Commuter rail

I had this past week off and I was determined to finish something on the layout.  As you'll see, I finally received the MBTA Comet commuter cars from Rapido and I figured it was a good time to build somewhere for them to stop.  I didn't have much room, but it's just long enough for the end doors for all three cars to disgorge their passengers at once.  I modeled it a little on the Endicott station on the MBTA Franklin line, which isn't much more than a dozen parking spaces and a platform.  I started with a piece of cork roadbed, upside down, which I figured would bring it close to the level of the rails.  I cut a piece of styrene for the top (which overhangs the cork a little), and another thin one along the front, both installed with construction adhesive.  I cut two sets of stairs I had from a previous kit to size and installed those at the end, using a different kind of adhesive that would attach to plaster.

The passenger cars are SO cool.  They feature detailed interiors with alternating red and blue seats.  Plus they light up inside.  I don't have an MBTA engine yet - Rapido sold some but they were a very old paint scheme.  I'm glad I jumped on these and pre-ordered them, they're sold out everywhere now.

You'll also notice that I installed a bunch of the fences for the suburban neighborhood.  I glued them together, painted them, then drilled small holes in the homasote to place them.  

Lessons learned:

1. Don't throw out any spare parts from kits you've built.  Odds are that somewhere down the line, you'll be able to use something.  In this case, the stairs.
2. Not everything attaches to everything else with Liquid Nails Projects construction adhesive.  I had to use a clear one meant for other things to get anything to attach to the plaster.
3. I've said it before, I'll say it again - plaster sucks.  I ended up filling in holes and smoothing it out with the drywall spackle I've used before.
4. Like anything, the scene isn't totally "done" yet.  I need to add some railings along the back of the platform and some handrails on the stairs.