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The Alville & Captown Railroad
The Train Shed

Carrying a lot of rolling stock from the house to the tracks and back gets old pretty fast. (Thus far I have been keeping my locomotives in the house but may store them in the train shed some time.) Running trains will be more fun if the cars are readily accessible. I looked on the net for pictures of storage sheds others have built. Some have a track that runs right into their house or other people-sized structures. That would be difficult for me because of the elevation difference between the layout and the closest window in the house. Some have their train shed a foot or more off the ground.

The access door to the interior of the train shed was an issue. Some had doors only on the end. Others had lift up or sliding roof sections. I want to be able to use my train shed as part of a freight yard so easy access to the full length of the interior and as many tracks as possible was important. After pondering the alternatives I decided that a hinged, folding roof would give the best access. The gable ends would either fold down or be removable. Once I realized the need for center posts in the roof structure I made them removable. The ridge cover had to be fastened to one section of the roof only. I chose the back half as that faces the prevailing westerly winds.

The length was constrained by trees on both ends and the location was constrained by the connection of the ladder track to the existing station siding. Overall size: 4 ft wide by 10 ft long. There are 7 tracks. Track 2 is all brass and runs through the back wall. The first 3 feet of the remaining 6 tracks is brass and the rest of the length is Code 332 plastic rail. The base is 1-1/2 inch thick extruded foam insulation board. The same stuff that I used for roadbed.

All 7 tracks are separate electrical blocks controlled by a switch panel on the front of the train shed. This allows an engine to be parked inside and depowered while continuing to run elsewhere on the layout. The ladder track connects to the passenger station siding which allows that siding to be used as a switching lead.

The winds of the 2007-2008 winter blew snow under the eves on the west side of the train shed. There were several inches of snow piled up by the time I first noticed it. The solution was to cover the eves with fiberglass screen which keeps the snow out and also helps to keep bugs out. I also put screen over the gap at the ridge. The screen is held in place with staples.

[The Plan]
The Plan
[Cross Section]
Cross Section
[Roof Details]
Roof Details
[Ridge Cover Mounting Bracket]
Ridge Cover Mounting Bracket
[Checking the layout]
Checking the layout
[Make it 9 ft 3 in long]
Make it 9 ft 3 in long
[Back view]
Back view
[Walls in place]
Walls in place
[Side view]
Side view
[Back roof section hinge]
Back roof section hinge
[Rafter halves]
Rafter halves
[Assembled ridge hinge]
Assembled ridge hinge
[Rafter trial assembly trial]
Rafter trial assembly trial
[Center post]
Center post
[Center post installed]
Center post installed
[Success!]
Success!
[Back hinge in action]
Back hinge in action
[Drip edge installed]
Drip edge installed
[Ridge hinge plate revisited]
Ridge hinge plate revisited
[Cutting steel roofing]
Cutting steel roofing
[Top screws in place]
Top screws in place
[Front roof panels are in place]
Front roof panels are in place
[Back view]
Back view
[It still opens]
It still opens
[Front view]
Front view
[The next day]
The next day
[There is a railroad out there.]
There is a railroad out there.
[Temporary ridge cover]
Temporary ridge cover
[Front door installation]
Front door installation
[Front door]
Front door
[Back door]
Back door
[Back door]
Back door
[The ridge cover]
The ridge cover
[Ridge cover mounting bracket]
Ridge cover mounting bracket
[Ridge cover mounting bracket]
Ridge cover mounting bracket
[Ridge cover]
Ridge cover
[Block switches]
Block switches


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