By Rick Brown

Author  Bio The next steps to making a big shed, time for the doors.

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Three large door hinges (white) were attached to the roof and bottom using 3 1/2" stainless steel bolts, washers on both sides with the nuts on the inside. After I got the roof panels (1/4 inch plywood), it was a little heavier than I had thought it would be, but it was still manageable. I used two 2"x 3"s to hold the roof open until I could figure a more permanent fix.

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The exterior window frames were next. Small cedar strips were cut to fit and glued to the outside of the windows. The sides were attached with a good old Craftsman air nail gun and the holes were puttied. The windows provided more light to the inside than I thought they would. A nice surprise!

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Well, it was off to the old hardware store again, only this time to the paint department where the clerk, using his computer, matched the red & green in my LGB catalog and mixed me up a quart of each.

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I painted the red on the sides & back. It took 2 coats to cover up the primer! I then attached a fascia board on the roof ends and sides and painted them green. Again two coats! The trim around the windows was also done in green.

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Once again I loaded it up with cars to see what it would look like. All the time I was working on the shed, I was also working on the pad. It helps if you give the primer and the glue a chance to dry!

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Early on, once I had the bottom frame together, I moved it up to the area where I wanted to place it. I moved it around a couple of times to see how it would fit and to get the angles right to tie into the three main lines that will eventually come out of the area.

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I staked out the area for the pad to set the rolling stock shed on, (You just can't let it sit in the dirt, you know) and to line up the track and switches. I ripped two old 2" x 4" x 10's to 2" x 3" x 8'6" for the sides and 2" x 3" x 4' 6" for the front and back forms. Nailed it all together and coated it with 10 w 30 motor oil so it wouldn't stick to the pre-mix when I pulled the forms. "Better safe than sorry!" (Note: That's the Head Bookkeeper and Vice-President of the Pine Needle & Stump Pile, AKA "Da Wife")

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Added some "hog wire" to keep it from cracking (I hope).

Ok, back to the old hardware store for some pre-mix (You just add water). Figured I needed about eighteen bags. Wrong! After staging it all up in the area, we were ready.

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Early the next morning, the wife and I started mixing two bags at a time in the large wheelbarrow (that's the blue thing with two handles. And don't forget to have a garden hose with water handy, cement trowels, and a long 2" x 4" to level the pre-mix. Better yet, find someone else to do it for You!

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After about ten bags, I could see I wasn't going to have enough (this was starting to be work!). So the wife rushed into the hardware store and picked up four more bags! She got back just as I was mixing the last of eighteen bags, so we didn't miss a beat. Mixed up two more bags and we were finished. Twenty bags is WORK!

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Let the pre-mix cure for two days (keeping it wet of course) and pulled the forms. To my amazement, it came out fine. Although I think it may be able to hold large parts of the space shuttle shuttle.)

About this time, we took off for about two months to chase trains and to see the grand kids in Tennessee. The shed was bundled up in blue plastic tarps and left until we got back.

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