The Little Rock Line

[Bendtracker1]

I thought about something like this, but it may be a bit too extreme?

[davefoxx]

Looks great, Allen, but you will need more weeds if you want to compete with this!

DFF

[Bendtracker1]

If we could only do that in N scale and make it look and operate that good...

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Looks great, Allen, but you will need more weeds if you want to compete with this!

DFF

Man, that video was HOT

[sirenwerks]

I thought about something like this, but it may be a bit too extreme?

Just consult with your local controlled-burn admin before moving forward.

[Bendtracker1]

Engine house foundation.
For months I've been stumped.  I wanted the engine house removable so I could clean the tracks and fetch anything that would get derailed.  What's had me stumped was to find a way to scenery up to the foundation, glue it and still allow me to remove the building easily.
After staring at it for awhile I decided it could use some concrete pads in front of some of the doors.  I figured I could use some .040" styrene to simulate the pads and butt them up to the building.  The building base is about the same thickness. 
About that time the light bulb came on!  Why not just add a concrete pad all around the building?   So I marked the shape of the building and cut the styrene to fit the footprint of the building.
Once painted and glued in place I should be able to scenery up to the pad and still be able to easily remove the building.









I did manage to get this finished over the long weekend and it turned out pretty good.
Once I get the images processed I'll get them posted.

[davefoxx]

Great solution.  The structure will key into place.

DFF

[Bendtracker1]

And it did just that Dave!
Actually it keyed into place before the foundation.
The base had slots where bare rail would sit, but I chose to cut them out, and in the process, I cut the ends of the ties short on the section that is in the engine house, if you look close you can see the short ties.

[nuno81291]

Love the overall look/weathering of the facility. Well built!! 

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Good solution.

You can also use some magnets to keep it in alignment as well.

[Bendtracker1]

Here's how the Engine house pad turned out.

Once I got it weathered and glued in place it hit me that I needed to get another concrete pad made and installed for the fuel tanks before adding more ground cover. So I grabbed another section.  While I was at it I worked on the tanks and a small pump house. I also added a strip 0.015" styrene between the rails inside the building as part of the floor and weathered it accordingly.









The fuel tanks are part of an older Walthers kit and the shed was from the Bachmann fuel and sanding kit.  .





I still have lots to add to this scene, I need to get a power pole built and added before I can finish off the ground cover.   Then I can move to a different area and come back later to finish this when the mood strikes.
I fiddled with the image in helicon and edited it to give a more finished look.

[GaryHinshaw]

Very nice!  Given your era, and the condition of those fuel tanks,  I think the ground around the fuelling track should be almost black (for better or worse).

[Bendtracker1]

Thanks guys!
Gary here is a link to Mike Confelone's Madrid engine facility, this is what I'm shooting for.
Once I get the power pole installed, I'm going to finish getting the ground cover put around the rest of the area and then try weathering it
close to what Mike did on his facility.  Not quite sure it'll be black, but it might be close?

https://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/14877

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Thanks guys!
Gary here is a link to Mike Confelone's New Sharon engine facility, this is what I'm shooting for.
Once I get the power pole installed, I'm going to finish getting the ground cover put around the rest of the area and then try weathering it
close to what Mike did on his facility.  Not quite sure it'll be black, but it might be close?

https://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/14877

A very worthwhile target to emulate.

[Bendtracker1]

A very worthwhile target to emulate.

When I started getting serious about this scene, I was looking all over to find something that looked plausible for it.
When I stumbled across Mikes scene it jumped out at me.  It wasn't too big, it looked like a basic small facility and it just looked easy on the eyes.
Nothing very special, nothing fancy, just a facility.  I hope I can do it justice.