# clapboard Measuresments needed



## Dansgscale (Jan 9, 2010)

Fellow Modelers, I know that someone in here has the information I need. I am wanting to build the Cumbres Station , not the section house that exists today on the Cumbres and Toltec. I have managed to acquire a back issue of the Narrow Gauge Gazette, that has drawings of the Station, but the drawings have no measurements at all. The plans are drawing in HO scale.

My question is what was the width of the clapboard siding. I have found a number of different sizes available for G scale. 4", 6", 9" and 12" widths.

Does anyone know what the width of the siding is on the Cumbres Station. I would assume that it would be the same on the Section house as well. But like the Station, I have not been able to find any measuements for it either.

Any Help would be appericated. 

my email addy is [email protected] if you want to email me directly.

Dan S.


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## joe rusz (Jan 3, 2008)

Dan, although I don't know the width of the Cumbres station's clapboard siding, I will say that from experience I've often found myself guessing what the size is/was and using the plastic siding that looks best. For example, on my small hotel, a work in progress based on plans I found in an old Model Railroader, I eyeballed four sizes of Precision Plastics sheet siding before settling on 6 inch--because it looked right. The 4 in. was too small and the 9 and 12 looked too big, which changed the scale look of the building. In other words, it made it seem smaller than a two-story building should look. 

I'm sure another poster may suggest you try to work from a photo of the station (if you have one) and find an object like a door which is usually 7-feet tall, to measure from. Count the number of boards alongside the door and divide that number, say it's 14, into the height of the door which would be 84 in. (7 x 12). That would give you 6 (inches), the width of each board. 

Anyway, them's my ideas and I'm stickin' to 'em. 

Good luck with your project. I'm glad to "meet" another person who seems obsessed with details.


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## Dansgscale (Jan 9, 2010)

Joe: I remembered something my brother told me a couple months ago, from something he heard about why some things are the way they are in G scale and the size. He told me that G scale in 1:24 scale is 4 times the size of HO, which has long been held that HO stands for half "O" So with "O" scale being 1:48, it stand to reason that 1:24 is twice the size of "O" scale, then G scale would be 4 times that of HO. 

So I took the Gazette to work and ploped it on the copying machine and enlarged the drawing by 400%. I then too a rule to the siding and as you guess it came out to be 1/4" so it is 6". Thats what I will us for the Station as well as a couple other building I am going to build to go along with it. 

The water tank and coaling tower are another matter all together. I will probabbly scale them down some as they will be huge if I build them to true scale. 

Thanks for the advise. 

Dan Stuettgen 
Denver & Rio Grande Southern


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## Gary Armitstead (Jan 2, 2008)

Dan,

Ask the question on this site. Great group of guys...some actually work on the C&TSRR.

http://ngdiscussion.net/phorum/list.php?1


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## Torby (Jan 2, 2008)

But 4 times the size of HO would be 1:22


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## Dansgscale (Jan 9, 2010)

Well since I am using pretty much all Bachmann stuff which is 1:22.5, the enlarging the HO plans 4 time would be just right then. 

Dan S.


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## joe rusz (Jan 3, 2008)

Dan, you did it perfectly--enlarging the drawing by 400 percent. I take my magazine plans to the copy store and fiddle around finding the right enlargement size, which I check with my scale ruler. BTW, 1:22.5 works for me, even though I am trying to convert to 1:20.3. My station is the only building done in 1:20.3 because I figured that if the locos and rolling stock were next to it, they would have to be in scale. But all the rest of my structures are 1:22.5 because of the two scale rulers I own, the one that's easiest to read is from C.T.T. Inc and is 1:22.5. Besides, the smaller scale uses up less room than 1:20.3.


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## tonkamo (Sep 19, 2011)

Hi Dan,

I am new to the group and hope to shed some light on your clapboard question. Back in my On3 days, I photographed and measured nearly every RR structure in most of the Chama and Durango area. I used to produce structure kits, so it made a fun research project. I might think, they used the same sizes of boards as on the section house. Might be convinceing. They are 4-1/2" clapboards. Durango station also has 4-1/2" clapboards. Might have been their standard.
Hope this helps,
Keith


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## Phippsburg Eric (Jan 10, 2008)

I make my own clapboard siding using my table saw and find 1/4" easy to do. I am sure commercially available clapboard siding would come in that size as well even at 1:20.3 they are a little big but they look fine.










by the way, i would try to stick to the same scale as much as possible...many buildings are huge compared to the trains that run nearby. of course you may be limited by your layout or other constraints.


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## DennisB (Jan 2, 2008)

http://www.yesicanusechopsticks.com/thesequel/TobuWorldSquare/nextpage.htm 

Above is a link to the Tobu World Square Miniature Village. The scale is 1/25, hence the buildings are large. In large scale, we use a method called scale compression. The buildings are a little smaller and as a result don't overpower the entire layout. Regards, dennis.


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## armorsmith (Jun 1, 2008)

Dan, 

Keep in mind that during that period in history, most lumber of any dimension was milled locally and dimensions varied quite a bit. To assume that because one structure had a particular size of clapboard dictated the entire railroad would be dangerous. Same in a particular location might be safe. The house I grew up in was built over several years (by the original owner), and I could have you in tears laughing at the architectural gaffaws my dad and I ran across. 

Kieth, 

Thanks for the information, any possibility of sharing those photos? 

Bob C.


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