High-tech modeling for garden railroaders

Before I go any further, I want to share a feature of OnShape that you might like to try.  You will have to create an account, but that’s easy. I covered this before and the process is straightforward. Once you sign in, you will see a page that looks like the one below (this is my page, photo 1).

Below, my water tank is highlighted in photo 2.

If you double-click on the water tank, it will go to my page and open the file for editing.  However, if you want to copy the file, let's open something we might want to modify for our use, or just copy and print out.

I have been looking at a particular water tower that I liked, so I searched “water tower” and found what I was looking for. I then double-clicked on it to open the file (photo 3).

The red arrow points to, “Make a copy.” You can copy this file to work on and use.

Here is the copied water tower in my workspace (photo 4).  I can change, modify, and save this model. I don't think I need to change it, though — it is a good-looking model.

Not only can you look up the parts that I have been working on, you can search for other peoples’ parts too.

Here is my completed water tower ready for paint (photo 5). I sanded everything with 120-grit, then 220-grit sandpaper to ensure a fairly smooth surface.

Every project has problems that require some thought to fix. This one had some problems, too, but everything turned out fine. It will be a fine addition to the railroad and has already attracted plenty of attention. This is especially true at night when the hazard lights flash. I think I’ll add some lighting at the bottom to make it stand out a little more.

In the next article I’ll discuss a new material that I have been experimenting with that would have solved many of the problems I had with this project.