are needed for the building ? as usual they are the first things to make as they provide the size for the holes in the walls, to accept them. That meant 28 sash windows, each windows being made of a total of 44 pieces, a shop front, and 3 doors as well, were needed. So it was time to start cutting 2and 3mm strips if styrene, for them, and make a new matrix for them to be built on, and build them; some are smaller than the rest so at least there was a (very) slight relief. The window frames themselves are made from a couple of layers of 1/2mm plasticard, and the outer frames are two layers at right angles of 1mm plasticard.
The ?Western? shop front needed large pieces of ?glass? well it is clear styrene ? from CD cases with all the edges cut off with my small circular saw working overtime on cutting parts. It has been assembled bit by bit with some multiple layers of plasticard for the 4 pillars; the main corner ones will be further strengthened when the building is assembled with some right angled section PVC strip over them. The basic design is taken from the Grandt Line one, which is to a different scale.
The wall are scored by pushing an Olfa cutter across them at 10mm centers, after the windows are cut out with a fretsaw, drill a hole in the window hole(to be cut out) with a drill to let the blade be fed through, and to allow it to be removed when done.
The size of the hotel will be approx. 15? deep x 11? wide, x 19? high not including the chimneys.
Well that is just past 700 words, saving another 1000, here is the first photo of half the walls and most of the windows, though some more are needed and are being produced now. The windows in the wall have the final pieces added; those in front are without the extra pieces.
Through the kind assistance of both Richard Smith (of MLS) and Bob Brown the owner of the magazine, I have a set of plans of the building. It is quite tall being three stories high: which rather over-powered my small hamlet for my railroad (the kit is to ¼? scale and being made of Hydrocal plaster, and as my scale is larger I could not use it). I have bought the magazine for a long time but of course the plan (from May/June 1989) was just before I started buying the magazine ? hence the request for a copy of it.
The plans were studied, and the chief planning officer who naturally is SWMBO, who is also in charge of the cash reserves, (though I do have most of the material in stock), for the town was asked for ?planning permission? for a small hotel (just like the song, sung by Frank Sinatra and others) ? eventually, after much drawing and scribbling, on my part and discussions were completed to a reasonably satisfactory conclusion. These made a ?mock-up? of the building a good idea, so that was done in heavyweight corrugated cardboard, and displayed on its intended foundation slab.. The committee (of two: me the builder and my wife, holder of the keys and cash), again discussed it and permission was granted subject to certain conditions.
First it will be only two stories high ? most of the buildings in my hamlet are single story and it will still ?tend to dominate? the area, but it managed to grow in width sufficiently to add a window to the width, and the building will be made to look like a wooden building, it also gained what I call a ?Western shop front? that was used in early hotel buildings in Telluride and other early mining towns of about 1880ish, you see my library does sometimes, produce ideas.. The result is quite different to the plans that I started with!
Many windows are needed for the building ? as usual they are the first things to make as they provide the size for the holes in the walls, to accept them. That meant 28 sash windows, each windows being made of a total of 44 pieces, a shop front, and 3 doors as well, were needed. So it was time to start cutting 2and 3mm strips if styrene, for them, and make a new matrix for them to be built on, and build them; some are smaller than the rest so at least there was a (very) slight relief. The window frames themselves are made from a couple of layers of 1/2mm plasticard, and the outer frames are two layers at right angles of 1mm plasticard.
The ?Western? shop front needed large pieces of ?glass? well it is clear styrene ? from CD cases with all the edges cut off with my small circular saw working overtime on cutting parts. It has been assembled bit by bit with some multiple layers of plasticard for the 4 pillars; the main corner ones will be further strengthened when the building is assembled with some right angled section PVC strip over them. The basic design is taken from the Grandt Line one, which is to a different scale.
The wall are scored by pushing an Olfa cutter across them at 10mm centers, after the windows are cut out with a fretsaw, drill a hole in the window hole(to be cut out) with a drill to let the blade be fed through, and to allow it to be removed when done.
The size of the hotel will be approx. 15? deep x 11? wide, x 19? high not including the chimneys.
Well that is just past 700 words, saving another 1000, here is the first photo of half the walls and most of the windows, though some more are needed and are being produced now. The windows in the wall have the final pieces added; those in front are without the extra pieces.
It's one of the best books I have come across for modellers.. Pricey tho' but Chrimbo is 
