The McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park is located in the heart of Scottsdale, Arizona, the park is the most unique of it’s kind in the country.  There are two historically-accurate scale-model train rides, a growing collection of full-scale railroad engines and cars, an original Scottsdale 1930s machine shop with all its tools and three genuine Santa Fe Railroad depots.  One of McCormick- Stillman Railroad Park’s most delightful— and unusual—features is the group of dedicated model railroaders who are members of four clubs “in residence” at the Park.

The model train layouts (O, HO, and N), which are operated by independent clubs are now housed the park’s new model railroad building.

Below you can see pictures of the Vertical Lift bridge for the P&P Railroad, O gauge Club and pictures of the Overhead train systems. located at the lobby of the new model railroad building.

Counterweights

Pulley System

Installation Day.

Installation of the Overhead Train Systems

This year, one of our many goals is to keep everyone better informed about what is happening here at Eaglewings.  We’ll share past and present  projects, new products and information about our Garden Railroad events.

After Jack was done with the plans, (which took quite a bit of time according to Jack’s wife) he realized that this structure was going to be a fairly good sized building.  Jack’s plan for building the tipple was to build the structure himself out of wood, however if he made it out of wood he would have to store it inside for part of the year to protect the building from the abrasive Arizona weather.  At this point Jack remembered how Eaglewings had made some metal bridges and buildings for other club members of the Tucson Garden Railroad Society.

Jack’s next step was to contact us to set up a meeting to discuss his project.  We got together and reviewed his drawings we talked about how he envisioned the tipple to be constructed and how it was going to be incorporated to his layout.

And so we started working on this new project, first Oscar took the plans and made the changes necessary to cut the different components to fabricate the structures.  Next it was time for Johnny to start putting the sides together to form the buildings,  Once the main structure was finished it was time to add all the trimming details (sometimes these details are easy to underestimate but in our opinion these details make a big difference in the appearance of any building)

In the mean time we gave plans to Dennis from “Denray Machinery” so he could cut a 3 piece window set for each window as well as doors. The doors and windows were also a very nice addition to the building.

We have to say we are happy with the end result of this project, and from what we hear Jack is “very pleased” as well.  Thanks to Jack and the guys here at Eaglewings we can make this building available to our customers.  The Coal Tipple can be a nice addition to any  Garden Railroad.  The package consist of the Main building structure, the Power House, and a Small shed all powder coated with rust resistant gray primer.  The package also comes with a set of windows and doors for every building.

I hope everyone had a nice year.  Here at Eaglewings we were very fortunate to keep doing what we love especially because we had the chance to work on some very interesting projects all over the country.

We’ll start by sharing with you our Point of Rocks Train Station.  It all started with Jack a club member of the National Christmas Tree Railroad.  After the club ordered some buildings and accessories from Eaglewings;  Jack called and wanted to know if we could help him bring to life his idea of a replica of the Station, to which we gladly said yes.  Jack had always been fascinated by the Station and decided to include it on the club’s annual display at the National Christmas Tree.

The  Point of Rocks Railroad Station is a historic passenger rail station on the MARC Brunswick Line between Washington, D.C. and Martinsburg, WV.  The station was built by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1873, and designed by E. Francis Baldwin. It is a two and one-half story, triangular Gothic Revival with a four-story tower and a one and one-half story wing at the base. The tower has a pyramidal roof containing a dormer on each side. On top is a square cupola supporting a pyramidal peaked roof.

The Point of Rocks Railroad Station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973, and reopened for the Maryland Rail Commuter Service established the Brunswick Line.

Some time before we started this project we became good friends with Dennis Denray.  He had been recommending a 3D program to expand  and improve our design capabilities.  When we came across this project we knew Dennis was right.  To start this project we had to learn a whole new program!  Thanks to Dennis who gave Oscar a crash course and guided him thru the designing process of the station; we were able to create the replica and so the construction began

First we are going to start with the completed 3D model.

This is a view of some the flat parts used to build the Station.

After the parts were cut we could start welding the parts together.

And finally the Point of Rocks replica made out of 16 gauge sheet metal.

After the main structure was completed it was time to add the accents that gave a lot of character to the station such as:  The chimneys, the decorative gussets around the porch and lattice on the second floor windows to mention just a few of them.   And then the model was powder coated with rust resistant primer ready to be decorated.

While the model was being built, Dennis was working on making acrylic windows and doors for the model.  Each window and door is composed of 3 pieces set that locks in the steel opening.

And Finally the pictures of the Station at the National Christmas Tree Display in Washington just a couple of days before the lighting of the tree.

The grain elevator and silos were painted with rust oleum multicolor textured paint; color desert bisque this represented concrete.

First I taped off the frame to leave primer gray to represent concrete cast beams.  The roof was painted flat black.  Next I took the head house on the silos and covered with aluminum sheeting representing corrugated sheeting.  This was made by cutting ends of beer or pop cans off, then cutting down the sides, flattening each can and running each sheet thru a ribbon crimper, then each sheet was cut to scale 3ft by 8 ft and then they were placed on the sides and roof.  Each piece had pinholes punched in with an AWL and glued with clear liquid nails allowing some to ooze thru the holes to form rivets. 

The rail and dump house were done the same way.  The windows were cut from 1/8 in. Lexon scrap pieces and mounted inside with clear liquid nails.  The process in not hard to do.  (Using a rod and painters tape to attach the Lexon sheets then the liquid nails to the edge of the Lexon then reach down inside the building and put in place.)  However the trim was painted first with acrylic brown.  The dust collectors were painted silver

The Mill

The mill was painted with rust oleum multicolor textured paint.  The color desert bisque was used to represent concrete.  The loading dock was taped off and left primer gray to represent cast concrete.  The roof was painted flat black.  The roof over the rail car loading dock was covered with corrugated aluminum; those sheets were cut out of soda cans and put thru a ribbon crimper.  The next step was to make pinholes with AWL and glued in place with clear liquid nails allowing it ooze thru the pinholes to form rivets.  The trim was done with acrylic paints.

Window sheets were cut from 1/8 inch Lexon and mounted inside with liquid nails; except for the elevator housing on the roof (using a rod and painters tape will assist you in placing the windows inside the building when it is on its side.

Finally the warehouse was done the same way.

Water Cranes

Water cranes were painted flat black.  The base plate was painted concrete color.  A three-inch house made from cable protector was glued on for a flexible hose to extend the pipe closer to the tender water hatch.

He wanted to have something like this bridge

Ok that is not very hard to do… but what happens when you want to have a bridge like that on a 180 degree curve at one  of the ends of the oval and  one 90 degrees on the other end?

The Bollman Truss Railroad Bridge at Savage, Maryland is the sole surviving example of a revolutionary design in the history of American bridge engineering. The 160 foot double-span truss bridge is one of the oldest standing iron railroad bridges in the United States. It was the first successful all-metal bridge design to be adopted and consistently used on a railroad. The type was named for its inventor, Wendel Bollman, a self-educated Baltimore engineer.

The bridge was built for an unknown location on the main line of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1852, and was moved to its present location, spanning the Little Patuxent River on the spur to the Savage Mill, in 1887. The bridge remained in service until the mill closed in 1947; switching crews used additional cars in order to avoid crossing the bridge with locomotives, and thus there was never a need for a more substantial structure.

The Bollman Bridge is a two-span through-truss, resting on granite abutments at each end and a granite pier in the middle of the river. The truss structure is a mixture of wrought and cast iron. The truss configuration is the design patented by Bollman as the “Bollman suspension truss” in 1852. Each span is 79.5 feet long, 25.5 feet wide and about 21 feet tall. The Bollman truss suspends the deck from a network of tension members, while the top chord resists compressive forces. The system is therefore referred to as a suspension truss.

The truss includes decorative elements, such as Doric styled vertical members. The cast iron end towers, which bear transfer the weight of the structure to the abutments and pier, are also detailed. A decorative and protective metal enclosure at the top of the towers was lost to vandalism, but was replaced during the restoration work. Metal strips at each portal read “W. BOLLMAN, PATENTEE”, “BALTIMORE, MD.”, “BUILT BY B&O R.R. CO.”, “1869″ AND “RENEWED 1866″. Replicas of the original strips were installed during the restoration.

The bridge was brightly painted, using red oxide for the towers and the heavier compression members and an ivory color for the lighter tension members.

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The first thing we did when we started the construction of our bridge was to replicate the decorative elements:  The Doric vertical members and the metal strips for the portals.

To make the metal strips, the front plates were drawn and then cut on a computerized plasma cutting table, then flat bar was attached around the plate to complete the front strip.

Once those two custom components of the bridge were made, we could move on to making each side of the bridge.

After we had two sides for the bridge we started to connect them.

The Finished G scale version is 11 feet – 4 inches long, 13″ tall and 14-1/2″ ID - 18″ OD.,  wide enough for double track.

The bridge will get powder coated and after it is installed it will be painted as the original, red with white accents.  It should be a nice bridge to look at.

The  Fire Engine only operates when a button is pressed next to the diorama

We just finished a new Overhead Train System for the Molly butler Lodge.  The lodge is in Greer, Arizona about 3 hrs North East of Phoenix.

The train system will be about 400 feet of double and single track.  The Layout will feature an 11 ft. Hell’s gate bridge and a suspension bridge.  Also we’ll be making a replica of the Molly Butler lodge itself and one of Santa’s Work Shop.

Here are some pictures of this project.

Hello All,

 I have a new project.  I’m building “The Sciotoville Bridge”  Here is a bit of information about this bridge

The Sciotoville is a steel continuous truss bridge across the Ohio River between Limeville, Kentucky and Sciotoville, Ohio in the United States. Designed by Gustav Lindenthal, the bridge was constructed in 1916 by Chesapeake and Ohio Railway subsidiary Chesapeake and Ohio Northern Railway as part of a new route between Ashland, Kentucky and Columbus, Ohio

The bridge is continuous across two 775-foot long spans, and is considered an engineering marvel. It held the record for longest continuous truss span in the world from its opening until 1945.

Today the bridge is used by CSX Transportation, one of the seven major Class 1 railroads operating in North America.

When scaled, the bridge will have to cover a 40 feet span with only one support in the middle.  It will be double track which will make it about 16 inches wide outside to outside and approximately 4 feet at its highest point.  I will post pictures of the progress of the construction of the bridge.

06 Jul 2009

I started working on the bridge last week and this is what I have so far, is not much but at least I got the ball rolling.  I decided that I will build the bridge in 2 sections that will bolt together.  Here are a few pictures.  

 Here I’am laying down parts and measuring things.

Now to the fun part…welding

And after a little while…the first side of the first half of the bridge

By the way that is Johnny helping me with this 20 feet long section.

Wow I just realize I have a lot left to do…

07 Jul 2009

If you guys noticed there is a lot of  lattice work all throught the bridge plus all those trusses within trusses.

I know a fairly easy way of making the lattice; it will still be alot work to do for the whole bridge.  I will only use it at key points to give the bridge a close as possible look to the real thing.

Here is my plan for doing it:

03 Aug 2009

If  you are wondering where is this bridge going.   I will tell you that unfortunately it is not going on my layout, even if I wanted to, I don’t have a big enough property for this bridge.  I’m building the bridge for my friend Charlie in Chillicothe, Ohio.  The bridge will span over a pond and it will be the center piece of his layout. I don’t know if I mentioned this before but I’m also building 2 – 3 ft. long deck trusses on each end just like the real one has.

More pictures of the progress:

The first half of the bridge is done…

04 Aug 2009

Finally the bridge is done….

By the way this is bridge is gaining some popularity… Our friends Tony and Nancy stoped by, they wanted to see the bridge after we t old them about it.

Also Robert, Rose and Rob stopped by to see it.

It was hard to get a good shot of the whole length of the bridge.  I hope you guys can see it well enough.

Well that is the G scale version of the Sciotoville Bridge.  Manufactured at Eaglewings Iron Craft, until next time…