Hi there, I have to scratchbuild some of the grain elevators for my Dawson Creek Sub layout.I wonder about the dimension of the clapboard.How long are the single boards? I think there will be more than one board for the length of the wall for an elevator...hope you know what I mean.... I have found a lot of wooden elevator photos but no detail shots....any help will be very appreciated... Regards,Chris
Chris, I can't answer your question with any 'sure-fit' information; but, lumber has to be cut to fit the vehicle that hauls it to the lumber store. The longest semi-trailer that I can think of would be around a 40 footer. But you have to remember ... the lumber store has to place that material on or in a rack to sell. Maybe 20 foot lengths would be OK, but I'd hate to try to get it home in my pickup truck! ;op I could see you staying within 10 to 15 foot lengths. You might even throw in some short stuff just to break up the pattern a little here and there. How about a photo or two!
Good morning, the length is kind of dependent on the lumber yard, some can't handle the longer lengths, but a multiple of 4 will work. If I'm doing the job I want 20', but 12 and 16 are also common. On a large building I'd want the longest I can get. Hope this helps, get the first one perfect, it matters. Bobby
Chris, both Bobby and Bill have good points. Dimensional lumber is in multiples of 4 and 16' or 20' sounds about right, but they will use every piece, and staggering the pieces looks correct, adds realism and would give the structure lateral strength. googling wooden grain elevators gives a multitude of shots to pick from. M
I'm not an engineer, anybody need an apprentice? Stagger the joints, watch the cutouts for windows and doors, use the longest possible piece, do it the way you want it done. Check Six Bobby
Chris, as has been mentioned,16 ' or 20' lengths would be typical. I have seen hundreds of these structures but have not noticed anything special about the clapboard cladding. If I were a "rivet counter" (which I'm not), I'd be in need of psycho analysis if I made a fuss of such things. In other words, I recommend putting such details out of your mind . If I get over to Dawson Creek this month or next (which I will probably do), I'll stop by the big red elevator (beside the freight station/ museum and take a few photos for you. I'm also going to try to sneak up to the BCR RS1 down at the local railroad museum and grab a couple of shots for you. It is "heavily weathered" (looks pretty sad) but is still lovely in its own way
This thread might inspire some inspiration http://bigbluetrains.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=321&hilit=Steve&start=105 ratled
Hi there, thanks for the infos and comments..my question was because me and a friend made a small clapboard siding on a customers back porch...lenght was 3 meters but when we bought the lumber we could select the lenght we wanted. For the elevator I want to cut single boards at the same length and glue them piece by piece from the bottom to the top. So the infos helped a lot......now I could take my next bunch of those little colored pills and start the psycho analysis Bill sounds great,I know the RS1 from photos from the net and my BCR books... So next I´ll start the building....have to load some flatcars with lumber Regards,Chris
