Bachmann 2-10-2
Won by Rey Reyes
for his Lighthouse





 

Reye's Lighthouse 5/5/2006

The lighthouse is primarily made from a piece of ShopVac hose reducer tube. The tube had the right size, shape and texture so I thought “why not use it to build a unique lighthouse for my layout’s port city.”

It has not been painted yet, which makes it easier for you to identify and differentiate between all the various parts. I plan to paint it soon and can e-mail the final finished model pictures if you’d like. It will have a homemade beacon circuit driving a white L.E.D.

I also plan to animate it with two seagulls flying in a circular pattern around the base on some .015 or less wire; driven by a 1.5 volt Medical Monitor Recorder motor (I repair medical equipment at our local children’s hospital). The upper door is scratch built from styrene scribed siding and small strip. The window openings were quite a workout to get just right so the windows would “snap” in. ShopVac hose plastic is solid stuff.

I first made cardboard mockups of each part and tested it prior to committing to styrene so I would be sure about each architectural feature. The following gives you a general idea of the parts that were required.

Materials

- One ShopVac hose reducer from Home Depot 2 ¼” to 1 ½ “

- One 25 cent clear coin tube cut to 7 scale feet high

- Evergreen Styrene sheets, plain and scribed (.080”, .040”, .050” thick) and assorted flat, round, angle, and channel strips.

- Campbell HO scale shingles and a custom brown paper grocery bag for the ridge piece.

- Pike Stuff windows leftover from two Yard Utility Building #541-0005 kits.

- Campbell door P/N #912

- Rix Products bridge railing from the Wrought Iron Highway Overpass #628-0121 kit.

- Brass rail finials by Round House “Handrail Posts”, P/N 02977.

- Athearn short stanchions #C44-9W for upper rail along with .015 steel wire.

- Central Valley ladder stock for upper ladder



- Handmade light fixture – shade is a hole punched piece of sheet metal drilled to accept a Miniatronics Corp. 1.2 mmdia 1.5 volt/15MA, #18-001-20 bulb.

- KS Engineering brass tube as a guide for the light bulb wires from the inside of the main body of the lighthouse base.

- 4” dia. Schedule 80 PVC pipe and 1/4“ Luan plywood circle for the base. (I haven’t cut the base walk through opening yet.)

- 1.5 mm size craft bead for the top finial along with a straight pin for the top rod.