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Menlo Park: an N scale model

These pages are devoted to this romantic depot and others RR structures around it. Menlo Park has one of the most photogenic depots on the San Francisco Peninsula. It is also one of the oldest, built in 1867 by the San Francisco & San Jose Railroad

Other pages on this site about this depot : Picture Album - Drawings and Maps - Tips to model it An excellent album with photos taken in April 2007 was prepared by Rob Sarberenyi .

Credits: Some pictures of the album are courtesely from the Art Fisher site, please visit Art Fisher's Southern Pacific Transportation Company Depots and Structures Home Page or in detail the Coast division : SP_Sub_Coast_San-Francisco_1959.htm Some recent pictures are also courtesely from Richard Silagi, take a look at the: http://www.railpictures.net/showphotos.php

Menlo Park depot : a victorian pearl

Friends,
it's an hot summer here and I've take the occasion to enhance an already beautiful kit made by Showcase Miniatures to fulfil all main details of this depot during the late ‘47
Given the general dimensions of the Showcase kit are more or less correct, what mostly the kit leaves out is the passenger shelter and some details, specially on the roof .
I decided to spend some time on my bench, and here are the results. Hope you enjoy it!

	Flat styrene base shaped around the depot with the passengers shed extension. I’ve glued a second layer of paved styrene ( cut at 45° ) for the floor of the shelter. First spray a base light grey and then dry brush with brick dark red
	Framed the shelter floor with walnut strips and darken with a wash of alcohol & india ink
	brushing some single plates give different shades of wear. Then put in place the depot.
	preparing pieces for the shelter : board with styrene framed by nut sticks, columns made by 3 wood pieces ( squared base – column – 45% filed head… glued together … well, next time I will made a resin moulder! Manage these microbes is not so funny!
	the top of the shelter done!
	and a bird view of all parts before mounting
	… and after
	Now (another tedious job!) shingles on the roof. I’ve select two types of shapes (cedar squared and diamonds ) to replicate the prototype variation ( see the picture here: http://www.pbase.com/espeef5/image/77115096 ).
	To give the impression of the super-elevated roof on the shelter ( see the original here ) I glued some wood sticks on top of the cardstock roof cover, then covered everything with thin paper
	An U squared styrene strip all around and brass wires shaped to simulate water pipes
	Water pipes installed on rail side and shingles on the windows sun covers. Painted the shingles in dark olive green.
	A step back to admire your job ( and also note some wrong details too )
	And a step forward (My poor...how so crude is the digital picture machine: it enlighten all little miss-alignments and ….. well I know “where”)
	OK, now playing with fleas again! The roof corners ornaments are made by …. styrene and brass.
	a short cut of U strip contain a piece of brass pipe ( flatten and then filed to have the hearth shape of the point). Then I’ve added 4 little strips of styrene also shaped with a jeweller file.
	Station name plates ( 3 different dimensions ) also filed from styrene. One on the shingled roof of the pagoda
	One on top of the Bay window and the last one on the shelter.
	I’ve noted on the pre-1964 pictures a little brick chimney positioned on back side of the roof ( not exactly as mine, but … that's what I've found in my scrap box for now!)

Now I "only" need to search a proper character font ( http://www.pbase.com/espeef5/image/77115088 ) to fill the station name and put some additional details ( as a Timetable on the wall, baggage carriage ..... and so on)

Compare with the real pictures …. And, please, consider the scale and that on the layout you appreciate the depot from … an airplane point of view!