You Just Have To Laugh...

All,

As touched on in a previous post, all the trackage, points and ballasting has now been completed on the Fish River section of the layout and with scenery coming along it was time to start placing the intended structures in place and settle on a permanent location for these infrastructures.

A couple of posts have dealt with the Fish River station building and I decided to give it one more makeover before final placement.  Extra detail was added and yet another facing "incarnation" was fitted as well.  This work took place over a weekend in January and following completion with only some glued sections to dry and some paint touch ups...I placed the structure on a box on the kitchen counter to admire, inspect and photograph my handiwork. 

As I took a step away to grab the camera...a gust of wind came through the back door and the inevitable happened...The station disappeared over the side of the breakfast counter like a ship down a slipway at launching...I reached out in vain as it glanced off one of the stools with no real chance of reaching it.  At that moment I would guess the look on my face was akin to just being told I was pregnant...mixed with a "how did that happen" expression.  After what seemed like an eternity of just standing there...the time came where I had to venture around to the other side of the counter and survey the damage first hand.  Without going into detail...destruction was almost total.

And so it was... that the following two weeks of spare time was fully allocated in that split second.  It took around 30 hours to rebuild and refabricate all the "bits" required to reinstate the building to its original glory...

Upon completion of this rebuild...no chances were taken and the unit was placed on the counter next to the stove to take the obligatory photographs...no chance of wind or other imminent danger here!!!....or so I thought.  This bench is located underneath a glass fronted, wall mounted cupboard that holds my collection of beloved mugs...The ones that are used to supply me with copious cups of tea throughout the day.  Our 11 year old daughter is now quite adept at making superb cups of tea and does generally enjoy "doting" on her dad!  After she had inspected the now finished structure...she decided that a cup of tea was in order to celebrate the "reincarnation" of Fish River Station.....Are you ahead of the story yet?

As Soph gingerly reached over the structure to get a mug from the cupboard...you guessed it... she lost her grip and the
Sydney Rail Network mug buried itself very neatly somewhere between the Ladies Waiting Room and the Booking Office.  It seemed like an eternity that Soph and I just looked at each other until she broke the silence by asking..."Will I get a bung for this?."  Laughter quickly followed.  It must be stated for the record that all passengers and station staff escaped this calamity with only minor scratches and shock...Can't wait to see the departmental report...

And so it was again that the "hoodoo" station was to undergo it's second rebuild within a month and I can't wait to place the structure this weekend before something else happens.  I must admit that the rebuilt/rebuilt chimneys and roof do look a lot better than the previous versions...They do say that you have to build at least three houses before you end up with what you want...

And so I have included a photo of the structure with the facing still to have it's final weathering applied and this will take place in situ so that the layout room lighting is taken into account...I must admit that I like this design of facing and as a consequence we have made a number in kit form for the Laser Rail Bits range.

A couple of finials will also have to be replaced as well to match the originals....again when the station is in situ.

What a month!!!