My model of the Cedar Key Terminal will only approximate the original. Although I intend to model some structures as accurately as I can, my track plan departs from the original arrangement, and I have little or no information on the appearance of most structures. What I do intend to do is model wooden structures typical of the late 19th century on wooden docks and trestles. I wanted to test some of my ideas for the layout before tackling any large docks or structures. I will have to scratch-build and/or freelance most of the buildings. I will also have to scratch-build all of the docks. I therefore chose to assemble a small section of dock and place a small structure on it to test my ideas.
I like modeling structures from card stock, and intend to build most, if not all, of the structures on the dock from card stock. For this test I choose Wright's General Repair Shop from Clever Models. This structure is part of the downloadable Waterfront Collection (als0 available on DVD). I downloaded the HO version, and printed out the pages for Wright's General Repair Shop in N scale. This model is not difficult to build, although it does require a sharp hobby knife, bright lighting, and a little care. The kit comes with interior floor and walls. I added some crates that also come with the Waterfront collection, and some cast metal (HO scale) junk parts. |
I made the dock from wood. The pilings are 1/8 inch dowels, and the beams are 1/16 x 1/16 inch strip wood. The decking is N-scale 8 inch wide wood planking from Clever Models printed on 20 lb. paper and glued to sheet basswood. It is possible to make pilings and beams from card stock by rolling and folding printed patterns. I didn't try that because I would have had to roll a very large number of pilings, the dock structure will eventually be about four feet long, and needs to be stable, and trains will be operating over part of the dock. I initially overbuilt the support structure of the dock in this test. I first built it with 15 pilings under that little section of dock. After going back and looking at the few photos I have found of the Cedar Key Terminal, I reduced that to six pilings. |