Behind The Scenes At The Choo Choo Barn

As you may (or may not) know, the Choo Choo Barn is closed each year from January-March. Many people have asked what goes on behind the scenes during this time, as we clean and refurbish the 1,700 square foot display. So, on these pages, we'll show you what we're doing!

You can click on any of the small photographs to see "full size" images of what we're doing (just use your browser's "back" button to return to this page when you've looked).

You can also see what we've done in other years, if you're really curious! Pick your month and year below, or continue down the page to see what's currently going on.

February 23, 2007

Tom has finally started the water tower animation for the Strasburg Rail Road. Our first picture shows the water tank with the roof off and the spout off. Tom had to do a little dis-assembly before he could start the mechanical pieces.

The spout is back on but this time Tom fastened it with a pin that goes through the spout and the pipe that goes under the tank. This will allow the spout to be pulled up and down. He's also fastened a small pulley at the top of the tank which will guide the string which will pull the spout up.

OK, the string is fastened to the spout and was threaded over the pulley and through a hole in the tank. The white spool is what the string is on. Tom uses very heavy, black fishing line for this purpose. He also uses the same line for the ferris wheel.

Now comes the fun part, how to make the spout go up and down! Tom wants to make the mechanism so everything fits inside the water tank. The electrical wiring will be concealed inside brass tubing, but I'm getting a little ahead of myself. On Tom's workbench, he's laid out a number of different RPM motors along with a Tortoise switch machine. Tom said his initial idea was to use the Tortoise but after a little experimenting, which included disassembling it, he decided to use a slow RPM reversable 110 volt motor. These motors last longer and don't require much maintenance, if any. Tom said the motor will turn less than one revolution at a time and only every 5 minutes or so, just when the Strasburg Rail Road train pulls back into the station.

Here's a series of photos that will show the process of making the pulley unit that will pull the string. Tom first went to his mechanical parts drawers and found a motor shaft lengthener (is that a word?). He fastened the white pulley on the shaft and then that green thing. That's actually going to be used to trip the limit switches. Tom added a set screw so it would stay put.

Now it's time to make a motor bracket. Tom used a scrap piece of PVC pipe he had left over from when he made the water tank originally, so he wouldn't have to mess the tank up. A piece of aluminum bar stock is formed to hold the motor and then screwed on to the motor. The round piece of wood will be used to mount everything onto. Tom said the piece of wood came from a wooden wine crate he bummed from a local liquor store. I told you, Tom uses everything and anything.

February 24, 2007

ABOVE AND BELOW:While Eric was working on re-surfacing the baseball field on the layout, he accidently sucked a couple baseball bats up the vacuum. Since we use a central vacuum unit, he got the vacuum bag and tore it apart in an attempt to find them. Tom said he made those bats a bunch of years ago but Eric couldn't find them. SO, it was back to the Unimat to make some more. Here's a series of photos showing the steps invloved to make a 1/4" scale baseball bat! I personally think Tom has started to lose it a little! Tom made seven of these little guys, even putting the trademark on with a fine tip marker.

Oh , I almost forgot, he then put two coats of sanding sealer on them.

Now, back to the water tower. As usual, Tom wasn't happy with the way things were working. He didn't like the white pulley so he decided to make his own out of a piece of colored plexiglass on his Unimat. Tom's had that Unimat for about 30 years, buying it from the widow of a model railroader in Strasburg. That little machine has really come in handy over the years. The last photo shows the new pulley mounted on the motor.

LEFT: Here's the motor mounted on the base and a test fit inside the tank. OH GOOD, IT FIT! RIGHT: Tom has to now make a drawing of how the string comes into the tank so he can get the guide pulleys inside the tank to line up correctly.

The following follows the pictures below from left to right. 1. There's the bracket for the next guide pulley that will take the string down to the take-up pulley... 2. ...then a bracket for the limit switches... 3. ...and the limit switches are attached. They're fastened so they can be adjusted, to allow the string to pull more or less.

LEFT: Here's the mechanism ready to be dropped into the water tank. There have been two brass tubes added up though the base of the tank, one for the 110 volt cable and one for the low voltage control wire that's attached to the limit switches. RIGHT: That's the schematic diagram Tom made and some of the components he'll use to make the water spout work on cue.

February 25, 2007

What a mass of wires! Tom used 3 relays, two timers and a latching relay to make this all work. He eventually added two more timer boards when the unit was installed and testing began.

February 27, 2007

OOPS! There was a little problem while cleaning the display so Tom has to do a roof repair job.

The following follows the pictures below from left to right. 1. Tom had to fix the end of the roof that got broken off during cleaning. After he re-glued and re-inforced the over-hang, he filled the cracks with green Squadron putty. It's a putty that comes in a tube that is fairly fast drying and is easy to sand. 2. While the putty sets, the rest of the roof gets a new paint job. 3. In the mean time, let's make more cars with headlights! Like there's not enough work to be done! 4. OK, the putty's set up, sanded and now the rest of the roof gets painted. Tom will reassemble the station and take it back to the Choo Choo Barn.

ABOVE AND BELOW:NOTICE: If you are a collector of Britain's Ltd. figures and bands, do not read the following, it may give you nightmares!
Well, things are winding down on the layout for 2007. It's only one week before we reopen and Tom decides to repaint one of the bands on the Memorial Day parade. It's a plastic Britain's Ltd. band that's been on the layout for at least 36 years, probably longer. We know that because Tom said the first operating parade was put on the display when they added the last 20 feet onto the display in 1971. He doesn't think the band was on the display prior to that date. I'm not sure why Tom didn't paint the figures before now, but that's how Tom tends to operate. I think he thrives on STRESS! So, the following pictures are of him re-painting the band. It's not very exciting, but I thought I would end this year's work showing something a little different. Tom first took all the instruments off the figures and then double-edge taped each figure to a small piece of card stock. This made handling easier and the figures stand up a lot better! The picture of the "black things" are the figure's heads. Their hats got painted as did the flesh. He then painted all their belts and even their gold buttons. The last picture is the band back on the parade. They really look good. Now Tom wants to paint the rest of the bands! Sorry Tom, you've run out of time.
Thanks for watching...we'll see you in 2008!

The Choo Choo Barn And The Shops Of Traintown
Route 741 East, Box 130
Strasburg, PA 17579
(717) 687-7911
Fax: (717) 687-6529
Email: info@choochoobarn.com