Well first off im a newbie [swg]!!..Ive been reading through the forums and getting up to speed I hope.
What id like to know is, the water tower that im currently building is 3 inches in diameter and about 3 inches tall(just the water part not the stand as well),The scale im using is HO.On my Diorama it looks out of proportion.Yet,looking at photos of various water towers and some other models You have all built it does seem it should be that size.My Diorama is based around the 1930’s ISH!! and as you can see from the pic im in the stages of building it.It sure is a lot of fun and id love to hear from anyone with regards to the tower…or anything for that matter.
In HO Scale, the conversion from “real” to “scale” dimensions is 3.5mm to the foot. 3" is just about 7.5 cm (actually just a bit bigger) that’s 75mm or 21’ 4 and 4/5". That should be fairly good size for a tower in a larger station, or engine terminal, or as a stopover somewhere on the mainline - IE not something on a single track branchline that has 2-3 carloads per week and only an 0-4-0 or 0-6-0 as standard motive power.
From the looks of your photo (and the fact you have what appears to be a 4-8-4 sitting under the tower), this is going to be for a mainline used by heavy steam, so there would be a need for a “larger” tower.
This is probably pretty representative. The tank is 2 1/2 inches high, and about 3 1/4 inches across. (You can blow up the picture a bit by clicking on it, by the way.)
Thanks for getting back to my questions guys. Im glad to see then Im on the right track (no pun intended). I knew what my 3 inch dimensions would work out to be in the real world,what i was having trouble finding was actual dimensions.The Walthers tower looks very much close to what im trying to build.
[#welcome]The only thing that looks out of scale to me are the supports for the tank. The posts you have appear to be about half as thick as they should be, and only half as many that would be needed to hold the weight of the tank full of water. Everything else on your diarama looks great![8D]
Otown, First off, I really like the scratch building and the water tower! I hope you will post some pics after you are done and it is weathered. I would like to ask you one question, How are you going to make the top? I am wanting to build one for the steam powered tourest train on my layout. And another question (makes 2 doesn’t it) what size lumber did you use for the walls of the tower? Thanks, and good work. Mike
Just some suggestions. North of the U.S. Mason-Dixon line all the way to the North Pole water tanks had a housing around the water pipe to the ground to insulate against freezing up. A roof would be needed as well.
Unless the water source is from above the tank, a pump house might be needed in a cold climate.
The planks appear to be at least twice as wide as any I have seen. Don’t forget the steel bands around the tank or else it will explode when full.
Thanks for all the comments and suggestions.All are all very welcome,nothing like getting other perspectives and insight.
The water tower as it is, is just being built,I put it in the diorama to get an ide for placing it and scale etc.I wil be putting bands around the wood and im in the process of covering it with hexagonal type roof with baton seams.Also ladders and more supports underneath.Up here in Cold country Canada it will need to be heated to keep from freezing!!
The planks are made from coffee stir sticks available at any dollar store.They transalte into about 1 foot in size,but could be ripped to make smaller.But hey I guess ill get away with it lol.The rock face was made with pink extruded foam from home depot…actually I got it from the dumpster…woohoo so it was free!. I then did a tan coloured base on it and then from there 5 washes of different colours to get the effect I was looking for.
The trees are made from furnace filter.My building will be either a stop over building or a small country train station.
Still loads to do but the journey and the building is all the fun…a love the researching as well.
Id love to hear about other scratch built tips all of you might share
Sorry just realised I didnt go into much detail about the roof.
I printed out an octagon 4 inches in diameter as a template.Using balsa wood I Then cut it up into triangles.Taking out one of the pieces I then raise it about a cm and glue up the seven pieces.I found it easier to tape up the inside seams while gluing up and using something that will support the middle while drying.
