Scratch-Built Water Tower | Update 1

I originally bought a model kit for a water tower, however the picture on the box is not the water tower the kit made. The kit was for a completely different water tower, too large and not in the correct timeline that it advertises. Thankfully, the kit is highly customizable, they provide you with the scale lumber and supplies, its up to you to measure and cut the pieces. So I designed my own custom water tower on graph paper, then used the measurements to build one entirely unique to my railroad.
Updates to the layout will be posted on this channel (Alex the Historian), but you can watch progress live streams on my second channel: Alex Adner
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[@samuelroseberry2976]

Love model trains I'm a huge railroad fan

[@w.rustylane5650]

I've built two water towers for O scale and made them from popsicle sticks I cut down. For the roof I used the inside of a beer can after consuming the beer. I cut the can into a rectangle and formed a cone and super glued it together and added strips of can for the roof ribs. Came out pretty good. I love to scratch build and just finished a lumber shed in HO scale. I almost always use Gorilla wood glue especially when working with wood and card stock as it sets quicker than Elmer's white glue (PVA). I'm not a big fan of super glue but use it occasionally when other glue won't work like on aluminum or styrene. I watched this video to get an idea on how you made the spout for filling tenders. Thanks for posting. Cheers from eastern TN

[@matthalamue]

I love that you are working on your model railroad.

[@AARON-K4RNA]

Love the outhouse too.

[@AlextheHistorian]

Thanks!

[@KobeMarlow]

Honestly, I love the idea of building things from scratch, but I don’t really have the skills or time to. Also I don’t like how the crafted pieces clash with the plastic car and locomotives based on other layouts. You have a amazing way with making it fit.

[@walterjohnson7254]

That is the nicest thing I have seen all day

[@Granny_Gaming]

that water tower looks cool

[@Ron_Rhodes]

I bought a cardstock model of the Titanic in a book that ended up about the size of your ship. Now I print up my N-Scale buildings on card or photo paper after designing them in 3D. I use Pepakura to unfold them before printing and I use a Cricut cutter to cut out windows in skyscrapers. A very fun hobby. Thanks for sharing.

[@NorseNerdleMeister]

That out-house is epic!! Oh yeah, the water tower is pretty cool too😁😁😁

[@AlextheHistorian]

Yeah inside the outhouse is a dirty seat lol 😆

[@SAOS451316]

Well done! :) Now the trains can stop to refill their boilers and the crew can empty theirs lol.

[@AlextheHistorian]

Lol!

[@mikefly562]

You are really talented. Beautiful scale water tower. I learn so much from your videos.

[@AlextheHistorian]

Thank you!

[@anguirusplays8242]

I loved the detail of the tower!

[@AlextheHistorian]

Thanks!

[@pinchy08]

It was fun watching you build the tower live on your other channel.

[@littlegamer00]

Whats the link?

[@AlextheHistorian]

The link is in the description of the video

[@marxdesign]

Great job😀 I have built many N and On3 buildings etc from scratch and custom kits.

[@AlextheHistorian]

Thank you! Geez you built scratch N scale buildings? I can't imagine doing that! So tiny!

[@i_cant_express_myself_in_words]

The tower is beautifully crafted!

[@AlextheHistorian]

Thanks!

[@ExpeditionSteve]

So cool looking Alex!!! Great build!

[@AlextheHistorian]

Thanks Steve!

[@lindasolis7117]

Oh cool- great job, Alex!! 😀

[@AlextheHistorian]

Thanks Linda!

[@wildwomanofthewoods]

I like the way the different pieces have a variation to how they absorb the dye.

[@AlextheHistorian]

Me too! It's really weird how it does that even when it's all cut from the same lumber!

[@jeremyfowler1519]

Grear job.

[@bigrr64]

Very nice job Alex, looks really good.

[@AlextheHistorian]

Thank you so much!

[@paulhorn2665]

Looks nice!

[@TheTrainaholic622]

Love it

[@Video81501]

Very nice work, Alex! I used to have a nice HO layout.

[@mrs6968]

cool

[@ronaldmiller2740]

HI ALEX,, VERY INTERESTING!!! GREAT VIDEO,, FOR ALL AGES TO LEARN AND TO DO ,,.YOU MAKE IT LOOK SO EASY ,,FOR ME I PUT CAR MODELS TOGETHER WITH INSTUCTIONS , THIS IS GO WITH YOUR MIND ,,GREAT WORK..

[@AlextheHistorian]

Thanks Ronald!

[@kmartnovalover]

Nice work on your railroad cannot wait to see you finish it.

[@rawsouce2576]

Looks amazing Amex! I'm a fellow model builder aswell so this was a nice video to watch

[@AlextheHistorian]

Thanks!

[@duchessofessex2550]

You are a genius

[@AlextheHistorian]

Thanks! I just wish the rest of the world agreed with that statement lol

[@goofyrulez7914]

Very nice!

[@AlextheHistorian]

Thanks!

[@bouncenerd]

It’s cool that you’re doing a narrow gauge layout. I’m a member at a local narrow gauge model railroad museum that models my local area in gold country of the old mining towns from the 1800’s-1940’s. I myself model in N scale and some Z Scale stuff.

[@AlextheHistorian]

Z scale! Wow talk about tiny!

[@mike.4277]

Very cool, great job!!! 👍

[@AlextheHistorian]

Thank you!

[@jetsons101]

Hi Alex, just caught this as I was shutting the laptop down. Great job.

[@AlextheHistorian]

Thank you! It was certainly a time consuming project!

[@camm2273]

So cool! Love the name of your railroad. The water tower looks great

[@AlextheHistorian]

Thank you!

[@thedagenator2006]

Your craft skills are so good, love these vids!

[@AlextheHistorian]

Thanks!

[@conrad4667]

The only thing I can suggest is to state exactly, for those who are younger or have never figured out exactly the math for building to scale, your measurements and how you calculated them. I can really see the resemblance to the Disneyland water tower.

[@AlextheHistorian]

Ok. Shouldn't be hard. O Scale is 1/4 inch equals a foot, so it's really easy to design stuff in that scale.

[@DanielGomez-gw4kt]

Alex the Historian this is really cool I love your railroad model. You really do love forney steam locomotives, especially in Narrow Gauge size don't you ?

[@AlextheHistorian]

Yes indeed!

[@raymondleggs5508]

you should try to find some if the old 1950s O scale scratchbuilding books, they may work for the era you are doing.

[@raymondleggs5508]

I would have glued everything up before staining

[@DanielGomez-gw4kt]

Alex the Historian aren't you going to talk about the steam locomotives and trains throughout the United Kingdom, for your next videos ?

[@AlextheHistorian]

Maybe someday in the far future, but it is not on my priority list for this year

[@DanielGomez-gw4kt]

@@AlextheHistorian okay thank you 👍😉

[@d.l.hemmingway3758]

My planned railroad is nearly as small as yours and I have similar issues.

[@d.l.hemmingway3758]

I am building it as an On30, but using Bachmann HO EZ track. I have two branchline water tanks and I am thinking of using your methods to make the wood stain. I am going to use blue extruded foam for the subscenery and subroadbed. I have a mine I am going to model, but all I have so far is the coal chute/ ore bin. Where I am modeling is in the coal country of East Central Kansas. We have nice hills, some even over 1000 feet high above sea level. There won't be tunnels, but I will have a couple of rock cuts exposing rock faces.

[@Wingman_]

Hi Alex! Any plans to build a small town or settlement?

[@AlextheHistorian]

Yes definitely, it will be a small whistle-stop town. But that is in the future, after the landscape work is mostly completed

[@Wingman_]

@@AlextheHistorian Looking forward to the updates!

[@wilburr1316]

Hate to WeLl AkShEwALlY! you, but this is kit bashing, not scratch building. Not to detract from the quality of the work!

[@AlextheHistorian]

This is not kit bashing, I had to design my own model from scratch, cut and shape all the lumber myself. (The lumber was not even cut to the dimensions of the other kit either, it would have had to be cut anyway). Essentially, the kit gave me no assistance whatsoever.