James River Branch: Passenger Station

Naughtright Passenger Station, Part 4 of 5: Base

The final strokes for the Naughtright Passenger Station included the platform, installation on the layout, and detailing.

The platform was cut from a single piece of .080-inch thick sheet styrene. A paper pattern was made to exactly fit the location, particularly the curve of the track. This pattern was traced onto the styrene, which was scribed and snapped along the outline. Then I plotted out the concrete slabs with a pencil, and scribed all of the joint lines with a sharp knife held backwards.

The styrene was firmly sanded with medium and fine sandpaper to even out all of the scribing as well as to give it texture; then cracks were scribed into the slabs. Finally, the edges of the platform were distressed by whacking it with a knife at various angles, then roughly scraping the blade across the cuts to create crumbled edges.

After bonding a mounting block for the station building to the platform, I sprayed it with my favorite concrete color: Testors Light Aircraft Gray, which I've always regarded as just about the "perfect" concrete starting color. This was followed by the usual India ink washes, rust stains and chalk dirt to highlight the joints and cracks. Finally, I painted the mounting block flat black.

The completed platform was bonded to the access panel with Liquid Fusion urethane glue. When this was fully cured, I installed the gooseneck lamps at each end of the platform, then set about adding the various detail items around the station: signs, benches, trash cans, and a phone booth.

Made with photo-editing software, the signs were a lot of fun. Using a scale image of the station for size reference, I rendered a small plethora of signs with different type fonts, sizes and colors, and then printed them on an inexpensive photo printer. I did this rather than use an ordinary inkjet printer because the photo paper is thick and sturdy, and the color is permanent. And I can fit quite a few Z scale signs on a 4x6 print! To tone down the print's semi-glossy surface, I sprayed it with Dull Cote, then sliced the signs out with a new blade, touched up the edges and backs with a Sharpie, and attached them to the station with CA.

At present the station has no interior detailing. I've not yet decided if I want to go to the trouble, since I'm not representing an active station; that said, the gooseneck lamps will be functional—it's hard for me to justify installing those expensive Märklin lamps without illuminating them!—so I may need to do something about the interior at some point.

But for now, this ends the Naughtright Passenger Station project, the first structure to be completed for the James River Branch, and perhaps appropriately—railroad journeys usually begin at the station!

A paper template made to fit the location is traced onto sheet styrene.

The styrene is cut and scribed, and a building base is attached.

The platform is painted and stained with India ink and other washes.

After ballasting, the track area receives weeds and other greenery.

Here's the actual sign artwork; the station image is for size reference.

The signs are cut out, touched up with a Sharpie, and attached to the building.

A modified Shire Scenes bench is given a rust patina before being installed.