Modeling a C&O side-unload freight platform

Chesapeake and Ohio Historical Magazine, Apr 2003 by Hass, Russ

While I prefer to work in styrene for most structures, for something like a freight platform that will be stained instead of painted I'll use stripwood for ease in finishing. The best glue I've found for working with stripwood is "Aleenes Tacky Glue," available in most craft stores.

Begin the project by measuring and cutting the following pieces of stripwood:

Stringers

8x8, 10'-0'' long (6 req'd)

Sills

8x8, 8'-0'' long (6 req'd)

Posts

8x8, 2'-3'' long (18 req'd)

Dock Joists

4x10, 36'-0'' long (5 req'd)

Decking

4x10, 10'-0'' long (50 req'd)

Ramp Joists

4x10, 14'-0'' long (5 req'd)

Bracing

2x6, 8'-0'' long (12 req'd)

End Caps

2x6, 10'-0'' long (2 req'd)

After cutting the stripwood it's time to stain. I like to mix up a custom batch of stain from artist's oil colors and turpentine in an old coffee can. Dump the pieces into the stain and let them soak until they are dark enough for your taste. To speed up the drying after fishing the wood out of the stain, throw the pieces into a paper grocery bag, fold the top over, shake it for a couple of minutes and then spread the stripwood out on a piece of newspaper to dry.

While waiting for the stripwood pieces to dry, glue the template onto your base and install the track. For my base I used a piece of scrap 3/32'' model aircraft plywood measuring approximately 4''x12''. The centerline of the dock should be 12'-0'' from the center line of the track.

Assemble the bents on the templates. I taped the bent template to a piece of scrap Homasote(TM) covered with a piece of wax paper so the bents wouldn't end up glued to the paper. Pins hold everything in place. Learn from my mistake and install the cross bracing now rather than forgetting about it until the bents have been glued in place on the base. Take one bent and bevel the top per the diagram and glue the bents in place

Trim both ends of the ramp dock joists and one end of the dock joists. To space the dock joists properly, I used a small square to line up the joist on the bent with the spacing on the template. Next glue the ramp joists in place and after everything is dry add the ballast or cinders.

You do want to keep the end of the ramp clear until after the decking is installed. I didn't and when I was gluing the last plank down I had to do a hit of scraping to get it to fit. When the decking planks are dry, add the nail holes. I used a sharpened straight pin held in a pin vise to simulate the nail holes, guided by a piece of plastic raped down as a straight edge.

As a final step, add a bit of ballast to the end of the ramp and you're ready to receive a load of autos.