Dedusting the Indianapolis Traction Terminal

Indianapolis Traction Terminal, view from the North

Today, I put the model of the Indianapolis Traction Terminal out in the garden and wiped the dust of the Winter away. I tried also a provisional roof for the Train Shed. 

Indianapolis Traction Terminal, view from the South

Indianapolis Traction Terminal

Indianapolis Traction Terminal, view from the West

The Indianapolis Traction Terminal

A low winter sun illuminates the Traction Terminal

A low winter sun illuminates the Traction Terminal

Interurban parade in the Traction Terminal

Hidden structures of the Terminal: The skylight of the Waiting Room

Indianapolis Traction Terminal waiting room skylight

The Traction Terminal had his big emblematic iron structure, the train shed. But there was also a smaller structure, the skylight of the waiting room. This element was nearly hidden for everybody.

From the exterior, it was neither visible from the train shed nor for from Market Street. In fact, it was enclosed by walls and could only be seen when looking out of the windows of the western side of the Terminal Building.

Of course, it was visible for the passengers inside the waiting room.

Indianapolis Traction Terminal, work in progress

Indianapolis Traction Terminal

I took advantage of the last heat and the nice light of fall to take the Traction Terminal to the outdoors for a photo sesssion. Gretchen, the plastic cow, is looking to it from the background. The Terminal looks good. Let's go on and add doors and windows. And tracks also, of course.

Traction Terminal Waiting Room

Traction Terminal, the pillar on the West

Indianapolis Traction Terminal

Indianapolis Traction Terminal in HO scale

HO scale Traction Terminal 

Some important progress was made with the HO model of the Indianapolis Traction Terminal. The cutting of a ground plate permits now safe test mounts of the train shed and the adjacent waiting room.

Indiana Historical Society. Photo Bass

It is nice to see that all parts fit extraordinary well together (except some small but idiot mistakes that you won't see, when I need to use a cutting knife or some extra glue...) Anyway, a project of this size cannot grew up without trials and tribulations ....

HO scale Traction Terminal

HO scale Traction Terminal

Zing Epilog 24 Laser Cutter @Fablab Berlin

Indianapolis Traction Terminal in HO scale

Some important progress was made with the HO model of the Indianapolis Traction Terminal. The cutting of a ground plate permits now safe test mounts of the train shed and the adjacent waiting room.

Indiana Historical Society. Photo Bass

It is nice to see that all parts fit extraordinary well together (except some small but idiot mistakes that you won't see, when I need to use a cutting knife or some extra glue...) Anyway, a project of this size cannot grew up without trials and tribulations ....

Indianapolis Traction Terminal - Waiting Room

Indianapolis Traction Terminal - Waiting Room from outside

Some more reality check with the laser cut HO model. After some reflection, I decided to make the interior of the Waiting Room wing available for modeling.  

Indianapolis Traction Terminal - H0 model - Waiting Room.

Indianapolis Traction Terminal - Waiting Room inside view.
Source: indianahistory.org

Traction Terminal Train Shed in laser cut MDF wood

Indianapolis Traction Terminal

Indianapolis Traction Terminal

Indianapolis Traction Terminal

Indianapolis Traction Terminal

Building the Indianapolis Traction Terminal Train Shed in HO scale

This is just a trial, made of laser cutted cardboard...

... but it shows the huge dimensions of the train shed

Cardboard with corrugated core. Next time I will do it solid.

Indianapolis Traction Terminal taking shape

Indianapolis Traction Terminal - West Market Street

Indianapolis Traction Terminal - West Market Street

Indianapolis Traction Terminal - West Market / Illinois Street

Indianapolis Traction Terminal - Illionois Street

Indianapolis Traction Terminal - Main Entrance - Illinois Street

Relaunching an old project - the Indianapolis Traction Terminal

Indianapolis Traction Terminal, Main Entrance

Indianapolis Traction Terminal, Main Entrance in Illinois Street

Indianapolis Traction Terminal, Illinois Street

Indianapolis Traction Terminal, Illinois and Market Street

Indianapolis Traction Terminal, Illinois and Market Street, with train shed

Winona Windsplitter

Photos of Winona Windsplitters are rare. Photos of two of them are even further rare. Here are two of them in the Indianapolis Traction Terminal , on track 5 and 6.

Electric Railway Journal, September 30, 1916, page 658

Indianapolis Traction Terminal - towards printable 3D drawings

Postponed but not forgotten, the pharaonic project is on track again: this stone structures of the Indianapolis Traction Terminal are all redrawn ​​for 3D printing in H0 scale. The steel structure of the train sheet could be realized in etched brass or laser cut materials. 

But as in antiquity, it will take time...

Indianapolis Traction Terminal: the mystery of the Freighthouse No.4 resolved

For a long time I haven't published anything about the Indianapolis Traction Terminal. But this doesn't mean that my interest has diminished or my research was halted.

Some days ago, a friendly modeler published a link to the "Brill Magazine" on archive.org . The "Brill Magazine" was a publication of the carbuilder J.G. Brill Co. of Philadelphia, praising mainly the own products, but treating also the work of concurrents and of the entire Electric Railway industry.

On volume 9 of 1915, page 68, I found a real crown jewel: the trackplan of the Indianapolis Traction Terminal in the time of its greatest extension. It shows the mysterious Freighthouse No.4 with his through track connecting to Market Street. After the freight business had moved off this area, this track was used for the Interstate sleeper service. I serached for this plan since years!

 In the next days, I will add this details to my own "Master Trackplan"

When things get real

Today I got a shipping from Belgium. When you open the package, and the things that where before only on your computer screen are suddenly real, this is always like a shock. I.materialise did an impressive job - and I have made no major error in my drawings.

Only a short hour to put NWSL Stanton drives on the car, and he was ready for a photo session. Thanks to a moment of Indian summer in Paris the light was as good as the models. Flush and fuzz are not yet removed. All is nearly as it comes out of the box.

Traction Terminal Waiting Room, new renderings

When you do not know where you're going, get there, and as soon as possible

Traction Terminal Waiting Room, front view (click to enlarge)

For years ago, I worked on 3D drawings of the Indianapolis Traction Terminal. This left to some results like this and this, but all this work remained essentially unfinished. In recent times, there was a long gap, as I turned to draw Interurban cars, and finally started to make 3D prints of Interurban cars in H0.

Traction Terminal Waiting Room, rear view with hollow structures

But when you are able print H0 scale carbodies, you must be able to print H0 buildings?


In real life, things are not so easy:  I unfolded my old 3D data files and stated that all the work must be done again a second time. Those 3D drawings are not "printable", because I ignored this technique and the requirements.

Some details must be simplified, as the minimum detail offset for 3D printers is 0.3mm, and minimum wall thickness is 1 mm. This is nearly invisible, but otherwise your 3D file is not usable. And more important : 3D printing remains expensive, and you pay the volume, not the details. This means that I had to throw away all the plain pillars and walls and replace them by sophisticated hollow structures, with as less wall thickness as possible.

As a test object, I redraw the Market Street Elevation of the Traction Terminal waiting room. This is only a small part of the entire structure, but it contains many elements that could be reused by "copy and past" for the Terminal Building. If this works, the dream of a self made "plastic kit" of the Traction Terminal could become reality. Obviously, 3D printing technique will be applicable only for building, not for the shed. The train shed could be produced with laser cut styrene parts, but this is another story...

Fortunately, when you do a work twice,  the second time it is often quickly done. So now the Market Street Elevation is nearly "ready to print". I must just add doors and make some minor corrections. You may have noticed that the eagle is missing. Actually, I am not yet experienced enough to modelize the stone eagles in 3D. This will be a project for this winter.