# Train Shed or Tunnel? Must be easy to build and relatively cheap.



## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

This falls into the category of not knowing what to do.

I am going to extend my layout from the rectangle on the bottom to the oval of the entire picture.

In the process I will be moving the rolling stock storage from below the layout where it gets wet 
every time it rains to the top left and right red outlined boxes.

The challenge is to make the sidings inside the storage areas rain proof, fully accessible,
with some security (resistant to casual uninvited access), and relatively attractive.

I am not much of a craftsman. It is hard enough for me to make a 4' x 8' platform to mount
the track on much less attempt a train shed or tunnel.

The initial plan was for plywood boxes to protect the rolling stock but if a somewhat realistic
train shed could be built that would be an option.

It also occurred to me that it might be possible to build a couple of tunnels but they would each
be 4' wide, about 32 feet long and would seem difficult to build, prohibitively heavy and expensive -
and my wife thinks tunnels on a plywood platformed layout would look dumb (perhaps she
is right).











At this point I am undecided but leaning toward plywood boxes for reasons of cost
and ease of construction but I would be interested in thoughts others may have as long
as quick, easy and relatively inexpensive are kept in mind.

Thanks,

Jerry


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## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

Jerry. 
What about boxes that are hinged along one side, piano hinges, when you run your trains just flip them over so they are hanging out of the way. When done, flip them back up and over the tracks and lock them down. Divide into several boxes if they are too heavy to lift. 

This might be a time to trust your wife's opinion.... 

Although somebody recently posted a picture of his new tunnel.... nice portals on a painted cardboard box! Rather creative and very easy to get inside! 

John


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By Totalwrecker on 22 Oct 2009 07:55 AM 
Jerry. 
What about boxes that are hinged along one side, piano hinges, when you run your trains just flip them over so they are hanging out of the way. When done, flip them back up and over the tracks and lock them down. Divide into several boxes if they are too heavy to lift. 

John 

Hi John,

I once priced piano hinges and they are very expensive especially for large projects. I also question whether they would hold up (not rust) in the rain.

When I built the trailer layout I just used deck screws to attach the back panel and that is how I currently access the storage under the layout since that part of the new layout was part of the original trailer layout.



















I have been considering using hinges (and had looked at piano hinges) to swing the panel up but due to my original construction it would not be that easy now. 

If I go with the plywood I may copy part of Marty's plan and have 4 foot side sections that can be unscrewed and removed. I still like the idea of hinges but hopefully derailments inside the train shed/tunnel will be infrequent and a bunch of deck screws might be more of a deterrent to thieves than hinges. 

I appreciate the idea and nothing is firm at this time other than I have decided to first add a platform for a 2nd gazebo for our club to be able to meet in which will double as an assembly platform for constructing the 4' x 8' sections of the layout addition.

It often helps me understand myself better as to what I am trying to do just by explaining it to others because many times flaws in my thought process jump out when I try to explain something to others.

Thanks,

Jerry


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## blueregal (Jan 3, 2008)

5 stall round house with turntable coming in November from Bachmann according to Caboose Hobbies!! $131.00 its available for pre order too!! Looks interesting orange/could be painted anything you want??? Suggestion if you are like me, and want Eazy Peazy. The Regal 
they also have just the roundhouse for under $100 take a look


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## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

O kay then... 
A solid box and drop down sides, still using hinges, but the cheaper strap hinges will work as there will be less weight. It's easier to use if they fold down instead of you having to hold it up. 

John


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## altterrain (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By blueregal on 22 Oct 2009 09:34 AM 
5 stall round house with turntable coming in November from Bachmann according to Caboose Hobbies!! $131.00 its available for pre order too!! Looks interesting orange/could be painted anything you want??? Suggestion if you are like me, and want Eazy Peazy. The Regal 
they also have just the roundhouse for under $100 take a look 





Are you sure that's for large scale at that price?









-Brian


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## chuckger (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi Guy's,

I asked about this over on the B-man site, it looks like its HO scale. They have a 5 stall roundhouse and turntable in the Thomas HO line, it's on the last page of the list of Thomas items. Tidmuth Sheds is what they call it.

Chuck





Jerry,

If you have tracks under your layout for storage have you considered covering them to keep the trains from getting wet?? I just bought a 20' length of plastic pipe to put in our drive way. This comes in all different diamiters. If you wherev to buy a peice of 24" dia pipe and split it length wise you could cover 40 feet of track at 12 inches high. Maybe this would help.

Chuck


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By chuckger on 24 Oct 2009 03:33 AM 
Jerry,

If you have tracks under your layout for storage have you considered covering them to keep the trains from getting wet?? I just bought a 20' length of plastic pipe to put in our drive way. This comes in all different diamiters. If you wherev to buy a peice of 24" dia pipe and split it length wise you could cover 40 feet of track at 12 inches high. Maybe this would help.

Chuck


Hi Chuck,

The problem with the current storage is that it is below and part of the layout. There is only about 1 foot clearance (height) in the storage area which is 8' x 16' and there is no way I could fit in there to put a protective covering of anything over the trains. I had never intended to use it for permanent storage when I built it and the top plywood leaks badly in a heavy rain. I would have to remove everything above it to attempt to seal it.

Actually this looks like great solution:










http://www.mylargescale.com/Communi...fault.aspx

If I can figure out the details it is probably what I will do.

Jerry


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

Here is a idea. Put Stake Pockets on the side of your staging yard. Build walls with extentions to fit in the stakepockets. Then build a roof that can be removed in sections by one guy. Put hasps on the roof to hold it in place when not runing trains. When you want to run trains Take the roof off. Pull the walls out of the stakepockets and your are ready to go.


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## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

Hey Jerry, 
One last thought... instead of hinges or lifting parts off, why not use sliding panels, kinda like closet doors, just not hung? A channel of aluminum down the center and you get three tracks. 
Rarely do I use the 0-5-0 big hook on more than one car at a time, so they need not be very wide. 

I remeber that your ground slopes down and away, but I don't remember the layouts height. Mostly the farther out you get, the less value of coming in from the top. 
Locks; drill holes (through the frame and doors) and insert wooden dowels, hinges on a 1x4 board that will cover all the dowels for security,one hasp, one lock. Drop the board, pull the pins and slide the doors so you can see inside and run the iron horses! 

Soft foam weather stripping for the weather... 

John


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By John J on 24 Oct 2009 08:59 AM 
Here is a idea. Put Stake Pockets on the side of your staging yard. Build walls with extentions to fit in the stakepockets. Then build a roof that can be removed in sections by one guy. Put hasps on the roof to hold it in place when not runing trains. When you want to run trains Take the roof off. Pull the walls out of the stakepockets and your are ready to go. 

Hi JJ,

I had not thought of Stake Pockets. I was not aware that was something that could be bought at the store. 

The way the ground slopes away from the current layout the roof would become too high for it to be easily removed so I will probably go with screw in walls (they are easily and quickly removed with a portable drill).

I will consider stake pockets for future projects.

Thanks,

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By Totalwrecker on 24 Oct 2009 10:15 AM 
I remeber that your ground slopes down and away, but I don't remember the layouts height. Mostly the farther out you get, the less value of coming in from the top. 

John


Hi John,

The ground currently is about 5' below the layout at the far right (northeast) so roof access is not likely to work.

In the meantime I've been adding a deck for a 2nd gazebo (the 1st one is too small for club meetings). In the process of building the 2nd deck I realized I don't have the energy or enthusiasm for much more building and the cost of lumber etc. was getting too high. 

Instead I have come up with a compromise layout extension that will take less than half the work, half the materials and I am pretty sure that I have all the track for it that I will need.












It will still give me more storage than I already have with more than double the length of the sidings so entire trains will fit on a single siding. It will only require one shed to build, require 6 rather than 13 additional 4' x 8' sections and avoid the steepest slope of the ground so it should all be accessible without steps or a ladder - plus the main access on the left will continue to be the lowest part of the ground slope.

Perhaps just as important it will retain the ability of the larger layout to drive trains into the shed in the event of a sudden rain shower and have drive through access making a complete loop.

Sometimes smaller is better (smarter).

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

An alternative is this:













The reason for the gap between the layout and the shed would be both to allow access to either from the middle and to allow rain to fall from the roof of the shed without falling onto the layout.

Jerry


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

Ok so what did you decide to do? Got any Picturtes yet?


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By John J on 07 Nov 2009 10:29 AM 
Ok so what did you decide to do? Got any Picturtes yet? 

Hi JJ,

I was going to let this topic slip off into the sunset.









Before building the train shed the first project was to build a 2nd gazebo platform to have enough room for club meetings. Once I had built the 2nd platform and assembled the gazebo on it, Marilyn and I were enjoying the view from the gazebo when I mentioned how the layout was going to be expanded along with the train shed(s) on top of it.

She took one look and commented that the shed was going to block the view of the field beyond the layout (I had never considered that and until sitting in the new gazebo it was not evident). As I reconsidered putting the shed on either or both sides the fact remained that it would still block much of the view of the field.

That forced me back to thinking about waterproofing the existing storage and my thought is to now consider sliding corrugated fiberglass panels along and above the track in the current storage areas. The storage area is 16' long so two 8' panels with a slight (sealed) overlap should extend the length of the tracks and multiple sections can be fitted to meet the widths available.

http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/ecomplastics_2070_2881753

Jerry


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

NO NO NO you don't get off that easy....We want to see pic's Good thing you both decied to sit down and look at things. You always see something you missed. 

I do that a llot I have one of those plactic charis from Wall Marty. That is always close at hand with the cooler next to it. I get a bottol of cold water, sit down and view what i just did. Then deicde if I should change it or continue


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## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

Um.... in this international community there is always somebody farther west... what sunset????  

So are we back to the elevated track from below? 

Why not a storage table/shed off to the side with a lift bridge connector? Might be more plausible now.... 

A final thought; Views, you want different? Turn your chair 30 degrees! that's a joke. 

Rarely do I use my first thought, but they sure open the door to better ones! 

John


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

OK I will post some photos.

I am not going to build a ramp or anything but instead I will probably just try to waterproof the storage area and take the trains out one at a time. I may keep a tarp handy to cover any locomotives in case of any sudden showers.

It seems I spend far more time building "stuff" and not enough time running trains (plus funds have become pretty limited). For now the focus will be to complete the projects I've started including getting the wood burning stove up and running in the caboose.

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

I will add some photos later but for now here are a couple of pictures to show what I did.

Fortunately I had built the original trailer layout with RR-Track so I was able to go back to it and figure out what needed to be done and RR-Track provided the right sizes of materials I would need. The picture below is looking down from the top and the blue squares are the 4" x 4"s that support the top.










The picture below shows where I was able to slide in the corrugated fiberglass sheets after I cut them lengthwise to match the channels.










I used 26" x 8' clear fiberglass panels (after I discovered I had four panels left from a previous project). The channel was 188" long so with a 2" overlap (sealed with mastic) two overlapping panels will waterproof each section.

To support the fiberglass panels I used 1/2" x 1/8" flat strips of aluminum which I drilled to screw into each of the 4" x 4"s going from side to side. The aluminum strips are not that strong but since they only have to support a maximum of 22" and I mounted them vertically they are plenty strong for the purpose and took little enough space so as not to interfere with access to the rolling stock below.

The end result was FAR cheaper than any of the alternatives I had been considering. I had discarded the fiberglass panel idea before because I had accidentally looked at the wrong plan for the trailer (one that I did not use).











With the 4" x 4"s in the middle there would not have been any way that I could have reached that far in to screw the cross braces in. I could just barely reach the inside 4" x 4"s with the actual layout.

I had a very good reminder that my wife was right and it would have been a BIG mistake to have built those train sheds on top of an extended layout. I was really exhausted as I finished up this project and I had carried the surplus materials back to the shop when, as I was walking back to the layout I saw first one, then two and then the third deer that hang around here (mama doe and her two little does).

They saw me before I saw them but they know me so they just watched me as I went to the gazebo, sat down and watched them as they walked even closer (less than 50 yards away). Gun deer season opens tomorrow so I want to keep the deer close where they will be safe.

Had I extended the layout and built the train sheds the sheds would have blocked the deer from my view.

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

It has been awhile since I last posted on this topic but now I find myself back in the same situation - trying to figure out how to build an easy to build and relatively cheap Train Shed.

Since I last posted on this I finished the plans I had but I gave up on expanding the layout (in a square) as I had originally been thinking.

I did make the trailer layout into a permanent layout and kept the lower deck for storage plus eventually I added corrugated Fiberglas sheets (inside the storage area and above the rolling stock) to keep any water from falling onto any rolling stock stored there.










This is what the layout looked like when hit by a strange wind storm.










Part of the problem now is that while I built the layout and the gazebos to complement the caboose I did not give any thought to running trains from the cupola of the caboose. As it turns out the cupola is a great place to run trains in inclement weather (or to be inside with air conditioning when it is hot with lots of bugs/mosquitoes outside).

I have rewired everything so it can be run from inside the gazebos plus I extended the power circuits to the cupola so I can power the trains either from the gazebos or from the cupola (the turnouts can only be controlled from the gazebos).





























This year and last year I have had a number of deer and raccoons I've enjoyed watching from the cupola and I realized that I really should extend the layout toward the cupola so I can see it and run trains better from it. This gave me the additional thought of putting my thoughts for a train shed back into the planning stage.

I've now ordered the track and while doing the expansion I will be converting the layout to Ariso-Craft stainless steel track and switches.

This is to be the shape of the planned extended layout (the green rectangles are the plywood sections):











The top left green section will be the new track level Train Shed.

The problem is that the layout will be extending to where I currently put corn out for the deer and raccoons. While I decided I will still be able to see the critters - just not as close - the construction of a Train Shed on top of the layout will result in a significant loss of visibility of the wildlife so it is going to be important to me for it to be either lightweight and removable or with sides that can collapse down - to lower the profile for winter wildlife viewing.

Rather than start a new topic I thought it best to bring this one back up as it does have a lot of useful information on it.

The idea of a removable or collapsible train shed changes my previous thoughts about what, where and how I will build something and I would appreciate any suggestions. I am sure that there is a way to have hinged sides yet to be able to quickly raise the sides and roof and end up with a shed that will protect the rolling stock from rain and to have doors (front and back) that can be somewhat secured when done running trains.

The idea is to end up with a handy place to park rolling stock "out of the weather" yet ready to be quickly assembled into trains plus to be able to drive a couple of trains quickly under cover in case of a sudden rain shower.

Jerry


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## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

You can have easy or you can have cheap, take your choice... 

At first I was thinking thin wall irrigation pipes cut in half length wise, but large enough ain't cheap. 
Next came the idea of doing the same to the cardboard tubes for concrete pillars. Sealed real well inside and out with ends cut to fit over the track. Straps over button studs on the far side and pulled down and anchored on the near side. Store under layout where used and add a couple of handles. 

John


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

I have been giving some thought to the train shed and one possibility will be to make the frame out of galvanized pipe. That would give me a strong frame yet the pipe would be narrow enough that I could leave the frame up when I remove the outer sides and roof. My original thought had been to use 2" x 4"s for a frame but that would be more difficult to secure to the plywood and block a lot more of the view.

It might be possible to attach the sides with over-sized "C" or "U" clamps to enable sliding the sides up (to remove the sides) or down (to install the sides) the pipes.

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

I have gone back to the drawing board and came up with a different layout design that will eliminate the train shed from blocking my view. By moving the shed toward the middle of the layout I will be able to see over the shed to the edge of the layout without any problem. I moved away from the crossing and went to independent reverse loops and put the freight yard in the middle with enough trackage to put everything inside the train shed plus I have added an assembly track to "build" trains on from the rolling stock in the yard. 

To make it easier I am going to add turnouts at both sides of the yard so trains will be able to drive in and out from either end:










This has created a totally different challenge. The train shed will be approximately 32 feet wide and 2 feet deep but I will want it to be water tight (from rain), have ends that close AND to be at least partially removable so that it can function as a freight yard for visually assembling trains from the parked freight cars in the yard during operating sessions.

The layout itself will now be 12 feet deep by 72 feet wide.

There will be about 20" (center to center) between the inner main line and the 1st yard track and about 16" (center to center) between the lowest yard track and the assembly track. I anticipate the walls to be 9" high and there might or might not be enough space to hinge (part of) the sides and lay them down between the train shed and the nearest tracks.

Has anyone built a combination train shed and freight yard with removable roof and sides?

Thanks,

Jerry


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

Jerry here is the solution I came up with for my RR. Every other roof panel is hinged to gain access to the inside tracks. Later RJD


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By Totalwrecker on 01 Feb 2011 11:33 AM 
You can have easy or you can have cheap, take your choice... 

At first I was thinking thin wall irrigation pipes cut in half length wise, but large enough ain't cheap. 
Next came the idea of doing the same to the cardboard tubes for concrete pillars. Sealed real well inside and out with ends cut to fit over the track. Straps over button studs on the far side and pulled down and anchored on the near side. Store under layout where used and add a couple of handles. 

John 

Hi John,

I have been off chasing other windmills and got away from this topic but as I posted the new layout idea will probably replace the idea of a lift off cover. I do appreciate your taking the time to consider my situation and make your suggestions.

Thanks,

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By aceinspp on 07 Feb 2011 09:33 AM 
Jerry here is the solution I came up with for my RR. Every other roof panel is hinged to gain access to the inside tracks. Later RJD
Hi RJ,

I really like your idea but I would have two things that would require changes:

My layout at the point of the train shed will be about 5 feet above the ground so it will be quite hard to see under the roof. Instead I would need drop sides (front and back) to allow seeing the yard from the front (to see what the operator is doing) and to get access to the back.

This would be complicated by the fact that unlike your very unique turnout (which I really like) I will have 5 pairs of electric turnouts feeding the sidings and that will result in either angled access to the train shed or the loss of a fair amount of yard trackage.

My thought is that it might be possible to put hinges on the bottom and to drop (part of) the front and or the back flat on the table so they could hopefully be stepped on if need be for access to anything that might have derailed inside the train shed.

I have all the track and turnouts ordered and they have started to arrive but it will probably be at least a month before the weather is nice enough to start construction.

BTW I know there have been other topics posted where others have built train sheds but I have been unable to find them. If anyone has links to those topics I would appreciate it if they would post them here.

Thanks for any and all suggestions,

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Here we go again. Once again I decided to change the layout design.

No matter where I tried to put the train shed/switching yard I was running into a problem of being able to see into the switching yard to run a switching operation and to have a rain proof entry and exit to the train shed - plus to be able to reach down into the train shed if something derailed inside of it.

My previous plans would have put the train shed about 5 feet above the ground meaning I would have to walk on top of the layout every time something happened inside of the train shed. It was also going to be a PIA to figure out how to have angled doors at the front and rear of the train shed to avoid losing covered parking space for the rolling stock.

Al came over and between us we figured out that it would work best if we made the train shed separate from the switching yard and placed the train shed in front of the layout - between the layout and the gazebos.

That would have worked but the train shed would have been sticking up a foot or more above the layout and blocking view of part of the layout.

After rethinking the situation I have come to the conclusion that there will be enough distance added to the layout to make a ramp feasible to go from the layout down to the train shed and end up with the roof of the train shed either level with or not sticking up much above the layout.












The green area on the right will be the covered train shed and below to the left will be the two gazebos.

Another advantage is that the land slopes uphill at that point so it will mean shorter 4" x 4"s and save a bit of money there.










I expect to borrow from RJ's design but use regular turnouts as that will give me ten 16 foot sidings in the 6' x 16' train shed.

Jerry


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## pimanjc (Jan 2, 2008)

Jerry,
Here is the solution I came up with for my layout. http://www.mylargescale.com/Communi...fault.aspx










JimC.


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Hi Jim (and everyone),

Sometimes when we have a difficult decision to make circumstances make it for us. That happened this weekend with my train shed plans. My first rules were easy to build and cheap.

I went to the NW Arkansas Train Show Saturday and ended up buying a trestle and train shed (based on photos) from a fellow who is having to move indoors due to health reasons.

My wife bought the trestle (which she will install when she retires in a few months) and I bought the train shed which is about 4' x 8'. I intend to copy the construction and extend it to 4' x 32'.

For his price of $25 for the shed and $100 for the trestles (plus our gas to return and get the trestle and train shed) it was too good not to buy. I really like the simplicity of his design (the roof is Naugahyde):

























































































I should add that I did not "negotiate" any prices. The prices we paid were the asking prices.

This is going to be a perfect solution for us as I really hate building anything and this will be pretty much a pick up and reinstall situation but of course the trestles are going to take some work to get them back together right.

Jerry


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## denray (Jan 5, 2008)

Jerry 
I hope you have a similiar hillside in order to accommedate Phillips trestle. Our club hated to see Phillip have to get out of the hobby, but us who 
suffer with back issues can relate. When I first saw the pictures I thought that looks familiar. I hope you enjoy you recently found purchaces. 
Dennis


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By denray on 28 Feb 2011 05:45 PM 
Jerry 
I hope you have a similiar hillside in order to accommedate Phillips trestle. Our club hated to see Phillip have to get out of the hobby, but us who 
suffer with back issues can relate. When I first saw the pictures I thought that looks familiar. I hope you enjoy you recently found purchaces. 
Dennis 

Hi Dennis,

Phillip and Nancy were most gracious. Like you I would have been happier if they had been able to continue using their beautiful layout.

After the show we went up to their home to see the layout and had dinner with them later. Phillips logging train came home with us as well so to the greatest extent possible we intend to reconstruct Phillip's layout as he had it as far as possible. 

I was sort of hoping someone might recognize the layout so Phillip will get the credit he deserves for building it. I just hope we can do him justice as we resurrect his layout.

Like Phillip I have back problems (not as severe as his) so a layout on the ground is not practical for me but Marilyn is the one who really wanted the trestles and she intends to create as close a copy to their layout as she can. We do live on the side of a hill so it is a realistic goal for Marilyn to plan on building. 

She intends to build it inside the outer loop of the main outside layout.




















I took a lot of photos of Phillip's layout so we can hopefully get it back together close to the way he built it.

Phillip and Nancy are going to try to come and visit when we are done.

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Well, construction on the layout expansion has begun and not surprisingly I have once again redesigned the track layout. 

Rather than continue here and have two topics running I will post further comments on the new topic:

*The Latest Expansion of the Caboose Layout*

http://www.mylargescale.com/Communi...fault.aspx

I appreciate everyone's comments and contributions.

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

I thought I had figured out what I was going to do for a train shed but those plans have not worked out. 

Rather than to stay with my previous intention of combining the two topics I've decided it is easier for me to figure out the train shed idea by keeping it as a separate topic here (yes, I do change my mind a lot).

This is my current plan with the train shed on the lower left. It will be 32' wide by 4' deep. My plan is for the sides/walls to be 9" high. I have added some sidings for locos in the lower right.











I may run to the lumber yard this morning if I can figure it out but the lumber yards close at noon today and don't reopen until Monday.

For the sides I think I was told that I can buy 1" x 9" x 16' foot pieces of lumber (I don't recall if it was treated or not. I would like to keep the thickness of the walls as thin as possible to maximize the inside space but the width needs to include the thickness of any supports such as 2" x 4"s.

My concern at this point is that any wood I buy might warp or curve especially if it is treated wood (as it dries out).

I like the idea of the siding so that is an option.

Sometimes as I write things out (as I am doing) it tends to clarify what I am trying to do and how to do it.

Lumber vs siding, treated vs untreated. Decisions, decisions. 

Jerry


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

You have all that unused space under the layout. Why not make a shelf of the whole area under the layout and then on the out side make a access grade using the parimater of the layout to keep the grade reasonable. Something like a double helex. I think that is the word for it. Then you could dive down into the buker under the layout when the rain comes.

Or doe what RJ did and make a sorage area completly seperated from the layout it's self . 


JJ

I keep wanting to say " Train Table" because that is what we called what my O gage layout was on.

My uncle was very talented and he painted a flag stone sidewalk on my layout along with a road for cars.

My Train table was 2 4x8 sheets of plywood laied next to each other so make a 8 FT square Train Table 

I can not cout the number of hours i played and played with that layout .


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Hi JJ,

That is the exact situation I had before (storage below the layout) which led me to build the layout extension so I can have the train storage (shed) on top of the layout and avoid the grade which would amount to a lot of track and wood that would do little other than just to get the trains out. Worse yet if the ramp was below the layout it would be a real problem if and when something derailed.

I had some unfortunate experiences with the garage double deck layout when the occasional car(s) would detach as they were going up or down the ramp. The concrete floor below the layout quickly showed me which brands were built better than other brands but that is an experience I now try to avoid.

I have done some searches to see how others have made their train sheds. Unlike Marty (although I love his shed) I lean toward wood as I believe wood both insulates (against heat and cold) but more important I believe wood absorbs moisture and is better for the rolling stock that is housed in the shed (no proof - just my opinion).

http://www.mylargescale.com/Communi...fault.aspx

I looked at RJD's and like it but it is supported on the sides where my shed will be entirely laid on top of the layout so I am not sure how sturdy it would be if not built as RJ did.

(now I cannot find his posts)

Other sheds look great and some have peaked roofs which are nice but I lean toward a simple flat roof with one end raised to get the rain to fall off.

I was about to head to the lumber yard and just buy some 2" x 12" x 16' and 2" x 10" x 16' to make the sides/walls but I changed my mind when I realized I could probably not manage to keep the boards from curving or warping.

Leon Peterson did a great job on his but that is probably more work than I would want to tackle.

http://www.mylargescale.com/Communi....aspx#4088

I liked what bottino did but not much in details.

http://www.mylargescale.com/Communi...spx#135774

I particularly like smcgill's

http://www.mylargescale.com/Community/Forums/tabid/56/aff/9/aft/112758/afv/topic/Default.aspx#129269

because it looks like it could be easily put on top of my layout.

I decided to give myself a break and take some time to think about it.

Jerry


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

Richard Smith did the best job for storage. It serves two purposes. Storage and industry. If it were my layout I would not take up valuable space with storage. I would make it off layout like everybody else did.

I sould build something like Richards as a pass through to get to off table storage. 

JJ


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

I understand your point but in the end space is space whether it is level with, above or below the layout. 

The bottom line for me is the question of how much effect the inaccessibility of the storage has on the frequency and duration of operations.

A friend of mine (Al Taylor) keeps his trains on his layout all the time including almost all of his locomotives. He drives his locos under cover when not running his trains but otherwise everything is ready to run 100% of the time. As I look back I find that I probably spend as much time taking trains out, getting them onto the layout and getting everything set up to run and then taking everything down and putting it away as I do running trains. Many times I lose interest in running trains because I just don't want to bother with the hassle of getting everything up and running.

On days like today when the weather is uncooperative, it too reduces my inclination to run and the running time if I have to put up and take down trains.

This time I have changed my priorities. The 1st priority is to have everything (at least as much as possible) ready to run on a moments notice.

It is a cold, wet miserable day but I put one of my "Rain Trains" (LGB Starter Sets) out on the layout and it has been running for hours while I sit in the cupola alternating between running the train and watching TV.

In this case my "Remote Control" is a yardstick with a hole in the end that fits over the knob on the Crest throttle. I use the yardstick to reach and rotate the knob on the throttle.

I ended up putting the freight yard where it is by default. It was not my original planned location but it has worked out very well in that it happens to be at the point of the layout that is closest to the ground so it will be easy for me to access any trains in the train shed. I built the extension wide enough specifically to make room for the train shed so it is not actually taking space away from anything else. My first thought and preference would have been for a drive through shed but I think I am going to like this better because it creates the potential for four different operators at the same time:

1. Outer Main Line
2. Inner Main Line
3. Trolley Line
4. Freight Yard Operations

This way when we have club operations there will be plenty for several different members to do. The shed also will partially block the view of the layout from the gazebos (which I like). I might figure some way to extend the shed to cover part of the mainlines in some sort of tunnel.

Nothing is definite so far. I just take each day one step at a time. Due to my changes I now have at least 3 new turnouts with no place to use them so that is another challenge.

Thanks,

Jerry


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

I can not agree with you more. My train work shop is Miles and miles ( 1:29 scale miles) from the layout. Every time I drag a set of Container Cars out I break something off. I just dropped one this after noon and broke the peg that attachés the truck to the body.

I would do something like Jim Carter did and the rest of the guys. Something off side and close. 

You are right about things being " AT the Ready" to run.

I would run more if I didn't have to haul stuff out. 

But I am working on that too.

I have about 10 Irons in the fire. 

JJ


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

I am back to planning the train shed and so far I have not come up with a good plan.












The outside dimensions are 32' wide x 50" deep. 

My plan had evolved to thinking about making the front wall 11" high and the back wall 13" high so I could get two 8' front walls and two back walls from a single sheet of plywood or siding. An 11" front wall would leave me with 9 1/2" clearance after deducting 1 1/2" for a 2" x 4" upper wall support. 

I thought I could make the roof out of 4' x 4' plywood hinged at the back (high end) and the 2" slope would let the water run off but unfortunately even if the roof was flat it would be 2" too short and with a slope to it, the gap would be even wider.

At this point my plan calls for 2" x 2"s to create a solid base to which plywood or siding could be secured. I would use 2" x 4"s to give strength to the top of the plywood or siding but that leaves me with a 50" + wide roof to come up with.

I went to the lumber yards and Home Depot today to get some ideas. Corrugated PVC or Plexiglas is one possibility for the roof but that has its own complications.

Perhaps I will wake up with a better idea in the morning or someone will come up with one for me. The peaked roofs are a nice idea but seem a lot more work than a simple flat roof that is sloped from the back to the front. I don't want to give up that 2" + because that could cost me the space I might need for an additional siding in the train shed.

Jerry


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## NTCGRR (Jan 2, 2008)

Dearest Brother Jerry 
Run through shed is the most user friendly. 
I backed up for years, but now I bring an engine out and hook up to any string of cars i want and head out. 
Bring it in and change cars and I'm back out in minutes. 
Now thats IF I ever run trains.


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## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

Jerry, 
Run a 1x4" along the top back edge of the roof and attach your plywood to that, you won't be looking straight down from 4' away anyway. So if that part of the roof foesn't hinge, no loss. 

I'm to the roof on mine and realised that I only need to make sections that lift, not the whole roof 

John


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By NTCGRR on 05 Apr 2011 07:25 PM 
Dearest Brother Jerry 
Run through shed is the most user friendly. 
I backed up for years, but now I bring an engine out and hook up to any string of cars i want and head out. 
Bring it in and change cars and I'm back out in minutes. 
Now thats IF I ever run trains. 

Hello Brother Marty,

Its all your fault!!!






























Your danged train shed is so logical and practical that I lost two years trying to come up with a similar run through shed.









I finally realized that it was just not going to work for me in that I would either have to put it in front blocking the view of the layout or in back where it would be six feet above the ground (not counting the height of the ladder I would need to get to anything inside of it.









Eventually I sort of figured out that putting it where I can reach stuff is more important than having a run through shed

(but hey, I did put a small run through train shed out there - just for ya'll to appreciate).











Besides, since I don't run on Duracell's I have less of a problem with "IF I ever run trains."









Cheers,

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By Totalwrecker on 07 Apr 2011 07:36 AM 
Jerry, 
Run a 1x4" along the top back edge of the roof and attach your plywood to that, you won't be looking straight down from 4' away anyway. So if that part of the roof foesn't hinge, no loss. 

I'm to the roof on mine and realised that I only need to make sections that lift, not the whole roof 

John 

Hi John,

That sounded like such a good idea that I "improved" on it and bought 1" x 6"s instead. Then I mounted them on top of my 2" x 4"s and ended up with about 1 1/2" hanging out in front. Eventually it dawned on me that I would have gained 3 1/2" if I had just used the 2" x 4"s to hinge the roof to and now the leading edge of the 1" x 6"s where I am going to attach the roof to is unsupported (OK it was not my brightest moment).

I never claimed to have any carpentry skills or talents and it seems I am working hard to prove it.

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Well, I think I can forget that part about being relatively cheap.

So far I bough treated 2" x 4" x 16"s and some primed siding. I decided to make the walls a standard 12" high all around and to build the back wall up a bit with an extra layer of 2" x 4" x 16"s plus 1" x 6's (also treated).

This is how far I got so far:


















































I am sure that no one else would build walls without a definite plan for a roof (or a door) but to my way of thinking, I now have taken the first step and I am committed to building a roof of some sort.

The lumber yard let me have four sheets of siding (damaged pieces) at half price and a bargain is a bargain so one way or the other I will make the walls and roof out of the siding. I have sort of a plan to brace the roof with a 2" x 4" frame (not sure yet if I will use them flat or vertical). 

I have decided to cut the siding in half and make the roof out of 4' x 4' sections so they are light enough to raise without too much weight.

Jerry


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## tj-lee (Jan 2, 2008)

Jerry, 

Great start! 

Best, 
TJ


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By tj-lee on 11 Apr 2011 08:41 PM 
Jerry, 

Great start! 

Best, 
TJ Hi TJ,

Thank you for the compliment.

I've been pretty busy with the train shed and it has left me too tired to do much else including spending much time on MLS.

Here is the current progress on the train shed:

I got the siding cut, painted and the front and back are now installed. I have not yet got to the ends.





















The overall dimensions are 32' (+ a few inches) long by 50" wide and the front is 12" high with the back about 14" high.











The roofs are just sitting on top so far.











At least both front and back are somewhat done. 











The entry will be from the track side.











Hopefully I will have more to post in a few days.

I still have to figure out how to support the back of the roof while I attach the hinges and the dimensions of the 2" x 4"s that I will use to frame the inside of the roofs.

At least it is finally starting to look like something.

Jerry


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## NTCGRR (Jan 2, 2008)

Great Jerry 
Just don't leave it too long, dang ***** will climb on top and brake one. 
Remember you only need about every other one to lift off.


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By NTCGRR on 15 Apr 2011 04:46 PM 
Great Jerry 
Just don't leave it too long, dang ***** will climb on top and brake one. 
*Remember you only need about every other one to lift off*. 


Hi Marty,

That is GREAT advice. I had not thought of that but it makes a lot of sense. It may help the issue of keeping rain out.

Thanks,

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

I finally have some progress to report.

I have started getting the roof sections completed and mounted:











As of now I have three out of 8 roof sections completed. I thought about it a lot and I finally decided to do the roof in pairs of 4 sections each. The overlap of the sections will minimize water getting through the roof sections onto any trains below and I discovered that it takes three sections (12 feet) just to cover the turnouts into the shed.

The downside is that to open the 4th section, first the other 3 sections would have to be raised or the overlap would prevent the next section to the left from being opened.

After thinking about this and playing with the 1st completed section a bit I realized that with four 2" x 4"s to hold the sections up, I will be able to very quickly and easily open an entire half of the train shed exposing 16 feet of the sidings and everything on them.

The four sections on the right will open starting at the right end and the four sections on the left will open starting at the left end.

When I get to the middle I will then figure something out to fill the gap (I have a few ideas).











Both ends are done (I had to redo these a couple of times to get it right).












This shows the 2" x 4" framing to support the siding I used for the roof. I have not yet decided what to use to hold the sections up. I may get fancy or I may just use 2" x 4"s like this.











The back door (entrance) is not done. I just have it blocked to keep the rain from blowing in.











There is a serious weakness in the design which is a reason why I would caution anyone against duplicating my design.

That is that the hinges are on top and because of this the hinges holding the roof sections are literally holding the roofs up by the threads of the screws. This is not a good design but it happens to be what I came up with and its good enough for me - at least unless and until I think of a better way to do it.

There is a chance that over time the grip of the screw threads will weaken enough for the roof to break free and fall down. At the first sign of this happening I intend to replace the wood screws with machine screws and nuts reinforced with a metal plate under the siding so the siding would be captured between the hinge and metal plate which would give it a lot more strength.

One concern that occurred to me is that I am going to have to be very careful to keep little kids off the layout so they are not tempted to walk on the train shed where they would surely fall through and break something. 

Naturally I would NEVER allow any kids on the layout but all it takes is a moments distraction and kids will do anything. Fortunately it is very rare to have any little kids here.

This project went way beyond "easy to build and relatively cheap" a LONG time ago but there are two advantages - the small train shed acts like a tunnel in that the locos and small trains disappear and can even be parked/stored there plus the big train shed is large enough that it acts as a sort of tunnel in that trains on the mainline disappear from view as they run behind the train shed (which blocks the view of them). The result is pretty much what I had wanted in that I wanted the trains to drop from view somewhere/somehow as they run around the layout.

Jerry


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## NTCGRR (Jan 2, 2008)

One more tip. you should primer the underside to protect it from humidity in the winter when the sun warms itfrom the top. 
looks STRONG ..


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By NTCGRR on 21 Apr 2011 06:22 PM 
One more tip. you should primer the underside to protect it from humidity in the winter when the sun warms it from the top. 
looks STRONG .. 

Hi Marty,

If you were not a contractor it would be easier to ignore your advice.









Now, when I am done I guess I will not be done but will eventually have to primer the underside.









Thanks,

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By NTCGRR on 21 Apr 2011 06:22 PM 

looks STRONG .


dang ***** will climb on top and brake one.


Hi Marty,

I build strong because I don't know how to build smart. Every project is a learning experience accompanied by a lot of mistakes.

There also is the probability that something (or someone) heavy will be walking on whatever I build or, in the case of the train shed, leaning against it.

Over the years I have been shocked to discover visitors actually walking 6 feet above the ground on my layout that was only built to support 20 pound locomotives. Somehow people make assumptions that just because a platform (18" decking for the tracks) is wide enough to walk on, that it is safe to walk on it. No one ever thinks to ask if it is safe or OK to walk on it.

They are only trying to be helpful by walking on the layout to get to a train that derailed. Perhaps they think that because the train is above and beyond their reach that it is also out of my reach (I am 6' 5" so I can reach any train anywhere on the layout) so perhaps they mistakenly assume that I walk on the elevated layout to get to the trains.

Jerry


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

Well Jerry looks like you need a sign that says no walking on the layout.







. Later RJD


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By aceinspp on 22 Apr 2011 08:56 AM 
Well Jerry looks like you need a sign that says no walking on the layout.







. Later RJD 

Hi RJ,

That crossed my mind. I often tell visitors that - if it is gray - DO NOT STEP ON IT. If it is green, it is OK to walk on it.

The trouble with signs is what to say, how many signs are needed, and where to put them.

I'm tempted to just post one huge sign that says 

*"DON'T"*


Then, whenever anyone asks what the sign means, I would tell them "Whatever it is that you were thinking about doing, DON'T DO IT!"









To be honest I have done a lot of dumb stuff myself both here and when visiting other layouts. Sometimes we do things without thinking because we make the mistake of assuming that we know what is OK and what is not OK to do.

I have to keep reminding myself that I am the only person who really knows how everything was built and what is really safe to do and what is not.

Part of the problem is that most visitors have no idea how expensive this stuff is and how fragile it can be. Additionally they have no idea how hard (if not impossible) it can be to fix or replace something they may break.

Jerry


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## NTCGRR (Jan 2, 2008)

Jerry 
You have all summer to do it, I have seen many a house with that vertical siding on and the lower 6" starts to go bad from the back side out. 
moisture is our biggest enemy, unless your dieing of thrust.


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Hi Marty,

Do you mean just prime it with something like Kilz or do I need to prime it and paint it - or could I just paint it without priming it?

I am as good a painter as I am a carpenter - which means I would not hire myself to do either.









Thanks,

Jerry


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## tj-lee (Jan 2, 2008)

Jerry, 

> Every project is a learning experience accompanied by a lot of mistakes. 

Boy, you it right on that one! The big barn is really looking good. 

Best, 
TJ


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

Instead of Wood screw on the hinges. Why not bolt all the way through with nuts and bolts. Also I would put fender washers on the inside to spread the stress 

JJ


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## NTCGRR (Jan 2, 2008)

Just use oil exterior primer. Most Kilz is interior, if I remember right


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By tj-lee on 22 Apr 2011 02:01 PM 
Jerry, 

> Every project is a learning experience accompanied by a lot of mistakes. 

Boy, you it right on that one! The big barn is really looking good. 

Best, 
TJ 
Hi TJ,

Thank you for the compliment. 

"The Big Barn" - I like that. Maybe I need to start calling it a "Train Barn" rather than a "Train Shed."

I got all but one of the sections installed today (every one of the sections had something I had to change to get it to fit right). I stepped out of the caboose to take a photo but there were two deer very close to the layout (I was late putting the feed out for them so they were probably looking for it). I fed the deer and will take some photos tomorrow.

It looks like I may be down to 7 deer. One large buck (his antlers starting to begin to show), one large doe (I suspect the buck is 2 years old and the doe is 1 year old) and 5 little ones with one beginning to show the beginning of antlers. 

This may be the first time deer will have stayed around all year.

Jerry


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## toddalin (Jan 4, 2008)

As the whole layour appears to be raised plenty high, and is pretty large, why didn't you just add a downgrade and build a second level right under the first? Then you wouldn't have needed a roof.


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By toddalin on 22 Apr 2011 07:30 PM 
As the whole layour appears to be raised plenty high, and is pretty large, why didn't you just add a downgrade and build a second level right under the first? Then you wouldn't have needed a roof.


Actually this layout originally started out with a second level right under the first:











http://www.mylargescale.com/Communi...fault.aspx


I spent two years trying to figure out how to run a ramp to bring the trains from below up to the layout but everything I thought of either was going to amount to a lot of work (plus track, supporting framing etc) and was either going to be sticking out and getting in the way or it would make getting to stuff very difficult.

Finally I gave up on the idea and decided go go the simple and easy way and just put the train storage on the same level as the trains.

I have multi-layered layouts elsewhere where space prevented alternatives and they tend to be problematical when moving trains from one layer to the other.

There may be good ways of doing it but for me I decided to go the easy route.

I do appreciate the suggestion.

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By John J on 22 Apr 2011 03:12 PM 
Instead of Wood screw on the hinges. Why not bolt all the way through with nuts and bolts. Also I would put fender washers on the inside to spread the stress 

JJ 
Hi JJ,

This is one of those "coulda, woulda, shoulda" things where the advice after the fact makes so much more sense than the way something was done.

The problem with the bolts and fender washers (aside from the fact that I never thought of it) would have been how difficult it was for me to get the dang roofs attached in the first place. 

Bear in mind that everything around here has pretty much been a one (old, barely functioning) man job where I have had to figure out how to do just about everything without any help from anyone (not to take anything away from the welcome assistance I have had on a few occasions).

I had one heck of a time trying to figure out how I was going to support the heavy roofs at the back end and hold them in precisely the right position so that I could screw the hinges into them from above. Even now I have no idea how I could have done it with screws, nuts and fender washers unless I had someone under the roofs holding them up while I attached the hinges.

Still, it is a VERY good idea and if I ever notice any loosening of the screws holding the hinges I will then use your idea because then I will be able to remove and replace one deck screw at a time and replace it with a screw, washer and nut.

In the meantime the hinges should hold up for some time because at least the hinges are supported by three 1 1/2" deck screws going through the siding into the flat of a 2" x 4".

If anyone else is contemplating a project like this, your idea of using screws, nuts and fender washers would be a much better way to attach the hinges than my way.

Thanks,

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By NTCGRR on 22 Apr 2011 04:29 PM 
Just use oil exterior primer. Most Kilz is interior, if I remember right 

Hi Marty,

Thanks, I will try to remember to do this sometime during the summer.

My lack of knowledge of paints and primers is a major reason why I have been procrastinating over how to paint the exterior of the caboose this past year or so. The research I've done on MoPac Cabooses shows that they too had a very hard time determining which paints to use on their cabooses.

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Today has been a great day for me. The roofs are finally installed on the train shed.









As of now the train shed is functional (no power or electric switches yet but that will be easy to take care of).

I have to say that I am very pleased with the results. It may not be quite like any other train shed but I borrowed ideas from a lot of others.

The right 5 panels total 20 feet and are made up of 48" x 48" roof sections. They open from right to left and must be opened in that sequence because of the overlap of the roof sections.











The left 3 panels total 12 feet and they rise from left to right. This way I can access the layout from either end. 

Since the turnouts are on the right, I will probably need more frequent access there and it will be helpful to have a wider access on that side. 

Opening from the left will probably only be needed when something derails at that end.

It is both quick and easy to open the entire train shed and the shed can be fully open or fully closed in less than one minute.













Currently there are 5 sidings now but there will be 6 (two of the turnouts I ordered have not come yet).












The first thing I did when the last roof was installed was to vacuum all the leaves and tree gunk from the inside and then straighten the tracks.











Then came the time to find out if the train shed was really going to be big enough to hold everything that had been in the storage below the layout.












As I started bringing the rolling stock out it gave me a chance to do a bit of switching as I assembled the rolling stock into the right order.











The sidings started filling up fast and I started to wonder if the sidings were going to be long enough and if there would be enough sidings.











It turned out that my worries were ungrounded. Everything fit and there even is some room to spare.











That's it. Everything is inside and there is room enough for a passenger train on the front siding. 












By coincidence the train shed is directly below the outdoor security light that I put on the Caboose a few months ago so if I am ever working on anything inside of the train shed at night it will be extremely well illuminated.

Also from a security viewpoint, the motion detectors that are already in place to spot, send an alarm, and photograph the deer will work equally well in providing security for anything left in the train shed. It seems that several things are working out very nicely that were not even planned.


There is still a lot of work to be done but at least now I will have rolling stock ready to run while I am working on the layout.

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

I have run into one problem with the train shed and it is one I had pretty much expected - the clearance of the track entering the shed is insufficient for the Aristo-Craft Heavyweight Coaches to pass by without hitting the 4" x 4" at the corner.

I was actually surprised when the Aristo-Craft 53' Evans Boxcars managed to squeak by but this morning I tried the coaches with no luck.

I expect to be able to fix the problem with a Saber Saw by cutting the outside edge of the 4" x 4" but it would have been a lot easier if I had remembered to do it before I installed that 4" x 4" a couple of days ago (I had planned to cut it).

At least the weather is nice and it should be a quick job.

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Fixing that corner 4" x 4" would have been a LOT easier if I had done it before I had it screwed in place but I did finally manage to cut the corner sufficiently enough for the Aristo Heavyweights and the USAT PA-1's to pass by it without hitting it.

Yesterday was the first day that I was able to actually drive trains directly out of the train shed and then to drive them back into it. 

One change I have made was to remove the track insulators from all the rolling stock sidings so the sidings remain powered at all times. I will probably insulate the single track that feeds into the Train Barn so I don't end up illuminating coaches and cabooses parked on the sidings when they are not being run.

The reason I removed the insulators was because I realized I do not need the sidings insulated because unlike most of my sidings elsewhere there will be no locomotives left parked on the same siding as their rolling stock.

Since I will have power controls available from the cupola I may elect to run any switching with locos equipped with Revolutions. I tried this with the FA/FB-1's and it seemed to work well. 

If I decide to run switching with non-Revolution equipped locos I may go back to the idea of using a LGB 51070 Controller but power it from the main lines giving me precise control of any switching via the 51070.

This way a single DPDT switch could control whether the sidings are powered via the mainline power (using Revolutions) or via the LGB 51070 using track power.

This may sound weird but each day I run things out of the Train Barn I learn something new and unique to what I can do with it.

Jerry


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

Hey!!!!!!!!!!!! Only one problem? You did good. How long is that storage shed again ?


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By John J on 25 Apr 2011 08:26 AM 
Hey!!!!!!!!!!!! Only one problem? You did good. How long is that storage shed again ? 

The total length (outside) is 32 feet and a few inches. The reason for the extra inches is because I did not want to give up any extra inch I could get and the lumber came slightly oversize.

I think the 2" x 4" x 16's were actually 16 feet and two inches so when I put them end to end I ended up with 32 feet and 4 inches. Since I had done the same with the decking frame where the 2" x 8" x 16's were also an extra couple of inches long, the Train Barn ended up matching the length of the extended layout decking. I picked up a couple extra inches on the depth of the Train Barn the same way.

One thing I learned from my previous layouts is to never give up an inch of space as I will probably end up regretting it.

I wish I could say that I had planned everything the way it came out but the truth is that I just started building and I let however the construction was going determine the next step.

A lot of things ended up by accident such as I had planned to have 4 roof sections open right to left and 4 roof sections open left to right but I screwed up and put the last roof on facing the wrong direction and rather than take all the screws out (leaving holes from the screws in the roof) I just added it to the right sections ending up with 5 sections to the right and 3 sections to the left.

The funny thing is that I am now happy I made the mistake because it is turning out that I much prefer having the 5 sections opening from the right. I also discovered that I had to shorten and angle cut the roof supports as it turned out that the left sections were just slightly narrower than the extreme right section on which I had based my measurements and the left roof sections would not close.

All I can say is that I am REALLY glad I am close to being finished but it has absolutely been worth the time, effort and expense.

I can now have at least two short or two long trains running in just a minute or two - any day that I am inclined to run them. There are going to be thunderstorms all day today so the Train Barn will remain closed and the "Rain Trains" will be run from the smaller Train Shed. If the weather is nice tomorrow there will be long trains coming out of the Train Barn.









Jerry


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## tj-lee (Jan 2, 2008)

Jerry, 

The Train Barn is awesome! Lift up roof sections are wonderful. 

Best, 
TJ


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By tj-lee on 25 Apr 2011 03:56 PM 
Jerry, 

The Train Barn is awesome! Lift up roof sections are wonderful. 

Best, 
TJ 

Hi TJ,

Thanks. I appreciate your appreciation (really).

I already have a few planned improvements. There still is a bit of rain leakage between sections so I plan to take a sheet of corrugated fiberglass (preferably with squared corrugations) and cut individual squared sections out of it in sort of an angular fishhook shape so that I can attach it to the edge of the overhanging sections to act as a rain gutter to catch and drain any water dripping between the sections away from the trains below.

I also plan on doing something similar with either corrugated fiberglass or vinyl or rubber (or something similar) to cover the gap where the hinges are to prevent water from falling through at that location. That is not too critical in that the water should not be falling on any rolling stock anyway.

Since the floor is outdoor carpet on treated decking, any water dripping in will drain out through the floor.

In case anyone is thinking about building anything similar, one change I will probably make in the future and would suggest to anyone else would be to not use the 1" x 6" (that the hinges are attached to) and instead add one or two more layers of 2" x 4" x 16's to raise the back wall thus increasing the angle of the roof and improving rain runoff. I had anticipated this which is why the front overhang is as wide as it is. The problem with me doing it later is that I will have to either replace the end walls or do something to make up for the increased rear wall height.

2" x 4" x 16's may be an expensive way to do this and someone with more woodworking skills than I have can probably come up with a better design. 

Something I have not addressed yet but that is in the back of my mind is some sort of cross or vertical ventilation to reduce heat buildup during the summer. I think I will want to (or need to) do something but for now I am tired of building so it will have to wait until something concerns me enough to take some action.

For me personally, I accomplish more when I just dive into a project and work out the problems as they come up rather than to try to come up with the perfect design before I begin (I never would start anything otherwise).

One reason I write so much is that putting my thoughts down in writing really helps me clarify in my own mind what it is that I am trying to do and then, to compensate for my terrible memory, I have a record of what I did or planned on doing in case I forget it. MANY times when I am in the process of describing what I am doing or a problem I have, a better idea jumps into my mind.

Regards,

Jerry


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

On the wall where the hingers attach You might cut some holes the look like windows high up. The cover them with hardware cloth for vents.


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## tj-lee (Jan 2, 2008)

Jerry, 

> to reduce heat buildup during the summer 

I like JJ's idea about windows for vents. Along with that I'd think about some industrial smokestacks or chimneys coming though the roof for vents as well. Make the Barn a building (albeit a large one) feature on the layout. 

Best, 
TJ


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## NTCGRR (Jan 2, 2008)

I had vents on my metal roof , but after checking it a number of afternoons in Aug I realized it stayed cool enough from the concrete under the track. Jerry, You may just wait and see, you have lots of shade trees around anyway.


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

I like TJ's Idea of the smoke stacks and Vents. 

JJ


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

I think I like Marty's idea best. It makes sense to wait and see and if there are no problems to do nothing (that's my favorite kind of solution).

Thanks for all the suggestions. Eventually I may do one of them.

At least the Train Barn survived the tornado or whatever it was.

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

I have a few updates to the Train Barn (the big shed) and to the Train Shed (the little shed).


I finally got the 6th siding laid in the Train Barn plus one loco siding. There will be two more loco sidings once I can get the turnouts for them.

The six sidings enable me to have up to six complete trains ready to run at the flick of a switch. Each siding has a SPST switch for power to it.

The three longest sidings will accommodate a loco, twelve freight cars and a caboose.

There is enough space between the sidings and the sides of the Train Barn that any rain from the gutters does not fall on any rolling stock.

The outdoor carpeting, combined with the decking below, allow any rain water to drain immediately from the Train Barn.

So far I have not noticed any sort of heat buildup in the Train Barn. The air inside actually feels cool when I open it up.



The Train Barn is working out far better than I had expected. If it rains, I can open or close the entire Train Barn in less than one minute.














I added a piece of corrugated plastic to seal the gap between the major roof sections.
It keeps the rain out and a single screw secures it.










I then added strips of that corrugated plastic between the roof sections which act as gutters directing any rain leakage to the front or rear.










And yesterday I added front and rear doors to the Train Shed using left over pieces of the siding I had built the Train Barn with.










I needed to have the siding above and below the hinges so that the lower piece would fall flat against the sides.










Now locomotives or small trains can be left in the Train Shed - even in the rain.











I have to say that both the Train Barn and the Train Shed have met and exceeded ALL of my expectations.. Well, almost all of them - I have no idea (and don't want to know) what the total cost came to. 

To be truthful, I actually failed to meet either of the descriptions in the topic in that I cannot say that it was either easy to build or relatively cheap but, in the end, it has been very worth the money and effort. I have probably more than quadrupled my train running time since I reached a point where I could actually put trains inside the Train Barn and the Train Shed. 

For the first time ever, I actually run trains at least once every day. This alone proves that this project has been one of the best things I have ever done with any layout.

I was going to sell the Train Shed because it turned out smaller than I had wanted but that would have been a HUGE mistake. Rather than have the Train Shed as part of the Train Barn it is far more useful to have it in the center rear where I use it as my evening and night train storage. I can run the mainline trains through it and have three sidings to park the smaller trains.

I had considered things like tunnels etc. but the Train Barn and Train Shed have accomplished the same goals. As locos go through the Train Shed the sound drops way off, the train seems to be disappearing only to reappear and the sound return as it emerges from the other end and then when the trains run behind the Train Barn they disappear from view and again the sound drops way down. Just when you start to wonder if everything is OK the train emerges back into view. I don't think a tunnel would have been that much different other than appearance.

As things have worked out (for now anyway) everything in the Train Barn is run on Revolutions and everything in the Train Shed is run on Track Power - all of which is powered by one or two power supplies and throttles in the cupola. I will be adding a bit of extra wiring to enable track power with the old Train Engineers from the gazebos for when I and or visitors want to run large trains under track power on the mainlines.

About all that is left to do with either the Train Barn or the Train Shed is to cut and install a door at the back of the Train Barn. Hopefully I will have that done by the end of today. I also need to do some painting here and there.

Jerry


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## tj-lee (Jan 2, 2008)

Jerry, 

An awesome project! 

Best, 
TJ


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Hi TJ,

Thank you for the compliment. 

I did get the door made and mounted to the rear of the Train Barn.












Plus a simple way to hold the door up.











Aside from some paint here and there the Train Barn and the Train Shed are now both pretty much completed.

They may not win any prizes for their appearance but they do provide excellent protection for the trains inside while keeping those trains accessible and ready to run in a minute or two. All I need to do is to turn the power on in the cupola, pick up the Revolution transmitters, open the roof(s) and door of the Train Barn and start running trains.

As is obvious, I build for functional capabilities rather than for appearance. 

Jerry


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## Bob in Kalamazoo (Apr 2, 2009)

Jerry, I like your train barn and train shed. If you don't have functional capabilities, then appearance doesn't mean much. I want my trains protected first. Appearance comes next. How heavy are your roof sections? I have a similar train barn and your roof sections look much heavier. They look good and solid and if they aren't too heavy I might change mine to make them more like yours?
Bob


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By Bob in Kalamazoo on 14 May 2011 08:10 AM 
Jerry, I like your train barn and train shed. If you don't have functional capabilities, then appearance doesn't mean much. I want my trains protected first. Appearance comes next. How heavy are your roof sections? I have a similar train barn and your roof sections look much heavier. They look good and solid and if they aren't too heavy I might change mine to make them more like yours?
Bob



Hi Bob,

I don't know the exact weight but the roof sections would be 1/2 of a 4" x 8' sheet of siding or plywood plus two each 2" x 4" x 8"s. The 2" x 4"s start out heavy because they are wet treated wood but lighten a lot as the wood dries. Since they are hinged at the back they are not very heavy to lift since you are only lifting about 1/2 of the total weight.

At this stage I would be hesitant to recommend that anyone copy my design because it is the result of what happened to come to my mind as I built it and it has only been a very short time that it has been exposed to the weather. I readily admit that I am not a good craftsman and some of my stuff does not work out as well as planned.

I am particularly concerned about my use of Masonite type of siding for the roof. It is rated for exterior use but part of me does not trust it. Time will tell.

As for the roof design itself, I don't see why it should not work with one possible exception - I would suggest that the rear wall be raised somewhat if possible because, while rain does wash off the roof(s) not all of it does. A bit of water does remain on the roof and a higher angle would minimize this. I can't measure and cut wood worth a darn so I elected to build all my walls 12" high and then put some extra 2" x 4"s along the back top to raise it up (higher would have been better).

I always use wood products for any sort of storage because I believe wood both insulates against heat and cold plus it (I believe) does a good job of absorbing moisture from the air keeping the humidity of the interior a lot drier than the outside air.

I think the roof is strong enough for a dog or raccoon to run on it but probably not a small child. If I had used plywood (which I avoided because of possible delaminating) and had used a 2" x 4" instead of the 1" x 6" at the top rear (that the hinges are attached to) I think the roof would even support a small child walking on it.

By comparison, the walls are extremely sturdy. I weigh 325 lbs and (while I would never have any reason to do it) I could probably walk on the tops of the walls in safety. It is also safe for anyone to lean on the walls (as I might do when climbing onto the layout). 

Constructive criticism does not bother or offend me. If anyone who is more skilled at building this sort of thing would like to voice their opinions (good or bad) they are welcome to jump in with whatever they would like to contribute.

Regards,

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

I thought I was done with the Train Barn and the Train Shed but there was one bit of unfinished business - security.

Yesterday I found the stuff to do what I wanted to do.

Here is the New and Improved Train Barn:











You don't see much difference? 

Look again.










And a bit closer.











Each of the eight roof sections is now secured with a heavy duty eye bolt fastened with a 2" padlock (all locks are keyed alike).

I can still open and close - and now secure - the Train Barn in about one minute. 

There is going to be a Plan B as well. That is simply the addition of a chain across all of the roofs with each lock looped through both the eye bolt AND through a link in the chain. This way breaking into one section will involve breaking into multiple sections because everything will be interlocked. This will be particularly useful if we think we might go somewhere. Nothing is totally burglar/vandal proof but between the lights, cameras, alarms and now the extra difficulty if someone was looking for a quick grab and run, I feel better about leaving some trains in the Train Barn overnight.

I have the chain but since I often sleep in the camper next to the caboose I will probably only use the chain when we are gone or I am not in the caboose or camper.

Jerry


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## Bob in Kalamazoo (Apr 2, 2009)

Thanks Jerry, I'll have to take some pictures of my train barn tomorrow (it's raining right now) and post them. I tired to keep my roof light weight and made it out of 1/4" exterior plywood. I painted all sides of it and covered the top with brown aluminum flashing. It's held up through two winters, but I'm afraid it might not be sturdy enough long term. 
Bob


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## Bob in Kalamazoo (Apr 2, 2009)

Ok, lets see if this works. I don't post pictures that often and I have trouble remembering what to do.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/5726660512/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/5726660492/

Bob


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By Bob in Kalamazoo on 15 May 2011 12:59 PM 
Thanks Jerry, I'll have to take some pictures of my train barn tomorrow (it's raining right now) and post them. I tired to keep my roof light weight and made it out of 1/4" exterior plywood. I painted all sides of it and covered the top with brown aluminum flashing. It's held up through two winters, but I'm afraid it might not be sturdy enough long term. 
Bob

Hi Bob,

I saw your photos and to be honest, your train barn looks better than my train barn. If it ain't broke...

If I were you I think I would stay with what you have unless and until you had some serious reason to change it. I only built/bought mine because I had nothing to begin with.

It sounds to me that you did all the right things.

Regards,

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Security - Phase 2. 

The track openings were unsecured and the Train Shed was unlocked.

Now:

The Train Shed is locked.










The Track Side Entrance of the Train Barn is locked.










The left lock is mainly for the evenings when I want to be sure that the raccoons cannot get into the Train Barn. 
The center lock is for added security.


These locks slide into the decking to prevent the doors from opening.










The Track Side locks can be secured in the open (unlocked) position as well.










Now the Entrances to the Train Shed are also locked.




















Granted, nothing will give total protection against burglars and vandals but I have tried to address the things that are most likely to concern a burglar or vandal:

1. Detection: Alarms.
2. Identification: Still and Video Cameras.
3. Noise: Breaking into the Train Shed and Train Barn would be noisy.
4. Fast Entry and Fast Exit: Breaking in would be very time consuming.
5. Value of goods: Breaking in would be necessary before value could be determined.
6. Risk: This is Arkansas where lethal force against intruders is something Law Enforcement is not opposed to and I may happen to be so inclined. 
7. Prosecution: Locks create a situation that their presence and removal or destruction thereof creates proof of criminal intent.

After all, the best security is not catching a burglar or vandal after the fact but to instead make it more attractive for them to go look elsewhere for a less prepared victim.

There have been burglaries not very far from here and vandals have done a lot of damage to the caboose back when it was on school property. It is my goal to avoid having to deal with a burglar or vandal as well as to be prepared in case I may have to.

If I were a burglar, this is one of the very last places I would ever want to try to break into. 

Twelve padlocks amount to fairly good security at a very economical price - without a level of inconvenience that could lead to not using them.

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

UPDATE:[/b]

Did you ever notice that some of the best ideas seem to come to mind right after we follow through on some 2nd best ideas?

My original plan for Phase 1 had not been to use padlocks but had been to use a thick steel cable fed through all the eye bolts. That was before I found the cheap padlocks - so I went with padlocks assuming heavy steel cable would be expensive.

Right after completing and posting Phase 2 I remembered the utility support poles that had been knocked down by the big oak tree at the end of our lower drive blocking our drive and the highway.

That got me to thinking about the guy wires that the utility company had used to support their utility poles. Since the utility company has already installed new support poles along with new wires I wondered if:

A. Were the guy wires steel rather than aluminum? I was sure they had to be steel but I wanted to be sure.
B. Was there sufficient length to run the entire length of the Train Barn plus some extra to extend down the sides?

A. Yes, the wire is steel.
B. Yes there is plenty of cable for my purposes (and some left over for future purposes).

Now, Alternate Phase 1 involves the use of that heavy steel cable as an alternative to the locks. Another alternative is that I might do both - run the steel cable along but not inside the eye bolts and padlock the eye bolts to the steel cable.











Net additional cost? $0.00 - my kind of bargain hunting.

I might even decide to install eye bolts along the top of the roof sections (near the hinges and into the 2" x 4"s under the siding) and then to run of that extra steel cable through those eye bolts so that even if someone unscrewed the tops of the roof sections, they would all be cabled together. The cable could be left loose enough to allow individual roof sections to be raised. The additional cost to do that would be less than $10.00.

It would take heavy duty (expensive) bolt cutters to cut the steel cable and to cut the locks. Even if a burglar happened to carry them around with him (burglar tools?) they are heavy and awkward. It would be a real PITA for a burglar just to carry bolt cutters and then to cut the steel cable plus a dozen hardened steel padlocks. I doubt they could run fast carrying them. Comparatively, a .40 S&W is not heavy and one does not have to run at all to use it (but it is rather noisy).

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

I went back down the driveway this morning to get the last of the steel guy wires from the utility poles. Yesterday I tried to pull the last wire out but could not - so then I went back with a Jeep to pull it out. The wire stopped the Jeep cold! Today I went back prepared for anything and when I had cut away the brush I discovered that this guy wire was still attached to the ground anchor. Although the wire is narrower than the wire I got yesterday, I figure that if it is tough enough to hold a Jeep back it has to be pretty darn tough.

I think this is going to work out even better in that the new wire is narrow enough to enable me to run it through the eye bolts and then to put a padlock through the eye bolt AND the steel guy wire.










Since this wire is steel, even a lineman's pliers will not cut it plus it will ruin the cutting edge of any pliers used on it.
It will also be possible to weld steel loops (for padlocks) in the ends that will fit through the eye bolts .
This cable is much easier to work with as the thick cable scratched the paint of the siding.
It WILL prevent anyone from trying to unscrew the eye bolts.


Breaking into the Train Barn now will not be an easy proposition.

Jerry


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## Bob in Kalamazoo (Apr 2, 2009)

Posted By Jerry McColgan on 17 May 2011 12:58 PM 
Hi Bob,

I saw your photos and to be honest, your train barn looks better than my train barn. If it ain't broke...

If I were you I think I would stay with what you have unless and until you had some serious reason to change it. I only built/bought mine because I had nothing to begin with.

It sounds to me that you did all the right things.

Regards,

Jerry


Thanks Jerry,

But I know yours is a lot more secure. I thought of putting pad locks on mine, but there isn't a good way to do it. I've never had any trouble here, but I don't want to learn the hard way that I was being overly optimistic.
Bob


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

It is unfortunate that we have had to become so distrustful but that is the way things are these days. 

A few weeks ago a guy ran out of gas and pulled in my upper driveway. I gave him some gas (which he never replaced or paid for) and since he also had a flat tire I had brought an air tank for him to fill his tire. Then his engine would not start so he called a friend to start his car. When I heard his engine start, I walked up and found that he had put my air tank in his trunk - of course he said he was going to drive down the lower driveway and return it (yeah sure). I would have been inclined to believe him if I had not heard his friend ask him if the tank was his and he replied that it was. Here I give the guy gas, give him air for his tire and he was going to repay me by stealing my air tank. What he did not know was that while he was gone I had photographed his car and his license plate (Yep! I am that distrusting). Had he left with my air tank I would have driven to town and handed the photos to the police. I can live with the fact that he tried to steal the air tank but that does not mean that I would not have reported the theft and gave the police the ability to go get the guy - where they would have found my air tank for evidence. I had modified the air tank so I could have proven it was mine.

This morning I discovered a fellow cutting up the tree that had fallen across the county road and my lower driveway. He was trespassing and actually stealing the wood he was cutting plus he had knocked down my street sign. I did not care about him taking the wood - if he had bothered to ask I would have told him he was welcome to it but then he lied about knocking my street sign down. I KNEW he had done it. He probably backed into it or intentionally pushed it over to make it easer (faster) to get the wood he was cutting and depart. The reason I knew he had done it was because about an hour before he had started cutting the wood I had just finished removing the guy wire from the utility pole that was in the ditch next to the tree he later was cutting.

I am not upset about either situation. If the guy needed the gas that bad he was welcome to it and if he felt he had to steal the air tank it had only cost me about $30 so I could live with that. Even the street sign was OK because it was not damaged.

Still, it is incidents like this that make me feel better knowing that the Train Barn and Train Shed are now secured.

The only way we ever find out if our security was not good enough is when we become yet another victim.

Jerry


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