Cowra - Construction, July 2027
The former Railway Institute building at Cowra. Lynch St is behind the building on the left. Cowra Station can be seen in the background on the right.
The Railway Institute building at Cowra is located south of the station forecourt in the area between Lynch St and the access road to the station car park / forecourt. The simple timber and fibro structure with corrugated iron roof was constructed in 1921 and was used primarily as a social hub for rail staff. Today it is used by local community groups and small businesses (at the time of writing it was being used by Cowra Ballet School). As the building is set back towards Lynch St and at an angle to the line of the railway tracks, the model version is being constructed in low relief and will sit at an angle against the backdrop. So far a shell has been constructed using 1mm thick styrene and positioned on the layout to see how it will look. This will be clad with another layer to represent the finished walls with allowances made for windows. Further detailing will follow.
The styrene shell for the model version of the Railway Institute building placed where it will be located on the layout. This will receive a lot more work before it is ready to install.
A couple of roads have been prepared and installed using sandpaper to represent the bitumen surface, in the same manner as was done for part of the station platform surface (as shown in the previous update). Coarser grade sandpaper was used for the road surfaces: 120-180 grit for the roads compared to 240 grit for the platform surface. After the sandpaper for the roads was cut out and pre-painted it was fixed to the XPS foam scenery with contact cement. These roads still need weathering and detailing.
Part of Kendall St road surface and kerbing. The area at the bottom end will be sceniced with dirt, gravel and weeds. Kendall St is a dead-end road that finishes behind where the fettlers shed is located.
Concrete kerb and guttering was fabricated using styrene strip. This is being fixed in place on either side of the sandpaper road surfaces. The kerb and guttering is constructed using strips of Evergreen styrene #116 (0.015” x 0.125”) and #143 (0.040” x 0.060”). The #143 is placed on edge and glued with MEK on top of and flush with one edge of the #116, forming an L-shape. For the drainage grate, a small piece of Tichy steel roof walkway was cut out and painted a dull grey colour. A gap in the piece of styrene #116 was left matching the length of the drainage grate. The drainage grate was fixed in place in the gap with MEK solvent. A short length of Evergreen styrene #153 (0.060” x 0.060”) was fixed behind the #143 where the drainage grate is located. The whole assembly was cut to length to suit each area it needs to go and pre-painted a suitable concrete colour before installation on the layout.
The entry road off Lynch St. To the bottom right is towards the station car park and forecourt area, and to the bottom left is the access driveway to the former Railway Institute building.
Work this month on the 2 back storage yard J pieces continued, firstly by adding plywood strips to the insides of each end for the over-centre clamps to screw to. Afterwards the slots for the clamps to pass through the ends were measured and cut out. Before continuing with adding bracing timbers to the bottom, the mains wiring for powering the overhead lights and DCC system at the front of the layout was roughed in.
One of the J pieces that has been painted and the mains wiring fitted ready for the next steps. The wiring will be trimmed and terminated to suit at a later date.
Next was the installation of 4mm thick hardwood braceboard to the underside of each J piece, forming a closed box and acting as a stiffener against twisting or warping. The braceboard was first roughly cut to the correct size and shape. It was then glued and nailed in place. After allowing time for the glue to set, a series of access holes were then cut out between the vertical cross-members. This allows for access to the inside of each J piece for wiring and maintenance, and it also helps to reduce the overall weight of each piece. All the edges were then trimmed down and sanded flush with all the sides and ends of the J pieces. This was all then given a coat of undercoat paint. Each J piece is now essentially fully framed and undercoated ready for top coats.
The two J pieces: on the left the braceboard sheet has been added and the glue is drying, on the right is the top has the track centres marked and an undercoat of paint applied.
The two J pieces showing the braceboard pieces cut for access. All the woodwork is completed and ready for a layer of undercoat.