Loading and Unloading

I recently returned to the Stutsman Tank Farm scene and made a few changes to better reflect the prototype. Since it is a part of the front door for The Hills Line, it’s important to me that I get this portion of the layout correct.

First and foremost, I removed some of the flora that populated the area. The prototype’s predominant scenic elements are dirt, gravel, and rock. I added too much foliage to the scene, which isn’t present in real life. Luckily, I could replant the weeds, grass, and shrubs in other areas so they didn’t go to waste.

I also realized that I didn’t provide a proper method for unloading the tank cars. Further investigation of the plant layout helped me discover a series of unloading stations along the spur. Fortunately, Walthers Modern Unloading Racks are a near-perfect match.

The racks were built more or less stock, with the only significant modification being swapping the direction of the stairs to the platform. The entire arrangement was painted, weathered, and installed on the layout.

I also installed the unloading basins that are included in the kit. I made sure to heavily weather the spot where the cars would actually be unloaded, dripping diluted India Ink to represent the all too common spills that occur during the process.

I also added some separate hoses to the two main tanks in the area. Heat shrink tubing was attached to some styrene shapes to represent the lines. Additional pipes, valves, and connections complete the scene.