Tumbarumba Station Building Kit Bash Part 5

Corrugated Awning Cutout

This post is mainly focused on modifications that are done to the base of the Station Building plus a little more on the minor detailing that has been added. But before I move onto that topic of the base, I just wanted to show that I did a cut out of the area of the corrugated styrene that was needed for the awning.

More detail of the awning construction will be covered in a future post as at the time I felt it was best to place the remainder of the awning construction into the do it later on basket.


Base of the Station Building Modifications

With the first part of the modification, I have kind of followed the directions that are detailed in the Australian Journal of Railway Modelling Number 11, where code 55 track was used to model the rail line that was utilised as a bearer on the base of the building together with an array of concrete stilts. The kit does come with a supply of the concrete stilts that are designed with a tongue that lines up with the the square slots on the base of the building.

I did use these few words kind of followed in my last paragraph and now for me to explain where I was heading with that point.

In the Australian Journal of Railway Modelling Number 11, it modifies a Rail Central Pc3 Station Building Kit into a Pc2. It points out in the article that the 15" Panel Pc Buildings had the rail inverted on the base of the building (as in my picture above) where as the later Versions of the 10" Panels had the Rails rested on their side between the stilts and the base. That same article showed photographic examples of Conoble Pc2 (10" Panel) station that clearly show the Rails rested on their side.

As Tumbarumba Station Building was an early version of the 15" Panel Pc Building, I used the inverted rail method with Micro Engineering Code 55 Track.

Before sticking the track onto the model, I marked the area where the concrete stilts are to be attached and filed the edge of the track with the width of the concrete stilts. Reasons for that will be coming up soon in this post.

I used ZAP CA glue to stick on the rail onto the base of the model. I have found that ZAP CA glue has done a great job in sticking metal rail onto the plastic base.

With the concrete stilts, I removed the tongues with a hobby knife and cleaned up the cut with a file. I then I cut up a strip of styrene to make up the extended length that is needed to cover the area of the rail. I trimmed the excess styrene on the concrete stilts with Xuron Track Cutters which help lined up the styrene with the remainder of the concrete stilt. This was repeated many times.

Back to one of my earlier points in regards to filing the edge of the rail to the area where the concrete stilts are being placed. The reason for this is that the base of the rail is just too wide to allow for the modified stilts to be placed over the rail. Basically without the modification to the rail the styrene portion of the concrete stilt will spread out. When the rail gets filed, it allows for a good fit which also allows for the concrete stilt to be glued onto the model without the stilt looking crooked or distorted. It was fortunate for me that I tired this out before gluing the rail line onto the kit as it would have been a messy task to have resolve that issue.

The stilts were glued onto the Station Building Model by use of a Shellys Araldite.

After gluing on all of the stilts, I used Tamiya Putty to fill in the gaps around the base of the model. Does look a bit rough, but fortunate in a way that the Station seat and the platform will cover some of that up. Still will need to do a bit of cleanup work before painting this model.

Minor Detailing Work

You may have also noticed in the above progress photo, I have placed in an electricity meter box between the windows of the Station Building. This was constructed with a a bit of wiring to represent the electrical wiring and the Meter Box was made from a rectangle styrene tube with a bit of styrene sheeting cut to size to make up the hood. 

Around to the back of the Station Building. I have done the window framing of the Extended portion of the Station Building. Also take notice of the area where the second last panel section to the left of the building that there is a stilt missing and a hole drilled into the side of the building. This is to allow for a Fireplace with a 3 mm Flickering LED and a Chimney to be installed.

Tumbarumba was one of a few PreCast Station Buildings that was provided with a fireplace. Batlow and Oberon Pc3 Buildings were the others that had a fireplace installed.

One further item to note that from the photos that I have seen of Tumbarumba, it seems not to have the corner bracing on the stilts (bracing was also mentioned in Australian Journal of Railway Modelling Number 11). Though, I have only seen the later photos of the back of Tumbarumba Station Building in its final few years of existence, so therefore can not see the need to place them onto this model. Meaning that I have not been able to confirm if the bracing was ever fitted.

To close this post off, another reflection of hindsight is needed. From this experience, I would recommend that the stilts should be one of the last item to be done if you are going to kitbash a Rail Central Pc Building. I guess the same applies to other building projects that contain stilts at the base. The reason for this, I accidentally broke some of stilts off whilst doing other modifications to this kit. The main offenders are the corner stilts. Hopefully, this issue will be resolved once this Station Building is finally fixed to the layout.

Tumbarumba Station Building Kit Bash Part 4

Outside Seating

Tumbarumba had outside seating that was fixed to the Station Building. This seating arrangement seemed to have been unique to Tumbarumba, but have fit the design to what was used within the Shelter Shed portion of the Pc Building.

Please excuse my ignorance on the terminology of the various components that make up this type of seating, but will do my best to describe each item. I believe that similar types of seating are used in Churches which are called Pews, but not sure if the railways adopted the same terminology. However, more than happy to be educated on that point.

On the Greg Edwards Data Sheet for Station Buildings Standard Designs Pc1 and Pc2 (Data Sheet B27),  it contains the outlining of the seating frame. I photocopied that portion of the Data Sheet and carefully cut the profile. By use of Blu Stick glue (or a glue stick that is used to stick paper to cardboard), I glued on the cutout to a strip of styrene. Then cut around the outlining of the seating frame, then cleaned it up with a file.

This process got repeated a few times as four of the of these seating frames were needed. I also placed each of the seat frames side by side, clamped them together so I could file them to be consistent to one another.

From the photos that I have seen of the seat at Tumbarumba, it had length of timber which I assume would have been used for the bracing. I have modelled this out of a strip of styrene to reflect this bracing. Note that the seat frames were attached to the vertical Precast Concrete Posts.

Once the bracing and the seating supports were glued up, the remainder of the seat detailing was carried out.

I made use of the Xuron track cutters to trim off the excess lengths from the styrene strips that were glued onto the model of this seat. I found that the Track cutters did provide a nice clean cut.

Toilet Door Foot Steps

I had to manufactured the door steps for both of the doors from the extended part of this Pc2 Kit. This was again done with styrene strip which I rounded off the edges with the file.

Before moving into the next topic, take note of the fine strip of Styrene that was added to the edges of the end wall. This was put in place in order to allow for alignment with the other Precast Concrete posts on this building.

Corner Precast Concrete Posts

I manufactured the Precast Concrete Posts from 1.5 x 1.5 mm strip of styrene. As like the real Pc building a slot in the middle of the Precast Concrete posts was produced with a finer strips of styrene either side.

Here is a moment of hindsight where I should of removed all of the Corner Precast Concrete post on this kit and applied the same modification of what was done at the other end of the building. However, I scribed in a line to represent the slot.

Interior Walls
Reason that I would like to detail the interior walls is that I do want to open up some of the doors once this Building gets completed and placed onto the layout. I'm also going to later on place in some lighting which will show some of the detailing inside the building. If the doors were going to be locked and no lighting placed in this building, then I would have not have carried out this modification.

The Pc2 Rail Central Kits is supplied with only one internal wall which only contains detailing on one side. Therefore I have scribed the lines to represent the 15 inch concrete panels. The circles that are seen on the non detailed side of the model should not be an issue as there will be obstructed with other items placed in front of them. The supplied internal wall would be normally placed between the Shelter Shed and the office with the detailed side facing the Shelter Shed.

I manufactured another precast internal wall all out of styrene which will be placed between the Shelter Shed and extended toilet sections of this building. Detailing of the Precast 15 inch panels were scribed in.

I utilised the internal wall from the Second Pc2 Kit where it is going to be placed between the Office and the Living Room. I have modified it to have a door and also scribed the lines to represent the 15 inch panels. I have also placed in a door frame made from Styrene strips.

Roof Section
Form my last Blog post, I focused mainly on the roof section modifications that were needed to be carried out to get the high pitched roof version of a Pc Building. This part is a continuation of the roof modifications.

As mentioned in Tumbarumba Station Building Kit Bash Part 3, the top narrow row of panels were needed to be removed. Here I have replaced that row with the with 1.5 mm x 1.5 mm styrene strip which now better represents the lower Beams of the roof that the rafters would have adjoined too.

As you may noticed that I have attempted to utilise the one gable for the detailing of the vertical strips, but the results did not look good at all. So I manufactured a another separate gable with a thin sheet of styrene.

This resulted in a better look for the model as the Gable sheet overlapped were the cut was made to remove the original Gable, also making it look more prototypical.

With the gables and the lower beam for the rafters now sorted, I was able to get the dimension that were needed to make the ceiling as well as the support for the roof.

Tumbarumba Station Building Kit Bash Part 3

To start this post off, I would like to highlight a few points on the Rail Central Kits range that will hopefully point out clearly on why modifications on the roof section of the station building are needed to make it prototypical to the one that was once at Tumbarumba and other NSWGR Pre Cast concrete Station Buildings.

First main point is that all Rail Central models are of the low pitch roof profile. The low pitched roof Pc Buildings did once exist on the Coolah and Rand Branch lines. If you are thinking in doing a prototypical Layout on any stations on the Coolah and Rand Branches, then you may not need to modify the roof gable or the the roof section at all. But for the others, then you may want to consider the approach that I have taken to make high pitched roof modification.



The Pc1 and Pc2 kits come with Corrugated roofing. Some of the Pc Building did have Corrugated Fibro or Iron roofing or later on had the Fibro Tiles replaced with corrugated Iron.

The Pc3 Kit is provided with the Fibro Tile roofing for the low profile pitched roof.

Above is the low profile gable roof that is supplied with the Rail Central Kits compared against the Greg Edwards Data Sheet B27 for the low pitch version of the Pc Buildings. As far as I can see they are prototypical in design.

Above is the low profile gable roof that is supplied with the Rail Central Kits compared against the Greg Edwards Data Sheet B27 for the High pitch version of the Pc Buildings. Hence the modification work is needed to make it prototypical.

Before going into the details in modifying the roof of this project, lets look at a roof of an existing example of Bombala (NSWGR Standard Ac4 Station Building), which has the high pitch roof profile similar to Tumbarumba.

Picture that I took of Bombala Railway Station back in January 2006 from the Foot Bridge.

Roof on Bombala January 2017 still contains the orignal Fibro Tile Roofing, roof capping and Finnel.

View of the Fascia where it meets up with the Pre Cast Concrete section of the main body of the building.

Now moving on with the the kit bash, here are the options that I was taking into consideration.

First step was to determine how I was going to make the roof section for the Tumbarumba station building.

Option 1:

Aquire the Rail Central Pc3 Kit which contains the Fibro Tile Roofing.

Conclusion: 

Expensive option if you where going to just use the Roofing but not the rest of the kit. But if cost is not an issue, it would only be suitable for the Coolah and Rand Branch Pc Buildings. My feeling for the conversion from low pitch to high pitch roof may encounter a few modelling headaches.

Option 2:

To make use of roofing sheeting that is on the market to achieve the look of Fibro Tile Roofing.

Conclusion: There are a couple of products that are available such as the Vollmer Roof Panel sheet or the Evergreen Tile 4.2 mm (or 1/6") Squares Styrene sheeting (Item Reference: 4504).

Vollmer sheeting does have a realistic look good, however the tiles are a bit small for my liking and the sheet is thick, but certainly earns a honourable mention. The 4.2 mm Squares Styrene sheeting looks closest to the Fibro Tile Roofing effect that is trying to be achieved here.

Vollmer Roof Panel Sheet on the left and the Evergreen Tile 4.2 mm (or 1/6") Squares Styrene sheeting (Item Reference: 4504) to the right.

So, I decided on Option 2, to adopt the 4.2 mm Styrene solution based that it was the closest to the Fibro Tile profile that I was after.

I needed to trim off where the gable extrudes out to line up with the edge of the side walls. In order to allow it to fit inside the Mitre for a straight cut, I first removed the areas that where extruding out with a Tamiya saw I have. I then made use of the Mitre and my Excel Razor saw to get a straight cut where the gable fascia meets up with the Pre Cast concrete wall. A little cleanup work with the file was needed to be carried out once the removal of the existing gables was completed.

As mentioned from my previous blog I removed the top narrow panel of the front and back walls of the kit. I was not able to remove the top section by use of the Mitre, but cut out via the free hand method with the use of the Excel razor saw. This area will be later on replaced with a 1.5 mm x 1.5 mm strip of styrene.

Test build of the roof

I did cut out the area that was needed for the roof from the Squares Styrene sheeting (the outcome to be shown a little later in this post).

At this point I felt that it would be best to do some sort of a test build to ensure that I was heading the correct direction with the roof section. I used offcuts from the Square Styrene sheeting and a couple of gables that I manufactured from styrene. The other purpose of the test build was to practice applying MEK. MEK is a liquid adhesive that reacts with the styrene for a short time and welds the bits of styrene together. 

Being new to MEK, I did find it difficult at first to get two bits of styrene to stick together.  I ended up giving up on using MEK for a short time. But after a bit of coaching from other members of the model rail club that I am part of, I was able to learn the correct technique on applying the MEK to the styrene. 

The two main advantages of using MEK (when used correctly) that it provides a strong bond between the pieces of styrene and it usually sets 15 seconds after the application of it. 

As you may have noticed with the test build of the roof, there is a bit of black paint on it. On my work bench, there is a Ryobi emblem on it. When using MEK during the build of this roof, I had it resting on to of the Ryobi emblem where it somehow reacted. It was fortunate for me that it happened on the test build model. Certainly a definite learning experience for me.

I then did another test assembly of the roof section just to see how it resulted. To me, the Squares Styrene sheeting for the Fibro Tile Roofing was the best choice.

I will cover the roof capping and the Finnel portion in a future blog as it will fall into a category of a more modern form of modelling.

Tumbarumba Station Building Kit Bash Part 2

To follow on from my last post, here are some more progress notes and pictures in regards to the kit bashing of the Rail Central Pc2 kit to make it prototypical to Tumbarumba Station building.

 The extended part of the front wall was extracted from the second Pc2 Rail Central Kit. The left panel was cut out to make up a provision for a door. This was done by the use of a pinvise drill and a hobby knife. Detailing of the door was done with a Strip of Styrene and a slightly modified Grandt Line 30" x 66" Planked Door (Reference Number 5293). Door needed to be shortened slightly and the door frame trimmed to allow it to fit into the cut out. No modifications where needed on the right panel and the door that is supplied with the kit.

 The extended part for the back wall I made a concrete panel with a window provision which was made out of Styrene. This was placed into the existing window opening on the left panel. I used a scribe to place in the lines for the 15" concrete panel on the styrene. As for the right Panel, I made use again of the pinvise drill and hobby knife to make the window provision.

Also cut up part of the base of the second Pc2 Kit for the Ladies Room extension and attached it to the base of the first kit.

For a test build, I made use of Blu Tack to hold the model together to ensure that all components lined up correctly before any gluing took place.

Also I ended up removing the top row of narrow panels on the front and back walls of the kit. I will replace them with a strip of Styrene later on. The Corbels where removed also with a careful use of a hobby knife and a hobby file as I decided to manufacture my own.

Here is a test build of a Corbel attached to a strip of Styrene. The result looked very promising. I have again made use of the Greg Edwards Station Buildings Standard Design Plans B27 for the size and profile dimensions to assist in the manufacture of the Corbels.

It took the manufacturing of around 20 corbels until I got the seven of the best that was needed for this model. I glued them onto the building and then cleaned them up with a hobby file. I found that it was easier to cleanup the Corbels once attached to the model. I believe that there is a better way to manufacture the Corbels which I intend to try out when I do my Kit Bash on the Pc1 Rail Central Kit of Glenroy at a later date.

The front wall completed with the Corbels attached. The Corbels are looking neater than the previous picture after doing a little bit of cleaning work to them.

Part 3 will focus on the roof modifications for this project.

Tumbarumba Station Building Kit Bash

Just would like to start off this Blog on a bit of insight on Tumbarumba Railway Station Building.

After doing some research, I found out that Tumbarumba Station Building was a Precast Concreate Pc2+.

The plus meant it was constructed as an extended version of the Pc2 NSWGR standard, which in this case provisioned for a Ladies Waiting Room. 

After the Mid 1960’s, the Ladies Waiting Room was renovated to create 2 x toilet rooms. This will be version that I will be modelling. Therefore, to make this project prototypical, a kit bash will need to be done.

Before going into the details on the Tumbarumba Rail Central kit bash, there are a couple of other Rail Central Kit bashing articles which are found in the Australian Journal of Railway Modelling Number 11 and Brian Ayling internet site http://users.tpg.com.au/bdayling/Pc2_Conoble.html. 

The following summary is what I have determined that is needed to achieve a prototypical model of Tumbarumba Station Building:

-        2 x Pc2 Rail Central Kit.

-        Add in Fan Lights above the Shelter Room entry door.

-        Lower the Corbels.

-        Remove existing gable and replace with a higher pitched gable.

-        Replace corrugated roofing with a shale tiled roof with roof capping and Finnels.

-        Replace the Awning.

-        Add a Brick Chimney at the rear of building (where the living room area is).

-        Place 4 x rows of code 55 HO scale rail track where they need to rest on the concrete stilts.

-        Plus a few more items of minor detailing.

Before cutting up any of the Pc2 Kits, I felt that a test build on the front an rear of the station was needed so to help identify any potential issues. I did this by photocopying the panels of the model and do the paper test build.

First Photocopy, white background distorted the image a bit

Second Photocopy with black A4 sheet of cardboard provided a better detailed picture

The first test build was done and found a few slight errors that I was able to easily address.

The second test build attempt worked out well and this determined that the time was right to start cutting up the Pc2 Kits.

Second Test Build

Start of the Kit Bashing

First Part of the Kit Bashing was to cut up one of the Pc2 Kits so build up the extension that Tumbarumba Station had.

I made use of an Excel razor saw and a mitre box to make the first cut. I was very happy with the clean cut that this saw has made. This provided me with the confidence to keep cutting away.

I needed the back window panel with the neighboring panel along with a door frame panel also with the neighboring panel.

The first cut on the Second Pc2 Kit

Inspecting halfway point of the first cut. Looking good so far.

Going back to the First Pc2 Kit, there no cutting up of this kit needed other than to carve out the Fan Lights above the Shelter Room entry door.

I was able to achieve this by making use of a Pinvise Drill, a narrow chisel type Hobby Knife. I found a hobby file that was narrow enough to clean up the cut.

Drilled several holes with the Pinvise. Then used the hobby knife to carve out the Fan Lights.

Very happy with the results so far. We will see later if this was just beginners luck.

Finally, I would just like to summarize my learning's from this in the hope that it will help someone out who wants to do a kit bash project like this.

-        Photocopy the kits that you intent to kit bash by use of black sheet of paper/card board (or white background for a model that it black), as this will provide a higher detail image. My first attempt was with a white background caused it to blur up some of the image, which caused some of my errors in the first Test Build attempt.

-        Take your time, don’t rush.

-        Talk to other modelers, seek their advice and follow their suggestions.

-        For any Pc Kit bash project, make use of Greg Edwards Station Buildings Standard Design Plans B27 and B28 as they are great point of reference.

-        Australian Journal of Railway Modelling Number 7 has a good article on NSWGR Pc Buildings. I have seen Number 7 and 11 still on sale at Model Rail Exhibitions.

Next blog will continue with the construction of Tumbarumba Pc2+ Station Building.