N Scale Concrete Coal Dock Instruction Manual

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Gyles Collins
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1 N Scale Concrete Coal Dock Instruction Manual 1. General Overview This kit combines precision laser cut acrylic, photo etched brass and wood parts to make a highly detailed model of the Roberts and Schaefer Concrete Coal Dock with an external hoist, separate sand/hoist, control and unloading houses. Though based on a Central Vermont Railway installation, this was a standard R&S design that was similar to those used on other railroads. An experienced modeler should expect to spend about 12 to 16 enjoyable hours for assembly and painting. If you have any questions please contact us at info@alkemscalemodels.com 2. Assemble the Acrylic Walls for the Main Coal Dock Structure. First, glue the acrylic arch halves together as shown in Figure 1. Use Plastruct Bondene or other cement designed for acrylic plastic. Many styrene cements don t work on acrylic. If you do not want to model the Central Vermont coal dock, flip the part with the engraved letters so that the letters face the inside of the structure. Then glue the side walls. Make sure they are square and that the joints are flush. Next add the hopper slope sheets as shown in Figure 2. Make sure you use the slope sheets in the proper locations. The holes Roberts and Schaefer Concrete Coal Dock on the Central Vermont at White River Junction, VT List of parts: 1 sheet of laser cut acrylic parts with engraved logo 3 sheets of 1/32nd inch laser cut plywood 1 sheet of photoetched brass parts 1 Eight inch long, inch diameter brass rod 1 Eight inch long, inch diameter brass rod Recommended tools and supplies XActo knife with sharp number 11 blade Plastruct Bondene ABS, Weld or other acrylic glue CAA glue Fine wet sandpaper (400 or 600 grit) Tweezers Lycra or fuzz free thread Primer- white or grey Paints - acrylic or enamels: Concrete, Brick Red, Flat Black, Flat White, Medium Gray, Steel and weathering colors such as burnt sienna and burnt umber Masking Tape Instruction manual. You can download a high resolution pdf file of these instructions from our web site at Assemble arch halves and side walls. Figure 1: Exploded View of Acrylic Shell Assembly are for the coal chutes. The slope sheets with the holes should be placed so that the hopper chutes will be in the correct locations. Consult the elevation drawings for proper placement. Note that the slope sheets are plywood parts, not acrylic. If you desire, you can use scrap pieces of wood to seal the gap at bottom of the slope sheets where they touch the side walls. *** Note that the legs are relatively fragile. Be careful when handling the model, especially when sanding the joints.*** Next add the acrylic floor. This part will help square up the structure and strengthen it. Let the glue dry for a couple hours. Then use gap filling CAA or

2 styrene putty to fill in any obvious seams. Be careful when sanding the seams as the legs are fragile, especially at the joint near the side wall. If you break one of the legs, don t despair. You can usually glue it back on without too much trouble. Spray with primer and check for any obvious seams. Reapply gap Slope sheets Optional: Use scrap wood to cover gaps where the slope sheet bottom meets the acrylic wall. The gap is are not visible in the finished model. more difficult to do. To use the solder technique you can temporarily glue the hoist brackets to the roof and walls using small dabs of white glue. After the parts are soldered, carefully pop the glue joints and remove the hoist from structure. Clean the flux and paint. Then reapply to the structure with CAA. To assemble the hoist, first build the side rails. There are two similar pieces that over lay on each other to create a side rail (see Figure 4.) The inner parts do not have the filled in areas. These represent the guides that the hoist bucket wheels travel in. Note that the kit does not include a hoist bucket. Insert the hoist brackets into the holes on the coal dock as in Assemble two halves of each side rail as shown. Figure 2: Add the slope sheets filling CAA or putty and sand until the seams are filled. Be careful not to damage the engraved letters. 3. Assemble the Roof It is easiest to assemble the roof directly on the kit. First, glue the roof panel with the holes for the hoist on the hoist side of the coal dock. It is important to align the holes on the roof with the corresponding holes on the concrete structure so the hoist brackets will be in a straight line. Next apply the adjacent roof panels, making sure you align the notches. Add the final side panel and square up the roof. Once it is aligned satisfactorily, use gap filling CAA to fill in the seams. Sand the seams to remove traces of the notches. Paint this assembly with concrete tan paint. Check for any remaining grains or joint marks. Fill, sand and repaint as approriate. Make sure the hoist holes are aligned. Figure 3: Exploded View of Roof Assembly Figure 4: Hoist rails assembly Figure 5. The longer brackets attach to the side walls, while the shorter brackets go on the roof. 4. Assemble the Hoist Before building the hoist decide if you want to solder or use CAA to secure the parts. The easiest technique is to use CAA with prepainted brass parts. Solder makes a stronger bond, but is slightly Figure 5: Attaching hoist to coal dock

3 5. Assemble the Head House The head house has four etched brass sides, plus two walkways. One walkway is built into the top of the head house side. This must be bent 90 degrees to get it in the correct position as in Figure 6. Use a set of pliers to support the head house side while you make the bend. It may be necessary to sand the end of the walkway if it interferes with the adjacent head house sides. Assemble the head house sides as shown in Figure 7. Note the tabs and slots to help keep the parts properly aligned. Add the Bend the walkway as shown. Support the side with a pair of pliers to prevent unwanted warping and bending. Figure 6: Bending walkway on head house side second walkway as shown. Insert walkway as shown Some sanding might be required here to fit. Figure 9: Photo of the completed hoist and coal dock 5. Attach access walkways and ladders Attach the access walkways under the arch. The handrails bend up. Consult the elevation drawings for proper placement. The ladders on the chute side, see Figure 11, can be glued or sol- Figure 7: Exploded view of the head house Access Walkways Figure 8: Assembled head house Figure 10: Drawing showing access ladder placement

Ladders with tabs dered directly to the access walkway. Bend the tabs on the upper two ladders that so that they will add as standoffs, Figure 12. The lower ladders are attached as shown.

Figure 12: Bending tabs on ladders. 6. Build the stairs The stairs utilize a fold and twist design. Remove the part from the fret.

If you do accidentally bend them, you can usually unbend them back to shape. Fold up the Figure 13: Bending the stair handrails. other side. Square it up and fix any slight warps using the pliers.

Next use an XActo knife of small flat tip screwdriver to inset between the steps and twist down as shown in Figure 14. The stair treads are only etched at the corner and they should pivot.

Then gently squeeze the bottoms of the hand rails to close any gap between the stair treads and the handrails. Figure 14: Using an XActo knife to bend the stair treads.

Then bend the extending handrail 90 degrees so that it closes off the far end of the platform. Attach it to the top of the stairs as shown in Figure 15.

Loading Chutes There are three loading chutes. Two mount under the coal dock to the slope sheets. The third mounts to the exterior on the south wall.

Solder or glue the front deflector plate to the end of the chute. Chute Base Figure 16: Coal Chutes Assembly. All three chutes use this basic set of parts.

4 Ladders with tabs dered directly to the access walkway. Bend the tabs on the upper two ladders that so that they will add as standoffs, Figure 12. The lower ladders are attached as shown. They do not have tabs. Note handrail bend here Figure 15: Finished Stairway and platform with railings Access Walkways Figure 11: Attaching the access walkways and ladders. Figure 12: Bending tabs on ladders. 6. Build the stairs The stairs utilize a fold and twist design. Remove the part from the fret. Using a long needle nose pliers, fold the hand rails 90 degrees to the steps as shown in Figure 13. Be careful not to bend or warp the hand rails. If you do accidentally bend them, you can usually unbend them back to shape. Fold up the Figure 13: Bending the stair handrails. other side. Square it up and fix any slight warps using the pliers. Pay attention to the longer railing. It should be on the outside of the stairs, that is the side away from the coal dock. Next use an XActo knife of small flat tip screwdriver to inset between the steps and twist down as shown in Figure 14. The stair treads are only etched at the corner and they should pivot. Once all the steps are twisted, recheck your work so that all the treads are uniformly aligned. Then gently squeeze the bottoms of the hand rails to close any gap between the stair treads and the handrails. Figure 14: Using an XActo knife to bend the stair treads. Next, you should attach the platform at the top of the stairs. It has a bending handrail too. Bend it at the fold line. Then bend the extending handrail 90 degrees so that it closes off the far end of the platform. Attach it to the top of the stairs as shown in Figure 15. Solder the long handrail from the stairs to the handrail on the platform. The bend the other stair hand rail to a shape as shown and solder to the platform. 7. Loading Chutes There are three loading chutes. Two mount under the coal dock to the slope sheets. The third mounts to the exterior on the south wall. It has more parts to simulate the gate doors and related mechanism. Step one is to remove the chute parts from the fret and bend along the fold lines as shown in Figure 16. Solder or glue the front deflector plate to the end of the chute. Chute Base Figure 16: Coal Chutes Assembly. All three chutes use this basic set of parts. Figures 18: Detail parts for the exterior coal chute Deflector Plate Bend the chute base along the fold lines. Place at the end of the loading chute while aligning the holes, see Figure 17. The base fits inside the chute walls. Slide a piece of inch rod through all four holes. Solder or glue in place, then trim the excess rod.. That completes the two chutes for under the coal dock. Figure 17: Completed coal chutes for To detail the under dock. third chute add the outside brackets to the wire rod. Align the back of the bracket with the back edge of the chute base, see Figures 18. Slide another piece of inch rod into the top set of holes on the chute base. The solder or glue the handle to end of the rod. Then attach the door frame and linkage parts to the ends of the upper rod, Finally add Brackets align with chute base here

Glue the two acylic parts to make the headhouse pulley box. Attach it with CAA to the top of the hoist rails. Make sure it is square.

Glue or solder these back to back to increase its thickness. Then fold the pulley frames along the fold lines. Insert the pulley and thread a piece of rod. Glue or solder in place.

Final Assembly of Coal Dock With all these subassemblies completed you should paint them grimy black. Attach them to the coal dock as noted in the elevation drawings.

You can use solder to build up the ends of the pipes as shown in the drawings and figure 23.

5 Glue the two acylic parts to make the headhouse pulley box. Attach it with CAA to the top of the hoist rails. Make sure it is square. Add the ladder from the lower headhouse walkway to the upper walkway. Figure 22: Main hoist Pulley Assemble the main hoist pulley, Figure 22. There are two pulley wheels in the kit. Glue or solder these back to back to increase its thickness. Then fold the pulley frames along the fold lines. Insert the pulley and thread a piece of rod. Glue or solder in place. Figure 19: Completed coal chute with additional detailing ideas shown. Note these photos are from a preproduction pilot model and there are some differences from the final model. 9. Final Assembly of Coal Dock With all these subassemblies completed you should paint them grimy black. Attach them to the coal dock as noted in the elevation drawings. You can add more details as you see fit. Figures 19, 20 and 23 may give you additional ideas for detailing. Use inch brass rod for the sand pipes. You can use solder to build up the ends of the pipes as shown in the drawings and figure 23. This can be tricky, but adds a nice detail to the model Use the small etched pulleys to guide the sand pipe support wires. Use lycra thread or other non fuzzy thread to rig the sand pipes and coal chutes. Figure 20: Side view completed coal chute with additional detailing ideas shown. the cover plate. Figures 19 and 20 show the completed chute assembly painted and further detailed with wires and counterweights. 8. Walkways, ladders and pulleys. Bend the handrails for the lower head house walkway. Attach the walkway to the west side of the head house as shown in Figure 21. Solder or glue it to the bottom bar of the head house frame. Figure 21: Headhouse with walkways, ladder and pulley box. Acrylic Pulley Box A small guide pulley is also needed on the main hoist to keep the hoist wire from rubbing the edge of the roof. See figure 24. Use a thicker gauge thread for the main hoist cable. It should run from the hoist house (which you build next) to the main pulley to the pulley box on the top for head house. From there it runs down the center of the hoist, over the small pulley guide and into the hoist pit. There it presumably attaches to the hoist bucket, which is not included inthe kit. 10. Miscellaneous Buildings Assemble these using the laser cut wood parts. The sand/hoist house is similar to the smaller control house. The sand/hoist house has three windows. The control house. has a single widow. They are built similarly as shown in Figure 25. Fill in the joints with CAAand paint these a concrete color. Prepaint the etched windows, frames and doors a dark grey. Then insert the windows and doors on the inside of the structure. The exterior window frames should be glued with a dab of CAA. Use Microscale Crystal Clear for the window glazing. Figures 26 and 27 show assembled but unpainted examples. Lower headhouse walkway

Figure 24: Note location of main hoist pulley and small guide pulley.

6 Figure 23: Sand pipes with additional detailing ideas. Note built up pipe ends with solder and smaller control rods. Figure 24: Note location of main hoist pulley and small guide pulley. Also note how stairs mount to coal dock. A ladder connects the stair platform to the lower platform on the head house.

Cut a hole in your baseboard, clean the edges and paint it black. You may need to line it with plastic sheet if the cut was not smooth. Install the buildings in the appropriate locations.

7 Figure 25: Control House assembly. The sand/hoist house is similar. Figure 26 and 27: Sand/Hoist House assembled but unpainted. 11. Install on Layout Now that coal dock and its support structures are done, you can position them on your layout or diorama. The hoist should be positioned over a pit for the hoist bucket. Cut a hole in your baseboard, clean the edges and paint it black. You may need to line it with plastic sheet if the cut was not smooth. Install the buildings in the appropriate locations. The last steps are to run the sand pipe from the sand/hoist house to the east roof of the coal dock. Also add any remaining rigging. Attach the ladder from the roof of the sand/hoist house to the access walkway. See the accompanying photos for more detail. The unloading shed is a little more involved. Prepaint these parts. The base should be a concrete color. The frame members and siding should be a box car red. Glue the frames to the base using the tabs to align the parts. Keep the joints square. Add the siding to the frame. The notches should extend above the top of the frame header. See photo 28. Add the siding and trim pieces to the gable ends as in Figure 29. Add the roof pieces using the tabs to keep it aligned. Figure 28: Unloading shed without roof panels. Note how rafter fit in notches in the siding. Figure 29: Gable trim and roof added to the unloading shed.

8 Photos of Completed Model and Prototype

9 Elevation Drawings

28 ft. Ventilated (Combination) Box Car

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