After the passing away of one of our members, the surviving spouse generously gave all of the outdoor layout’s track and buildings, cars, and a few rolling stock pieces to the club to find a good home for them.
The track is very old Aristocraft (remember them). Most of the ties are just shattered and powdered. I was going to replace the ties from Aristo, but may have run out of time.
The buildings have also been outdoors for many many years, and are in poor shape. The glue gave away in the dry heat of Northern California, and the plastic has lost most of its color.
But the building parts are essentially sound. With a little sweat equity they can have a whole 'nuther life.
To prove my point, I’ve undertaken two such projects: the first is a station, the second is a “Bijou” Theater. The station is simply a replace the glass and repaint, with an unbend the plastic roof thrown in. The station has a new name. I repainted half the building so people could understand just how simple the process is. I used masking tape and spray cans.
The second is a little more elaborate. I’ve stripped the Bijou of all of its signs, posters, etc. I cut a new window for the projection room (where I’ll put a flicker to simulate a film projector). I replaced the original ball on the markee with an acrylic ball, and used an LED and a lucite rod to run light up to the ball.
