Hello,
I would like to order Tichy Train Group 400 Ton Coaling Tower Kit. But I don`t know any information about prototype (railroad, location, era and so on).
I`ll be glad to have any prototype information.
Thanks,
Valeriy.
The manufacturer indicates it is a model of a Fairbanks Morse coaling tower.
http://www.tichytraingroup.com/index.php?page=view_product.php&id=196&category=Structures
A google search turns up many photos of similar structures in use around the country. This was a standard design from F-M and was used by a number of railroads.
The Tichy kit is based on the one built by Fairbanks Morse in Lamy, New Mexico, for the Santa Fe. According to the instruction sheet, it’s a slightly modified version of the prototype, but is a typical example of this type of coaling tower.
The kit’s design allows quite a bit of leeway (as did the prototype) on chute placement and the layout of stairs, ladders and platforms.
A friend expressed an interest in this model some years ago, and wondered if I would build one for him. After he agreed to supply a second model for my own use, I got to work.
I built the basic structures as per the instructions, using lacquer thinner as a solvent-type cement - there’s not really much choice for the “concrete” portions of it, as the real ones were generally a standard design which was then customised through placement of the chutes, platforms, etc. I used a modified X-Acto #17chisel blade, held perpendicular to the surface and dragged, straight-edge-first, across the walls’ surfaces to impart lines representing those left by form boards. After these parts were assembled, I airbrushed them a concrete colour and then set about assembling the add-on “metal” parts. I also painted the base, but didn’t cement it to the tower, as you’ll need access to install the chutes and associated hardware.
The instructions recommend the use of ca, mainly due to the fact that the you’ll be installing pre-painted sub-assemblies onto the pre-painted structure. In my opinion, this is a poor choice, as ca is notoriously lacking in shear strength and there are a lot of details sticking out from the basic structure.
I opted for solvent-type cement ( again, lacquer thinner - it’s cheap and very effective, and useful for a lot of other purposes) for all plastic-to-plastic joints, scraping paint from mating surfaces - a little more work, but well worth the effort, as both towers ( his installed on a layout and mine s
Thank you for your links.
With the help of your second link I found Fairbanks, Morse & Co. 1935 Catalog http://fr8car.com/fmcatalog.html. Highly recommended.
Excellent work! Excellent images! Many thanks for your assembling instructions.
Valeriy.