Goods transfer shed
    

Overview of the original
The shed I want to build is based on the mid 1960s-built shed at Gracefiled yard, Lower Hutt.

As yet unable to establish exact date of build, but an idea can be got from various Retrolens or Whites Aviation aerial photos in which the shed cannot or can be seen. A search on 'Gracefield' found plenty to look at.

Also Patrick has an excellent resource in his New Zealand Rail Maps website

I used to hang around Gracefield yard and Woburn station a bit as a youngster in the school holidays, watching all the shunting.

The yard was also used as a shortcut in the weekends when nobody was about, to fishing spots off the Seaview reclaimation and Point Howard wharf. Took the odd photo of a wagon or two while passing through. Just wish I'd taken some of the shed!

Like any project, you have to gather info - as many pictures and drawings of the proposed subject and you can.

A plan view was easy to get hold of thanks to the Hutt City historic aerial views website, and using known sizes of track gauge and wagons pictured in the yard, it was relatively easy to calculate measurements.

Then on the Valley Signals site I found some pics of the actual shed during the last days of the yard in 2002. . .

for example. . .

Then there's these captured screen shots from a video segment "K class hulks" I stumbled across on an old Rail Scene VHS tape number 8, that has the panning camera catching some fuzzy but useful interior detail - especially underside detail of the roof. For example. . . .

So using all this info I was able to create reasonably close 1:76 scale drawings of roof plan and end elevation.

The roof will overall measure in OO scale, 680mm long and 258mm wide, so quite a decent size.

The 4ft 6ins platform edge to track centre, and 2ft 5ins platform height measurements are from NZR specs, while the 13ft between tracks is calculated from the aerial views.

And below is a scan of my scribbles for the end elevation, south end.

Construction overview
The structure consists of nine supports or ribs, each made up of H beam main and platform posts, and rafters made up of an I beam joining the two posts at roof level, then tapering I beams extending outwards each side.

There are end walls to provide shelter from prevailing northerly and southerly weather.

A channel gutter runs atop of all the main posts where the two roof panels meet, from which there are some gullies with downpipes coming down next to some of the main posts for drainage.

Several roof purlins join all the rafters, to which are fixed corrugated roof panels - including some clear panels for skylights.

The corrugated material that is also used for the end wall sections and roof awnings, appears to be a jumbo size, and in measuring and calculating, it's close to a five or six inch pitch (distance peak to peak of the corrugations) rather than the usual household three inch.

There is a narrow concrete platform running the length of the shed, and similar height concrete foundation walls extend out at each end on the road side to support the end walls. There's a wooden strip along both road and rail side platform edges.

Framework construction
After checking measurements, the main posts will be Evergreen 4.8mm H beam, with 2.4mm H beam for the platform posts.

An Evergreen 4.8mm I beam (with a widening taper section at the main post end) will join the two posts at under roof level.

The same size U channel in 4.8mm will be used for the channel gutter, running the length of the shed and sitting on top of the main vertical H beam posts.

Ok, now to make eight more of them. . . .

Using the one rib already made as a master, and laid flat on a sheet of glass, various pieces of scrap plastic strategically positioned around and under it to create a jig for the assembly of further ribs. Once happy with positioning, all the bits - except the rib of course - were superglued to the glass.

Using a jig where you need to replicate accurately assembled shapes like this, really really speeds up the process. I was easily and accurately able to churn out the other eight ribs required in a very short time. The time was in waiting for the glue to set!

Finally, after three years, I can return, and proper assembly begins!

Click on images for a closer, more scary look.

Could have done the platform in plastic but had plenty of this 2mm ply waiting to be used. And it was a nice change to be working in wood, although the glue set wait times are frustratingly much longer.

O scale corrugated material looks about the right size for use on the roof, awnings, and end walls to represent the jumbo size corrugated fibre cement material that was probably Hardies SuperSix brand - 5.75" pitch instead of the domestic 3".

This stuff looks good for doing corrugated metal. . . from Brunel Hobbies in Oz.
They also have a tools for making it yourself in various scales.

But after a bit of Interweb research I decided to have a crack at it myself, and created a separate page, Making corrugated material.

More to come. . .