Needing to build something for the April FoxValley Division monthly contest, I decided to finally build a 1/2" scale model of the North Shore Line's South Upton Tower. Eric Bronsky did a great article in the March 1985 issue of Railroad Model Craftsman, and I've always wanted to duplicate his efforts in either O scale or 1/2" scale.
As usual, stryene was the quick and dirty medium of choice, and equipped with Eric's article, which includes some nicely detailed drawings, the basic building was knocked together in about a week. I started on Tues March 16th and had progressed to the vision in white below by Sunday the 21st. Certainly doesn't hurt to have most of the raw materials at hand to start with.
This thing is pretty big in 1/2" scale, 10x17 inches, by 13 inches tall.
This thing is pretty big in 1/2" scale, 10x17 inches, by 13 inches tall.
So, here we are, 4-1/2 weeks later, the final push over the last week to complete the tower just ended, and just in time for tomorrow's meet/contest. The finished tower below, complete with interior. A nice touch (my opinion anyway) the tower features copies of the actual track boards from the real South Upton Tower, which have been preserved by the Illinois Railway Museum. Eric Bronksy was kind enough to forward pictures of the boards which I promptly scaled to size and printed for the tower's interior.
One of the photos from Eric, showing the South Upton Junction
The tower interior, showing the track boards, and interlocking equipment
So, we'll see what the guys in the Division think !
Guess I should build something North Shore to pose next to the tower, hmm ?
