New Traction Terminal drawings

Due to the redesign of the blog, the old download page for 2D drawings of the Indianapolis Traction Terminal has dissapeared. I relaunched this page with a giant map of the trackplan of the entire block.
 
More downloadable items are upcoming.

http://interurban.blogspot.com/p/terminal-drawings.html

Interurban Traction Heralds

A small add : a special section for Traction heralds, logos, lettering schemes :

http://interurban.blogspot.com/p/interurban-heralds.html


Editable vector versions are available for download.

Season greetings

Cincinnati & Lake Erie Interurban Freight Trailer (update)

C&LE  Freight Trailer

"If you don't have enough time for your projects, start a new one".

So I did this "fine scale" 3D model of an interurban freight trailer, in the colours of the Cincinnati & Lake Erie Railroad.

This may be a trailer build following CERA standards (Central Electric Railway Association). (Edit : This is not a CERA Trailer)


If I found the appropriate colors, I could create a version with other roadnames.

This 3D-model is based on a diagram from the Jack Keenan book, "Cincinnati & Lake Erie Railroad - Ohios Great Interurban System", page 220, diagram made by Mark Hood.

Update dec 1 : Added some handrails, a higher roof and the roadname.

Still missing : hand brake, brake pipes, steps, trailer number ...

The Freighthouses of the Indianapolis Traction Terminal

(3D rendering)

Located northwest of the passenger station there were three freighthouses with stub tracks coming in from Ohio Street.

(Photo W.H.Bass, Indiana Historical Society)

Bending (virtual) girder rail

The virtual tracklaying gang is on work

The axles and trucks needs tracks...

MCB Truck : The secondary suspension

Baldwin MCB Interurban Truck

Type 78-25A

Adding the secondary bolster springs to Baldwin MCB Truck

Just adding the Swing Link Bolster to the Baldwin Truck

Baldwin MCB 78-25 A Truck

Adding the "Swing Link Bolster" and his pins to the Baldwin "Master Car Builder "Truck.

As my work is progressing so slowly, perhaps affordable 3D printers will be ready when I will finish ;-)

Moulding the 9th floor of the Terminal Building

Indianapolis Traction Terminal Building , 9th Floor (beta)

First attemt of rebuilding the mouldings and cornices of the 9th floor of the Traction Terminal Building.

Building a Baldwin MCB Interurban truck , type 78-25A

I am still searching for some 3D techniques, in order to build the upper floors of the Terminal Building, with their mouldings.

As an exercice I tried out to draw a strictly to scale Baldwin 78-25A truck, Master Car Builder type. This trucks are far more sophisticated as I thought.

The bolster, the motors and gears and the brakes are still missing.

Bad weather, time for drawing

Northern Indiana Railway Inc.

Very bad weather, time for drawing.

I restarts with a small vector exercice, the awesome and somewhat cabbalistic emblem of the Northern Indiana Railway.

The editable vector file (Illustrator CS3) is here

No drawings, I spend my time with live steam

During this warm spring days, I put aside my computer and all the 3D drawings. And I bring out again my live steam engine.

Not really interurban, but is it a european styled "steam dummy" tramway engine in scale 1:3, gauge 7"1/4'.

When the rain comes back, I will go back to my drawings.

The Cornice of the Traction Terminal Building

The cornice and frieze of the Indianapolis Traction Terminal Building

Some profile drawing was done.

As a joke, I put my own profile on the corbel carved with a stylised head.

On the real Terminal Building, there was a great variety of faces decorating the corbels.

Another range of faces  was on the upper ceiling of the cornice.

New challenge : the 9th floor of the Terminal Building

There is no 3D without a good bi-dimensional drawing. This is already very tricky with all this lintels, arches, columns, parapets and ornaments...

Thank you Mr. Burnham for complicating my life :-)

New arrivals in my library

On my first trip to the US - but not beyond New York City - I found the very fine Jerry Marlette book "Indianapolis Railways".

This book contains some information about the Traction Terminal that I missed, specially about the trackplan and the freighthouses, including the mysterious 4th freighthouse between Market and Wabash Street.

Interurban landscape

Interurban landscape in T scale.

The big wooden combine is a still undecorated styrène body.

Pacific Electric "Twelve" in scale 1:450

Pacific Electric "Twelve" is passing in front of the Indianapolis Traction Terminal. He never did? He did, on my table! (Scale 1:450)

Traction Terminal Building in T-scale (1:450)

My first attempt to create a real model of the Terminal Building. This is a scale T paper model (1:450). Not so bad. 

Indianapolis Traction Terminal, with some tracks and switches

A track laying gang have done some work.

I have no drawing who gives details about the exact position of the trackwork in Market Street, unlike the freight terminal tracks in Ohio Street who are well-documented.

But I made the tracks with the same elements: Curves of 45' and 50', and switches with a 45' radius.

Some (virtual) Niles Interurban spare parts

3D drawing drives me crazy ;-) .

This side panels are made of one standard element that could be "cloned" several times to obtain a car of a given length. Windows are "functionally" and could be raised into the gothic sashes.

 The monitor roof is still a challenge, as it would be a vintage MCB "high speed" truck.

More images of the Suydam Niles 62ft Interurban

Paintings are removed. Next step : improve the riding.

A short brake with the painful 3D drawings

Yesterday, I found two Suydam Brass Interurbans in a model train shop in Paris - and bought them immediately. Suydam models are very rare in Europe and hard to obtain. So I have now a big Niles wooden 1907 car (painted green) and a smaller Chicago North Shore 700 (brass). Basic condition is surprisingly good, and I will start to clean them and remove paintings. Following the guidelines of Master Mechanic Dan D. Sparks , I will try a careful restauration of this fine cars. 

Traction Terminal Waiting Room

Some new views of my trials. The dimensions and details of the stone cornices and lintels meets not yet the final standards. 

"The building is designed in the Byzantine style of architecture and is very pleasing in appearance. The two lower stories are done in Bedford stone, with an imposing main entrance handsomely carved." (Street Railway Review, 15)

Also, the station is lacking tracks ;-)

(Click on the images to see larger views)