at Evans City, Pa.
A historical model in 1/24
For many years it appeared in "Ripley's Believe It or Not". Just a quaint little small town railroad depot... built entirely over water. Back in the 1970's my grandfather tried to save it, but time, carpenter ants, lack of public support, an expensive and lengthy moving permit process, and lack of money all conspired against him. One day the Chessie's demolition crew came, and it was gone...
The station was constructed on girders strung over the Break Neck Creek, because there was not enough land available on the downtown side of the tracks.
A rather rare view showing the back of the building would provide invaluable details to help construct the model
A color photo of the station as it appeared in the mid 1960's
I knew there would have to be some compromises made in my model. I just didn't have access to a lot of tools or machines that would have made things simpler. I chose Coroplast as a construction medium because it was free from work, fairly easy to cut, and insect and weather proof. The turrets were made from pvc pipe for simplicity. At the end of day 1, it looked like this. It wasn't a very large building, but uncompressed it certainly makes a rather large model!
The interior was reinforced with wood.
The back side, from the above photo. I assume those two little mirror image additions were restrooms. Probably originally with dry hoppers that emptied directly into the creek... yummy!
The best I could come up with to model those stepped 'witches' hats' conical roofs was stacked plastic funnels
To make the building sturdy enough to withstand handling and transport the roof trusses were made from plywood, and a subroof constructed from lathe.
'Glass' was modeled with aluminum furnace tape. It looks very nice and convincing from 5 or so feet away.
Every passenger station needs a baggage cart. This one is at the Restored B&O station at Mars, Pa.
I scratchbuilt this in an hour or so using basswood, coffee stirrers and Ozark Miniatures wheelbarrow wheels.
The look of the original weathered, painted, tin roof was achieved with sandpaper, balsa strips, and speckled paint
It was finished in early December. I wanted to take it to my Grandmother's over Christmas, but an ice storm prevented us from going.
It's first public appearance was at my Grandmother's surprise 85th birthday party (Sadly Grandpa is gone) -- my mother insisted. The next day it was put 'in service' as the centerpiece of a temporary layout at the antique farm machinery showgrounds at Portersville, Pa.
If you compare it carefully to the photographs of the original you can see small differences, but many, many old-timers will recognize it and smile. Other local landmarks will join it as I have time to make them.
Thanks for Looking!
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