Show us your Sand towers


DTI973

Member
Here's mine.....my latest scratchbuild project. A 1/29 scale version of DT&I's Flatrock,MI diesel era sand tower.

The model is almost entirely plastic. The main support tube and storage tank are PVC plumbing pipe. The rest is Evergreen and Plastruct structural shapes. The expanded metal on the platform is the stuff available at any decent craft store. The ladder and safety cage are Plastruct assemblies.

I worked from a scale drawing I made from several reference photos from various sources. As a wise farmer taught me many years ago...."plan your work, work your plan".

Since I did the plan in MS Visio I am able to scale it to any size....this screen capture version is of a 1/48 scale drawing.

416100914_BF508947825F85FDA10BEDE432ECA8E4.jpg


Here’s a few shots of where I am so far, still have to paint the cement base and build the outer support posts.

Enjoy!

295100914_397D9575760E5914E67CC10E2293180D.jpg


785100914_99095AA8C6814B14E3429430375B9953.jpg


885100914_47ABDB799A3B0F71182884CFD12FEBAE.jpg


495100914_9B31DD47B5E4F6E4A6D8E2049D839ECC.jpg


395100914_42C6DB194483A82FA2215F426377B4B9.jpg


195100914_9318C7104F9B63395A8711FF2615430F.jpg


Brian B.
DT&I 1980ish in 1/29 scale
 
Brian, your work is remarkable. Please accept my congratulations and my compliments!!:eek:

:)

Mine is an N-Scale coal tower perched atop a roadside shack next to the coaling tower.

IMG_5176csharadj.png


What can I say...it serves its intended purpose. :p

-Crandell
 
Brian that is an outstanding job, well done!
Crandell I never would have known that was a foreign scale...
Here's mine, I think it was a plastruct kit:
 
Had this for years. Had to rebuild it twice (moving in the military takes its toll on trains). I'm currently working it into a new diorama.


100_2584.jpg
 
Brian, that is a remarkable piece of scratchbuilding. The level of detail you can get in larger scales is astounding.

Jerome, that's a neat idea for a sanding facility at a large yard.

My poverty stricken short line's sanding tower is an old dump truck so it's not very photogenic. :)
 
Can anybody explain the sanding process to me? Why do modern diesels have the sanding facilities?

Thanks,

Michael
 
Michael, steel wheels on steel rails don't have a lot of traction when pulling a heavy load or on a grade. Modern diesels have a sand tank both front and rear. Sanding tubes can dump sand on the rails right in front of the wheels giving them better traction. The sanding facilities are for refilling the sand tanks on units.
 
Michael, steel wheels on steel rails don't have a lot of traction when pulling a heavy load or on a grade. Modern diesels have a sand tank both front and rear. Sanding tubes can dump sand on the rails right in front of the wheels giving them better traction. The sanding facilities are for refilling the sand tanks on units.

Ohhh... really? Wow I didn't know that. I learn something new every day..

Looks like I need to get a sanding facility for the engine house.

Thanks Jerome!
 
Thanks very much, Brian. :D It wasn't deliberate....I mean it was a deliberate purchase, but a mistaken one....didn't read the scale notice on the package. Got home and opened it up....gee, I knew the box was a bit small, but.. .:rolleyes:

Later I figured out that it would do as a mini coal tower, but for sand.

-Crandell
 
I want my yard to look like Grampy's. I mean.. look at the concrete with the oil stains, I don't know how the heck you achieve that.:confused:

Edit: OK, let's compare Grampy's yard to a prototype yard. I can't even tell which one is which? LOL

IMG_0251.JPG
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thanks, Gary and Michael: Michael, I used a combination of alcohol/ink and black tempora paint for the oil stains and general grimy effects. DJ.
 
Brian, your work is remarkable. Please accept my congratulations and my compliments!!:eek:

:)

Mine is an N-Scale coal tower perched atop a roadside shack next to the coaling tower.

IMG_5176csharadj.png


What can I say...it serves its intended purpose. :p

-Crandell

Crandell--I have to say that that tower looks very convincing there--and I see that you take your trackwork to levels that I can't even begin to fathom!!:eek::eek:

How'd you get the track to look that good!!:eek::D:D
 
Thanks, Gary and Michael: Michael, I used a combination of alcohol/ink and black tempora paint for the oil stains and general grimy effects. DJ.

Thanks DJ, I want to try the oil stains for my yard. What about the concrete, can you explain how you formed it, and colored it?

Thanks,

Michael
 
Crandell, I've also always admired your excellent track.
Michael, the pad is anchor cement, made in a form of 1/4" lattice, the rest of the concrete is styrene, painted with Floquil aged concrete. DJ.
 



Back
Top