Dolores Depot

Dolores, Colorado is the next town to be included on my new layout depicting the Rio Grande Southern Railroad.  Because I plan to construct Dolores fairly soon, I decided to build the Dolores Depot.  This will complement the Dolores section foreman's house and Conoco Oil Facility, already completed.  This kit is available from American Model Builders, and is their kit No. 803.  This is a laser cut kit, using  peel-and-stick technology.  I pre-painted all parts before assembly, which resulted in clean color separation of the different building components.  I finished the roof using four colors of paint, sprayed onto the roof shingles while the shingles were still intact in their sheets.  The four colors were Roof Brown, Mud, Engine Black, and Platinum Mist, all from Floquil.  This technique is one that I used on several Raggs... to Riches kits, following the instructions in those kits.  The uneven application of the four colors of paint makes a very realistic looking roof.  It is worth the investment in time to use this procedure.

This is a nicely engineered kit, although I did have a bit of trouble getting the four sections of roof to come together evenly over the two-story section of the depot.  However, patience resulted in an acceptable roofline.  The kit does not include material or information on the platform that surrounded the prototype station, so that will be forthcoming.

The colors used to paint this building were Star Brand paints from PBL, specifically Jersey Cream and D&RGW Trim Brown.  These are solvent-based paints, so be sure to use with adequate ventilation.

Front 3/4 view of the American Model Builders kit for the Rio Grande Southern Railroad Dolores. Depot.  The Depot is simply sitting on a vacant area of the railroad, as the Dolores section of the layout has not yet been constructed.  Two tracks will pass in front of the station.

Front 3/4 view of the freight end of the Dolores Depot.  Note the lack of a station platform.

Rear view of the Dolores Depot.  The house track will run behind the depot, with a connection to the Goose Barn.

Layout infrastructure improvements

I have recently completed the storage cabinets and fascia for my new layout.  I have installed drink holders, and throttle pockets for the DCC controllers, and have actually begun the scenery on the High Line to Silverton.

New cabinets installed under the layout to hold parts and supplies.  the new fascia is shown at the top of the photo.

New cabinets and fascia installed underneath Durango.

Initial scenery for the High Line to Silverton.