May/June 2010 - O Scale Trains Magazine Online

and into the tower. The entire structure could also be scratchbuilt.No two were exactly alike from what I’ve seen (Photo8).A small wood rack is found on the outbound ready track.I cut up a bunch of flat toothpicks to represent the four-footlong freight boxes split up by the personnel at central storesin Lima, Ohio. The wood along with oil soaked cotton wasteis used for restarting fireboxes when making locomotivesready for service (Photo 9).91112The elevated steam, condensate and air lines can be sitedat a number of points (Photo 10). On my layout, the steamplant is in the roundhouse, while the air plant is in the lean-tobehind the car department building. Both these facilities used10steam and air along with the sand plant and the drops to eachside of the ready track (for cleaning and Alemite lubrication).The condensate/water line is 1/16” styrene rod. The air lineis .045” brass wire. I used elbows, globe valves, and jointsfrom a Walther’s Cornerstone Series #933-3105, HO gaugepiping kit to detail the lines. The poles are 12” square basswoodstrips about 20’ high and spaced about 25 to 29 feetapart. They hold a 4’ long cross arm about a foot and a halffrom the top, with the water/steam lines hung under the crossarms using 0.010” wire hangers and bails, with the air lineresting on top the cross arms. The steam and water lines werepainted a light color and the poles and air line were painteda grimy black. Be sure to paint the lower part of the poles adirty white color so employees don’t drive into them (Photos11-12-13).The steam line is a 3/16” styrene tube (Evergreen #426).The expansion loop is formed on the jig shown in Photo 14(page 40). The steam line expansion loop jig is made of 1inchPVC pipe cross-sections. A hot air gun set on low heat was13May/June ’10 - O Scale Trains • 39