Post 11a 7-8-2016 revised 1-7-2023
Homemade Round House Construction when Back in USA
The main train board with turntable was built in 1977 in Constant Spring, outside Kingston, Jamaica. It was down on the living room floor for Christmas 1977. The only structures were a Bachmann Coaling Station kit stuck together and a small Marx water tower. But fun was had running the Marx 999 set and the four plastic body Lionel 2-4-2 engines and playing with the turntable.
We moved back to the states in 1979, to Little Rock Arkansas, to a house with a two car garage and a small room off to the end that I used it as a work shop. After moving in, buying cars and getting settled in, it was time to get to building and collecting structures for the train board.
The Ultimate Railroad Structure, The American Round House Construction
The first consideration in building a $10 round house is to decide how many stalls the RH will have.
I think the minimum that looks good is three. Many more can be added than three but think the engines cannot be seen and enjoyed as much when they are in the RH as all that one sees is the engine fronts. It was decided to make my RH, a four stall one and I am very pleased with it. It has a good shape verses a three stalls and fits my small area very well.
The stepped roof style RH was liked more and lots of windows were added as they are typical of the era as electric lights were not all that common in the early times and windows provided daylight. There are windows on both sides, all along the back wall and on the stepped roof wall facing the front. Room was not available to leave room or have room for a shop or tool room that many RH have.
My round house is made from my typical 1/8 inch thick, one side smooth Masonite tempered sheeting. A sheet costs about $13 for 4ft x 8ft sheet and you will only need one half of a sheet or less. I cut this with saber saw, or jig saw. I used my old Craftsman 18 inch jig saw,with 1/3 hp motor, now out of storage, to cut out the windows after drilling a hole to allow get the blade in the window area. You can use a sabre saw for this if that is all you have. The smooth side is put on the outside of the sides and back wall as brick paper will be glued on. Some 1/8” Masonite strips were used to reinforce the bottom and door frame.
Front of Round House
The outside walls were covered with modeling brick paper, glued on with Elmer’s white glue after the building is assembled with Elmer’s glue. O gauge plastic brick wall sheeting can be used for covering the RH sides for more realism.
The roof is made from Masonite too, but the rough side is up to simulate a exposed roof surface, of a gravel on a wood and tar paper roof. I have a step in the roof with windows, to allow more light inside, in the bricked section between the two roofs so the roof is made in two parts.
Four TT Whisker tracks and four Stalls in Round House
You can see in the picture above, how I determined the size of the RH by fitting it in over 4 sections of TT whisker track. It is about 30 inches wide and 17 deep. I made sure not to include my one TT whisper track section where I can drive on the TT and directly to this one whisker track section, with a long consist of engine, coal tender, wrecking crane car and wrecking caboose.
The picture below shows how I had to cut out part of the rear of the RH to go over a Marx switch machine housing. It also shows I had make sure the RH did not get too close to the tracks. It is a tight and custom fit.
Rear of Round House - wall over switch machine, Electrical connector (from 9 volt batteries) for RH lights right of switch.
Both roofs were made in four sections. I assembled the RH with Elmer’s glue and added plywood angles to strength the wall to roof joints. The inside walls were painted brown and the inside roof light gray to better illuminate the inside. The outside of the roof was painted light gray, with a dusting of flat black paint to be darker dirt. Then, I installed the brick paper doing a good job around the windows.
The windows are made from clear plastic sheeting from boxes lids from toys or other heavier clear plastic. The windows had panes sections made from black 1/16 inch auto pin striping on the inside. The windows were glued on the inside with "Pliobond" rubber cement, but contact cement, Aleen's Tacky or E6000 clear glue will work.
Inside RH showing Roof and wall braces, windows and some ceiling lights
Picture showing double thick front wall and thicker bottom brace. The center of the tracks were paint black in the RH, to simulate a pit below the Whisker tracks to let workers work on the under side of the steam locomotives (shown in picture below).
RH stacks were made. The stacks are to help remove smoke from the steam engines. Balsa wood was used to make the stacks. The square style stacks were preferred over the round ones. Covers were made to keep rain out of the RH. I also installed a ladder or two to get on the roof. Ladders were made from N gauge railroad tie plastic strips with the rails removed and every other tie cut out with a pair of diagonal wire pliers and trimmed with a X-acto knife.
Ladder, stacks and Roof, and also emergency generator from Lionel searchlight car
Close up photo of a Stack with cover and dust on top!
Lights were installed in the ceiling of the RH in two rows and are operated by a slide switch on the control panel. I am big on night train operation with the room lights dark or dimmed and lots of controlled lights in all building, flood lights, street lights, yard lights, cars and engines, etc.
See how the lights let the engines show up in the RH in a semi dark room
Photo showing the balsa wood TT operator shack (made from balsa wood) on TT bridge and view into RH. The TT operator shack has a small grain of wheat light inside that comes on when power is applied to the TT track and the selected RH stall track.
Photo from outside into lighted up RH
Another neat photo of lighted RH in semi darkness, just to encourage you to build a TT and RH
Doors for the front of the RH were not make as I wanted to see the fronts of the locos inside and the doors would have open most of the time and they would just get in the view and way.
I love my round house and it is my favorite building on the layout and the most fun and satisfaction to build.
Charlie
