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Eureka Springs Boiler House Build

The Eureka Spring Boiler House finally rose to the top of my projects list. Brett released this kit in 1996, almost 30 years ago. I found this kit at a train show for the original price of $21.00. I've seen them go for $80 on ebay, so I definitely got my monies worth.

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As usual the first thing I did was read the instructions and then inventory the kit. The castings are absolutely top notch. I'm especially impressed by the oil tank and the water tank. The detail is amazing.

I model the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad in the late 19th century. Everything runs on coal in my little piece of Colorado, so the boiler will be coal fired. I currently have a two stall engine house that needs steam generation, so an attached boiler house suits the project.

I'll use the boiler with base as built, but the rest of the structure is mostly redesigned. I started with flat black spray paint in a rattle can. Most of the coloring is done with Rembrandt pastels and dry brushing highlights. More weathering will be done down the road. The pastels are protected using Krylon Workable Fixatif. It is designed for use with pastels and doesn't change the color or texture of the pastels. I've abandoned Dulcote and use the Fixatif for all my clear flat use.

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The kit contains strip wood to build the wall framing. I drew up new wall framing in CorelDraw and cut them from MDF on the laser. All the walls have changed except the wall with the wide door. The building will now have four walls, and a removable roof. I incorporated notches in the header of the walls to accept and align the roof rafters. I want the workers to have some natural light, so I incorporated three windows. To supply interior light, a section of PC tie material will be used to simulate a beam running the length of the boiler house. It will reside in the notches at the top center of the narrow walls. The tiny LEDs will have lamp shades from Titchy.

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Because the high country gets cold in the winter, doors are needed so I drew and cut them from four layers of .015" laserboard. The window glass will be sandwiched between the middle two layers. The doors will be mounted using Grandt Line hinges.

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A coal fired boiler needs a bin for coal storage. A small scratch built one will serve that function indoors. A larger one will be built for outside storage. Coal and details to follow.

Coal Bin


Comments

  • edited December 6
    Great start! I have always like this kit but found SW kits too late and the secondary market prices are too high. I have thought of scratch building it, but have not gotten around to it. I look forward to see what you do with it.
  • Great start Larry on your reimagined Eureka Springs Boiler House. It's a prime piece for many other details. Tom and I look forward to seeing what comes from Larry's bench on this one!
  • Outstanding job Larry. The main boiler/foundation casting is crusty and nasty, perfecto!
  • edited December 6
    Looks great Larry. I just got mine but paid more than $21!!
  • Tom, Ken, Brett & Travis Thanks for the replies. There'll be more photos as I make progress.
  • Wonderful start on this build.

    Jerry
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