RICO DEPOT, O-SCALE (NEARLY 32-INCHES LONG!)

A LITTLE HISTORY:

The Rio Grande Southern (RGS) railroad reached the mining town of Rico, Colorado, during the fall of 1891 and the depot was constructed shortly thereafter.The original structure included the distinctive tower which housed telegraph lines.Rico was originally intended to be a division point on the railroad, requiring the services of a dispatcher and the issuance of many train orders. By 1893 the arrangement had proven inefficient and the dispatcher was moved to Ridgway, Colorado, the railroad’s main base of operations. The upper floor of the depot housed the station agent and his family, which was unfortunate, as in 1936 a fire claimed the life of the agent’s wife and destroyed much of the second floor, including the tower. Reconstruction of the second floor eliminated the tower and slightly changed the window configuration. Although passenger trains were discontinued on the RGS in the 1930s, Galloping Goose service remained until 1950 when the US Mail contract was lost to trucking and the depot closed.The railroad ceased operations in 1951 and the depot is no longer standing.

THE KIT:

The kit can be built either as the early version (incorporating the tower) or the later version, as rebuilt after the fire of 1936. The rebuilding eliminated the tower as well as the two small windows on the front (second floor), changed the window mullion arrangement, and modified the trim. The kit includes parts to properly build either version. Decals correct for both versions are also included.

HO Trackside View

This kit will take time (60 hours or more) to complete, as well as patience. With well over 500 parts, assembling the depot is a very involved process requiring close attention to the instructions. The 40+ page instruction book is spiral-bound so it lays flat on your bench, uses large type so it is easily read, and includes many photos of the process (62 for HO; 78 for O). It also includes suggestions for tools and adhesives, as well as how to apply the finish to your model, complete with paint formulas. The HO kit contains 12 sheets of our precise, prototypically correct, peel-and-stick shake shingles while the O kit contains 16 sheets. A special syringe for applying the recommended adhesive is included for making a very neat appearing model. The three castings (two chimneys and the finial) were made to match the prototype's and are cast resin. As with all of our kits, decals, door knobs, and lock plates are included. Grandt Line's Train Order Boards are also included.

HO Tower version

All of the above photos illustrate the model after adding our HO Depot Detail Set, DP3007. (Sorry, this set is no longer in production)
Note the "aged" look to the clapboard.

Construction follows our typical approach to complicated structures: a plywood core is first built on a base, followed by the application of peel-and-stick siding. Two layers are used for the wainscoting so the corners will conform to the prototype's, using no corner trim. The clapboard (cut from a special "aged" product by Northeastern Scale Lumber Company) is peel-and-stick, and the subroofing is plywood -- we use NO cardboard in our kits! Windows and doors are also peel-and-stick plywood (making it far easier to get them to look like real WOOD!). Both windows and the freight room doors can be mounted in the open position. As designed, the model's roof is NOT removable when complete, but allowances have been made for adding an interior during construction (complete with interior partitions). The freight room floor is scribed for additional detail, and pre-cut curtains are included for the 2nd floor windows.

O-scale Tower

Because of the larger size, it was possible to include more detail in the O-scale kit for the tower. Note the telephone/telegraph bars and insulators, as well as the coved shingles at the tops of the walls.

The above photo illustrates the degree of detail the kit includes: window sills, door knobs, lock plates, precise shingles, positionable windows, thresholds, baseboards, and prototypic accuracy.