Building a Module; Photo Diorama

[Selector]

Yes, I stand corrected....in the coldest climes, heat will often make the relative humidity even less, so humidifying might be required over de-humidifying. It would probably be best to regulate both temps and humidity to stay in a certain range....that's the best way of saying it. Ideally, nothing colder than about 2 deg C, as in a cold fridge, and nothing hotter than about 30 deg C. Even so, the relative humidity should remain within a range of between 45-65% ideally.

It should be noted, as I have taken pains to explain here and there previously, that temperature is not the real enemy over a wide range...it is the humidity that changes the dimensions of more critical elements. For Example, wood can expand along the grain by 5%, and that is enough to split it or buckle it. But it's what it does to close rail joints that is the problem. One-hundred feet (32 meters) of Code 100 nickel-silver track will lengthen by a whopping 5 mm (0.25") over a change of 30 deg Celsius. That's nothing if you have six joints free to slide that are nominally 1/31" wide. But if you have tight joints and the space between them shrinks along a 30 meter length by 5%......!!!!! And that is what a change in humidity will do...if it reduces substantially, if shrinks the wood linearly so much that rails running atop the wood will also be compressed.

[Swede]

Originally Posted by Trucklover

This thread has now had all of its pictures restored, sorry for broken links

How is it going with your Modesto (beard) module building?

[beiland]

Originally Posted by beiland

Great job Josh.

When I first returned to this hobby, I visited a number of modular railroad displays.

As I began to formulate some ideas that I did not see on many, or any occasions, two came to mind...as a diorama or modular section. I also thought these might be 'educational' to both kids and some adults. (There are a lot of folks that have no idea of where our electrical power comes from)


Saturn V Launch Scene
I don't ever recall seeing such a scene. My interest grew from both growing up in that era and the lack of kids knowledge about it , (and some pics of liquid oxygen cars I'd seen). So I asked myself , "how did they get the liquid oxygen fuel into the Kennedy Center for the Saturn V moon rocket?". Turns out Florida East Coast RR was on some sort of managed strike at the time, so most of the fuel arrived by truck to be stored in big tanks under ground.

WELL, how about if we play with that history a bit and have fuel arrive by rail! ...the new transport age being assisted by the old transport age of railroad. Liquid oxygen cars bringing in the fuel for the Saturn rocket. And in a newer vein the solid rocket boosters being brought in for the Space Shuttle Rocket. Lots of switcher action with special NASA switchers, BIG models, etc.

Can you imagine the look in kids eyes when they saw a 5.5 foot high rocket (Saturn V in HO scale) on a diorama/module. Might make them want to learn more about this great accomplishment in our history, and consider science futures.

Only liquid Ox cars I ever saw were made in brass...and very expensive. I found that the 62 Athearn tank car was almost exactly the right size to kitbash...never finished, but started on two. (BTW, I have a sheet of printed plans I could send to anyone interested...or maybe I could post them over on a separate thread since they are 47 years old, Oct 1963)

...just recently sent to me

NASA railroad keeps shuttle's boosters on the right track
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sh.../railroad.html

[alocsin]

Excellent work. Just goes to show that you don't need a layout to enjoy model railroading.

[Trucklover]

Originally Posted by alocsin

Excellent work. Just goes to show that you don't need a layout to enjoy model railroading.

Thank you!

[Jim 68cuda]

[QUOTE=beiland;165994]Great job Josh.


Power Plant Scene
A coal fired power plant with coal piles outside. Maybe a newer style turbine addition being added to one section. Across the river a newer nuclear plant under construction with all the attendant construction cranes and flatcar loads of transformers, etc. Plus bridges over the river, and spur tracks, etc.

/QUOTE]

I know this is a late response to a very old post, but I just read it and it reminded me of an old Revell kit that I had seen a while back on E-bay.
I was thinking it would be a great start for this kind of diorama.
http://www.oldmodelkits.com/index.php?detail=15662

http://www.oldmodelkits.com/index.ph...23&manu=Revell

...until I actually found one on e-bay again and saw the price of nearly $1900.00!!!!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-WEST...-/200555377847

but I did see one that sold on E-bay for $600.00.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1961-REVELL-...-/370548261324
(this one says its 1/16 scale, but that is obviously very very wrong (at that scale it would be as big as a house).
The other ad says its HO scale.)

...and Con Cor made an N Scale Three Mile Island kit.
http://www.orau.org/ptp/collection/a...s/modeltmi.htm

[Burlington Bob]

If someone wanted to model a powerhouse, coal or nuclear, you could save space by locating the structure near a river or lake. That would eliminate needing to include a cooling tower or two.

Actually, a nuke, whether a BWR or a PWR, would be very easy to represent in a compressed format. All that would be needed would be a large warehouse type building about 150 scale feet in height and made to appear built from concrete, windows optional. Just use one end or side of the building at the far edge of the layout and a great deal of it could even be painted on a backdrop. Along with several smaller buildings of sheet metal and an office building with a guard house and a guard tower or two and an electrified, double chain link fence (wonder if a DCC unit has a code for that?) topped with razor wire surrounding the whole complex. Now you would have an excuse to have armed guards (m-16's) on the scene. Makes the occasional RR detective seem kind of meek.

Not all nukes use a dome for the containment building, although that is part of what gives them some of their mystique. Also would give a destination for a Schnabel car with a transformer, turbine or steam generator load.

Now all of this has gotten me to doing some serious thinking, especially if I model in N scale!

[beiland]

Originally Posted by Burlington Bob

If someone wanted to model a powerhouse, coal or nuclear, you could save space by locating the structure near a river or lake. That would eliminate needing to include a cooling tower or two.

Not all nukes use a dome for the containment building, although that is part of what gives them some of their mystique. Also would give a destination for a Schnabel car with a transformer, turbine or steam generator load.

I was going to do it on a river so you could have some bridges as well...perhaps the old coal plant on one side of the river and the nuke on the other.

I also have a few of those older long transformer cars...and some tall cranes to use in construction.

[beiland]

Just added another good photo of one of those liquid air/oxygen cars back on posting #25

[nickf06gli]

Wow! Looks amazing