2.17. Factory
Haber Fabrication
Originally the factory was to be accompanied by a water tower (Faller 2150), but I decided to drop it for several reasons, the most notable being that I'm not at all fond of it. I did, however, preserve the water column to complete the yard water tower.
The factory got under way on 19 February 2021. I omitted the smokestack so that it would maintain a low profile, and also not compete with an identical stack on the Factory Powerhouse.
By 22 February 2021, I was wiring the lighting and attaching the roof parts.
But just before doing that, I installed a little bit of interior detailing because the siding doors were permanently open so that cars could be spotted inside if desired. The details are mostly concrete containers from Atlas gondolas, plus a couple of Walthers industrial details. By 22 February 2021, the factory was done save for weathering and external details.
A bunch of debris at the back of the factory completed the scene. But wait, there's more...
Micro-Scene: Traveling Crane
Whilst sifting through some drawers looking for industrial debris, I came across the legs for the traveling crane from the Cornerstone Vulcan kit. It was the seed that got planted in the back of my mind, but it was weeks later before I acted on it.
I fabricated the main structural members with the columns from the Cornerstone kit, as well as modified roof lattice members. Next up, the concrete base, which I made from Evergreen ½-in spacing styrene sidewalk sheet material. After painting, it was time to assemble it, followed by some heavy-duty weathering.
After installing it on the layout, I spent an hour or so detailing it. There are between 70 and 80 Micro Engineering pallets in the foreground.
It's probably "too nice" for the layout, but I don't care. It made for a most enjoyable day (16 March 2021).
Micro-Scene: Factory Debris
What's a big old factory without a bunch of junk? Kind of boring. So I made use of my ample supply of freight loads and cargo to "embellish" the area behind the factory.
Pola B242 — A DKS Retro Fave
This is a ubiquitous, generic kit that you're likely to see on hundreds of N Scale layouts to this day. I've only used it for kitbashing; as is the case with other kits on this layout, building this as-is will be a first.
