Talheim Locomotive Shed

The Koef II in Talheim needs a home. Now that the Schrebergarten is ready for installation on the layout, and the run-around track is rearranged, it's time to build the locomotive shed. I used Vollmer's Nr. 5750 "single stall engine shed" kit as the basis for this kit bash.

I assume there is some history to the building and it used to house a small steam powered switcher, that has been replaced with a Koef a while ago. The building thus is in a somewhat dilapidated but still serviceable condition. The spur to the shed comes off the curved industrial track to Kopper and Gregorius, and hits the room wall at an angle.  I wanted to have as much shed as possible, and built the shed as a 3/4 relief with the rear cut off. I also didn't want to build yet another red brick structure on the layout, as they are not really typical for the southern Black Forest, and the colors also needed help to differentiate the building some more.

This required a few modifications to the walls and roof. I really liked the sky light, so I took the liberty of turning the roof around and move the chimney just before the cut in the rear of the shed.

Thankfully, this Vollmer kit is flexible enough to allow hiding most of the cuts. At the end of the first evening I tested the modified building at its destination on the layout, and was quite satisfied with the result.

I spray-painted the brick a sandy earth color, turned the green windows into a middle-grey, and painted the green doors brown with faded green paint using several washes of shades of brown. Roof and walls were dirtied up and weathered heavily using acrylics, washes, and pigment powders.

I can almost smell the mold in the walls ...

With the rear cut off, the shed has just enough space to house the Koef II or the Koef III that are usually assigned to Talheim.

Now that the shed dimensions are fixed and I have a better feel for the area, I can move on to finishing the area around the garden spots right behind the shed, install a few more trees and bushes, and then come back build the floor and servicing area around the shed.