# I need a coaling station kit in O gauge



## Lynn D Bennett (Jul 27, 2013)

I am looking for a branch line (simple) coaling station that is no wider than 2 inches in O gauge as a laser cut wood kit. I can't seem to locate one on a internet search. I found one that might work except it appears to not be available until October. I'm not willing to wait till then.

Thanks in advance for any info.

LDBennett


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Scratch build?


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## Lynn D Bennett (Jul 27, 2013)

If scratch built means not a kit then no. I want a laser cut kit with instructions. It has to be less than 2 inches wide but length and height no problem.


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## tr1 (Mar 9, 2013)

*Build it yourself to suit your needs?*

I think, the coaling station can be satisfactorily built with card board cereal boxes in a couple of evenings, or three. Find a prototype picture and guess-timate your scale with the required.dementions for the available space. I'm sure you knew that already though 
Good luck on your build. Another water tower may be of help. 
Year's ago there was a card board plan of one in model RR. It turns out it
was probably meant to be for "n" scale. Or I did something wrong with the ratios or something
when transferring the structure over onto card board. It turned out o.k. but for "n"scale though. 
Basically it was a log cabin type structure sitting on balsawood framed legs/stilts. Then a fine tip felt marker
details were added. A shaft elevator is also involved.
Regard's,tr1
& good luck!


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## rkenney (Aug 10, 2013)

Here are two articles from the 30s with dimensions to build your own. The second article is a sand house which may fit your dimensions better. 

I'm not sure where you have the two inches, but that is only 8 scale feet so I'm assuming you are building a facade to go along a wall behind your layout. Of course if its a kit you just kit bash and leave out the back half.

Good luck!

View attachment PS-CoalChute.pdf


View attachment PS-SandHouse.pdf


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## Lynn D Bennett (Jul 27, 2013)

I am not a modeler and do not want to scratch build anything. I want a kit of laser cut wood parts with detailed instructions. I am not interested in a cardboard scratch built structure.

The one I saw (which I can not now find...stupid to not book mark it!) was a slightly elevated long platform with a bin for storing coal to be able to shove it into a tender. It was meant for On3 as a branch line structure. Its problem was that it was not available (maybe???) till October.

My layout is basically done (I know, it never is done) but as a toy train layout. There is lots of track, many structures, some operating MTH or Lionel, and some built from kits. Of late I have been building structures but I am running out of space on the layout to place them. There is also that certain structures belong together for a bit of realism. I have a 2 inch wide straight section of real estate along side the track on a siding that has a water tower near it where I want to put a simple coaling station as described above.

I know this is like looking for a needle in a hay stack for me. For a modeler or kit builder in O gauge it may be a known structure. I don't know the kit suppliers let alone their products. I spent hours looking for this kit on the internet to no avail, mostly because I don't know the product area.

So if anyone out there knows of my coaling platform laser cut wood kit please let me know.

LDBennett


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## AlanRail (Jul 13, 2015)

I do not know of any coaling stations that are laser cut. 
Most I have seen are models by Lionel or MTH or customizing a Plasticville or Bachmann ones.
I have most of these and sadly none are laser-cut variety.


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## Lynn D Bennett (Jul 27, 2013)

AlanRail:

I found one but....It was an old ad and the manufacturer told me there are no plans to offer it any time soon.

So I drew up what I wanted and ordered the wood last week. I am awaiting the wood arrival and I'll scratch build what I want. It is a simple raised deck with a tiny house on one end with a backboard to keep the coal from falling off the back side of the deck. I am using the pictures of the unavailable kit I found on the internet and changing it to meet my needs (limited space). Thanks for the comment.

LDBennett


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Here's the coaling tower that Harry Henning III built. The main part is an old plastic bottle and the top is a funnel.


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## Lynn D Bennett (Jul 27, 2013)

Here is the one I'm after. It is no way in the same league as the pictured one.

LDBennett


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

That's a lot different, a manual coaling station. Clearly, made for smaller locomotives, can you imagine shoveling 40 tons of coal onto a large tender by hand!


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## Lynn D Bennett (Jul 27, 2013)

There is nothing realistic about my O Gauge layout and the only room left for a coaling station requires one this small. It will go well with my water tank kit from the same era.

For me it is not about realistic but just having O gauge trains to run. There is no theme to my MTH trains selections...just whatever I like the looks of. I have some operating structures, and a few I built from kits. The bad thing is the layout is about done. There is no more space for anymore structures except this coaling station. I can only run two trains continuously at once and half of the trains are on the track and other half are on the wall on shelves. It is full MTH DCS with a TIU and AIU. It is only 9 ft x 7 ft with two dog bone loops with a crossover between the loops.

But hey, it suits me just fine. I also have a trolley layout in HO that is much more realistic. It is basically done too, with a 1950's theme with a roller coaster amusement park with carnival booths, and a town along the trolley line. It is run by pulse width modulation but with microprocessor controls for four auto and random stops in a point to point layout and a digital throttle I designed using a microprocessor that includes acceleration and deceleration done digitally. The hardware is Arduino and I programmed it over several years. It works flawlessly except keeping the track and car wheels electrically clean is always a challenge (I have the same challenge with the O Gauge layout).

LDBennett


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Lynn, the only person it has to please is you.  If you're happy with what you have, that's great. Everyone has their own way to enjoy this hobby. :thumbsup:


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## AlanRail (Jul 13, 2015)

Lynn

That looks like the Atlas Icing station see below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHIkil_GM7I

http://www.atlaso.com/images/icehouse/Angled.jpg

or the MTH station platform

http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/v/vspfiles/photos/MTH-30-90027-2.jpg

That you could easily modify.


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## Viperjim1 (Mar 19, 2015)

Check feebay as there is a guy selling a lot set of o scale craft an kits that will end in about 2 days I can't remember his id though if I find it I'll post it. Ha his seller name is jeamudd I'm not sure if he has what your looking for but he has o scale kits listed, hope this helps.


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## Lynn D Bennett (Jul 27, 2013)

Here is the scratch built coaling station I ended up with. I didn't need no stink'en kit!

LDBennett


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

I really like that coaling station. Beautifully done. I would like to build it in HO
but since I have no steamers, it would have to have another
trackside business use. I already have a sand and gravel
company with an unloading trestle. Have to mull that one.

If your hobby shop has the materials you need, a kit
it totally unnecessary. All my recent structures are scratch built.
That's a fun part of the hobby.

Don


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## Magic (Jan 28, 2014)

That came out pretty nice. Good job.
Looks better than the "Kit". 

Magic


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## Lynn D Bennett (Jul 27, 2013)

Thanks for the compliments but I'm no modeler. I know where all the warts are in this coaling station. And I know some of you out there could do a much better job. But this fulfills my need, looks decent enough, and was fun to do. 

I'd do more of this but there just is no more viable real estate left on the layout for more buildings. In fact, this layout is pretty much done. It is more toy train than model train so that there can be a point where it is done. It is stuck in the middle of my living room with no way to expand it and no room anywhere else in the house to expand to. I lust after you Eastern guys with basements. There also are no O-Gauge model train clubs anywhere near to me (the West Coast is not model train friendly like other parts of the country).

LDBennett


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

That looks great, mighty decent for a "non modeler"!  It's better than I would have ended up with for sure. Mechanical and electrical, I'm your man. For artistic stuff, not so much.


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## Lynn D Bennett (Jul 27, 2013)

John:

As a kid I built tons of plastic car kits, HO train kits, and did hobbies like copper work, leather work and photography. I am NOT an artist but have an eye for photography. There are many warts on this coaling station compared to those done by real modelers. I would not attempt scenery or extensive modeling. My stuff that I do is acceptable (C grade) and that's good enough for me.

Thank you for the compliment.

Lynn........


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I can build kits, it's the stuff like getting the painting done, and stuff like weathering. I've started to do some, but I'm far from an expert.


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