Dang it Bubba he's on to me and my operation. Other than the ranch mini modules these are the smallest I have done and together will comprise one short waterfront area of the layout. Part of the inner harbor is also done comprising of the fish market, cannery, and associated docks and piers which I covered much earlier. The sawmill complex is done and the seaplane hangar and control tower comprise two more mini modules. Add in the stockyard complex and the ranch mini modules. Part of the mine remains unfinished but the quarry is finished. And with the completion of the log loader the logging camp now has all of it's structures done. A small jut out of the layout will have NUMA, the USCG base and lighthouse, and the aforementioned seaplane hangar. So basically what remains is to complete the car float dock and associated piers and the ferry dock and again some associated docks and piers. My approach to building the layout will be the same as for the structures. It will be done as sections with each section sitting in the middle of the room allowing me to work at it from all sides. Once everything is done it then gets moved into its permanent position and I will start the next section. Since I have minimal wiring, mostly in the way of track power feeders and some blocks, it should take me about a month to build a 2.5 ft. by 6.5 ft. section once I am permanently located. The other reason I have for building this way is my limited mobility due to the lingering effects of the stroke and daggone arthritis. I can build a lot of the future layout from my workbench and the rest sitting in front of a hollow core door. Hopefully though these shared build threads will give others some ideas. Hopefully with good planning and measuring again and again I won't end up with connecting track between the sections ending up six inches apart.
ACME Marine Services structures and docks are essentially finished. While five mini modules are shown there is actually a 6th one which is the boat repair which goes in the inner harbor area and was built sometime ago. Some slight differences exist between the docks for the modules. They were built at different time periods as ACME slowly grew and expanded down the waterfront. The area shown takes up 28 inches of space widthwise. The water area will be about the same as the area occupied by the green mat. The notch seen between the fuel dock and the main bldgs. is for the Commodores' dingy named for the Commodore's wife as the Dingy 2. The business mascot which stands for speedy service is displayed on the main office. The next bldg. which is one of the Quonset huts that I bought and then modified some, houses the small engine and propeller shop. Hence the fork lift from an old kit I had. The last three bldgs. are the last two modules that have the marine supply storage in the Quonset huts and the communication center and radio shop which repairs and installs radio equipment. The center serves as a radio dispatcher for the small fleet of tugs and the marine salvage, repair, and construction vessels. It also acts as a communication center for the fishing fleet. This project sort of grew on me as I had only planned on maybe two modules and ended up with five. However all fit the designed space I have nicely with just a bit of wiggle room. The left side of the docks at the radio shop takes a 45 deg. from there then transitions to a full 90 deg. where the outer docks of the inner harbor are and the car float. The other end with the fuel depot transitions to about a 60 deg. where the ferry is, then a 90 degree to the small area where the seaplane base and the USCG base are. That area is only about 24 inches wide and projects out about 30 inches. The rest of the layout to the left will be all terrain with no waterfront areas. While I had started the thread on this build on the 19th of last month I actually had construction and research underway a week earlier so It has pretty much been a month long project. And about 80% on the project has been using left over and recycled materials with nothing being ordered. Two kits that I have had in hand for a long time got repurposed. The left overs from the grain elevator kit stretched out a long way. Hopefully for folks who have thought about a small maritime section on their layout this little build only takes up about two feet of space lengthwise by five inches deep. The rail traffic into this facility will consist of some flatcars, a few box cars, and some tank cars on a regular basis. Gondola loads of piling for the pile driver, and a separate track feeds the boat repair shop that has loads of masts and spars delivered. Besides serving the cannery and the fish docks there is also the lumber loading pier and the icehouse and the general cargo loading piers. The port switcher will be a busy little critter handling all this plus the car float loads if my health holds together and I get all this built.
Last set of photos from the rail side of the structures before I carefully pack this away until time to go on a layout. and the sign in the parking lot side of the radio shop says ACME Communication Center. In order to keep my radio antennas intact in storage since I have found that even foam peanuts can bend or break them I am using some old tubes fro paper towel rolls, cut and slipped over them, and then held in place with scotch tape. This is the side that won't be seen unless one leans their head over and squints. Plus this side will be partially blocked by some railcars at the docks but I went ahead like I have done with so many of my modules and detailed both sides. My next build moves away from the docks. The port engine house is the 2nd engine house on the layout, the first being a stone 2 stall structure and shop. This one is a wood structure by AMB Laser Kits with a small shop on one side. The design is based off of an Illinois Traction wood engine house that under went several changes during its life. At about 1933 it received a lean to addition on the side opposite the shop area and a 2nd track. My thought is to build this feature since the kit doesn't have it being based on a 1928 design when it was modified for steam locos rather than electric. If there is interest in this build I will run another much shorter thread featuring this build and modification.
