The Terminal: Complete*

Well, not quite complete, but close enough for the time being that all the major parts are there now! At this stage, I'm pretty much done with all the major work on what has been a six month project.  Starting back in January with the 'elevation' of the ground over the track loop at this section of the layout, the creation of the platforms in March,  the construction of the bottom two floors of shops in March/April, the completion of the terminal structure in May, and really working on the overhead canopy and various lighting and construction problems for the past two months!

Below you can see some of the challenge....the station needs to sit flush with the ground on top of two layers of shops.  The wires also need to be routed to get below all of this stuff to get to the power!

But the biggest challenge has been the curved, 'glass' canopy that extends from the front of the station out over the tracks!  I considered several methods, but ultimately used clear transparency sheets which are thin enough that they naturally rest on the curved arches of the station.  The transparency sheets are held together with styrene strips that act as real bracing and support.

I also needed to route wires for the canopy and station interior lights (along with advertising signs) which, of course, added a lot more work time to the project.  The below photo shows the terminal complex in most of its entirety:

Although I was inspired by the new Berlin Hauptbahnhof, I was not trying to replicate it.  I did like the curving canopy and how it extends out over the front of the station.  In the below photo you can see the canopy coming out to provide a bit of protection at the entry:

Within the terminal interior, you can also see that I added a destination board that hangs from the roof so that travelers can 'see' the destination board when they enter the station and when they are on the main platform area.

I used 'warm white' LED strips attached to strips of styrene within the canopy section to provide light to the terminal.  Of course, further out on the platforms, lighting is provided by lights on traditional lamp posts.  I think the contrast turned out pretty well.

From a distance, as trains enter the terminal, I wanted to have a somewhat 'industrial' look to the canopy, so I used girders from Plastruct on all the arches (you can make them out just a bit below, but probably better in the above photo).  As I mentioned above, its not quite complete.  There are still some canopy sections that need to be finished, and there are going to be a lot more people and other details added to the platforms, but that is 'fun' stuff at this point in the game!

 I've previously show photos of the platform level concourse area with the stairways (salvaged from a Kato overhead station) and various shops.  However, with the lighting now installed in the canopy, I think it looks much better!

So that's it! A 6 month-plus project has finally (nearly) come to a close! I have to say that I am really glad. To be honest, I really don't have the patience for these super-long projects and get distracted or excited about other things so its been a real act of discipline to power through this project (without taking too many shortcuts). 

In fact, I hope, hope, hope to take a break from scratch-building for a long time!  Anyway, some more touch ups and some details and I can start to move both passengers and trains into the new terminal!  Whoohooo!!!