Chattanooga is an end point on my W&A line. One of the 'signature' elements is the relatively much photographed train station. At that time these structures were called the 'Car Shed'. It is a term used in larger cities along the W&A such as Atlanta and Dalton. However, the smaller towns depots and stations were usually constructed of brick or field stone. My challenge was to find a material that replicated the limestone pillars as seen in the photo below...
Finding no textured material, I did locate a paper product of limestone block from Miniature Planet. However, when I went to purchase this they had discontinued that particular design... figures. I had used a flex wall for another project manufactured by Chooch. Problem was that it did not bend on tight corners as needed for these small pillars. Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago when I took my first trip to the incredible Springfield train show. Speaking of which, it was well worth the trip from NJ. But that's another story. Fortunately I met the owners of Chooch. Their idea was to score the corner to make a clean bend at the tight corners. He also suggested how to alter its color with a gray wash. I purchased the HO/N Small Cut Stone, #8260, and found it to work fabulously! The scoring idea was perfect and it took the wash remarkably well.
Here is a sequence of pics from package to install...
The wall starts out 4"x24". It is very easily cut with an Xacto #11 blade or a single edge razor. Most important of course is to accurately measure and mark the corner for scoring. I used ply bass wood as the frame. While scoring the flex wall I accidentally cut all the way through the Chooch wall but not the backing material. But that was not an issue. These walls have an adhesive backing and stick very well. In some cases I used hot glue because then narrow sections did not adhere well and the hot glue worked fabulously. I also decided to clamp the interiors to ensure adhesion.
Below is the sample of how the walls will look once assembled. Next is to tackle roof construction. More on that later.
Here is a sequence of pics from package to install...
