Spano's Service Station

This model has a long, long history. Based on Showcase Miniatures' Wally's Service Station, it first appeared on the White River & Northern IV, and featured a car lift as well as a rotating lighted sign. Considering what was available to work with in the late 1990s, the rotating sign was quite the challenge (it still is, but nowhere near as daunting).

When the WR&N IV came down, I donated the station to Rick Spano, for whom it was named. I enjoyed making the model so much that I did it all over again in 2014, long before I'd started any layout project were it might be used. My plan was to make a diorama that would subsequently be incorporated into a permanent layout, which is vaguely how it played out. The only useable parts from the kit were the base and the etched brass walls; everything else I scratchbuilt.

I made a new roof from PC board and sheet styrene. I hand-etched traces on the PC board to power 10 SMD LEDs soldered to the underside for realistic lighting. A pair of metal contacts allow the roof to be removed. And since this would become a foreground model, I went all out on interior detailing.

For a time it was installed on the Mountain Vista Railroad...

After the Mountain Vista was decommissioned, it became one of the original core models of the Men At Work diorama. One of the big advantages of the diorama is a generous amount of space underneath the building, allowing me to create an entirely new, much more robust mechanism for the lift, as well as a new, separate mechanism for the rotating sign. Plus, the brand new tow truck became part of the scene.

By late July 2022, it was nearing completion—slowly. There was a lot of cosmetic work to do, starting with all of the shelves, cabinets and workbenches in the bay, as well as counters and shelves in the office. All of the shelves and benches are populated by copious details; the counter in the office even has an old 80s cash register that lights up. Of note is that the oscillating desk fan, now re-motored, made it into the station—its final home after so many others—as well as the likewise formerly homeless flickering shop light.

The truck on the lift was a really tight fit: I had to slice off the front bumper to cram it in, and mill out a recess in the bay ceiling for the cab. The choice of the truck was down to what fit on the lift bed, as the original car was too long with all of the new workbenches added since I started the project eight years ago. Plus, the truck is a pewter casting, which made the gravity-driven lift more reliable. 30 July 2022 marked the day the station got installed on the diorama.

I added one last animated effect to the station on 17 August 2022: a periodic welding effect. I tucked a cool white 1206 SMD LED in behind the shop mechanic, highlighted with an arrow in the image above left.

Other details around the garage include a car with open door and dome light and a car with wheel off and work light underneath.

Also: I realize the station should have a wide red band at ground level. But in my haste to finish the project, I totally forgot it, and it's not something I can add after the fact. Curiously I made the same mistake when I built it the first time!

Reference

These images have been most informative on how to finish the sidewalks/paved areas around the station:

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