Here is the link to all 7 of my drawings for Subscriber downloads!

http://grw.trains.com/How%20To/Full-Size%20Drawings.aspx

I was not notified that they (Garden Railways Magazine) had actually used my attempt at doing rolling stock drawings. This is from a 1945 MR Magazine article; July I believe; and the short style caboose is called a Bobber. I faked the chassis system as I could not find any record drawings of the under-structure and wheel gang/suspension. So I went from photos. Nonetheless, it was a real challenge as I only had 2 dimensions to go from before doing actual scaled working drawings that could be reproduced and used by the Garden Railway hobbyist or enthusiast; and you have to be enthusiastic and patient to do one of these let alone anything more intricate.

Comments appreciated as always although I will do them because I am driven. If you have any structures you would like me to draw so you can use them as standalone buildings in a Garden setting; a structure for a Christmas display or for just simple displaying, please Facebook me or leave a site comment.

Thank you and have a Happy New Year!

Submittal #7. Galena Fire Department circa 1900 structure. Took a bit to get it right from the MR October 1960 article. Once the magazine article was imported (drawing), it didn't scale out according to the submitter's scale. With a bit of tweaking to keep the basic measurement integrity, it took about 4 hours to render the final elevations. Comments appreciated.

Have a couple more articles getting ready for posting, but wanted to put out some great reading material for you and your friends.

The Red Serpent by Larry Merris - Outstanding!
http://www.amazon.com/The-Red-Serpent-International-ebook/dp/B0092EYOK2/ref=sr_1_6?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1352149485&sr=1-6&keywords=red+serpent

The Psalter by Galen Waton - again - Outstanding!
http://www.amazon.com/The-Psalter-ebook/dp/B009ZSPS14/ref=sr_1_10?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1351794881&sr=1-10&keywords=the+psalter&smid=160591&tag=hydfbook0e-20&ascsubtag=US-DS-20277-

Well - the Sand House project finally made it to press, and even though it is mostly electronic, I am still satisfied with the work, and the article summary. Number 4 is already at the publishers; the Train Shed; for issue in October. Now for number 5. Biggest challenge yet, and somewhat out of my area of design, but I accepted the assignment and will post renderings of what it is once I have fleshed it out in SketchUp and AutoCAD. Thanks for looking! Please click on the link!

The Psalter: Dyslexic Agnostic Insomniac

The Psalter: Dyslexic Agnostic Insomniac: I approved the book cover last night. Whoo Hoo!               Dyslexic Agnostic Insomniac: Awake all night, wondering if there’s a ...

THE PSALTER: The Psalter is Coming -- No, Really

THE PSALTER: The Psalter is Coming -- No, Really: I know, I know. I said The Psalter would be out at the end of July. Yet the first week of August is coming to a close and still no Psalt...

Stephen Terry's Drawing Journal: With four (4) structures submitted to Garden Railw...

Stephen Terry's Drawing Journal: With four (4) structures submitted to Garden Railw...: With four (4) structures submitted to Garden Railways Magazine, I thought it best to sit back and understand what drives me to continue recr...

With four (4) structures submitted to Garden Railways Magazine, I thought it best to sit back and understand what drives me to continue recreating and putting these buildings out there when no one comments or responds, or blogs. At first, I thought it the purpose of using BlogSpot, but now I see it as a place just to record my efforts; express my delight or disappointment with the results of my work, and have the postings as mile-markers of personal growth, experimentation, discipline, patience, and self examination of what drives me (not to drink).

As I assemble an article to submit to the Editor for review, it will somehow put a 'cap' on my head, so I will go out further from 'home' and investigate more that interests me. Yes, some things take money, but contacting interesting people, having meaningful conversation, understanding how their lives mesh or differ with my desires and beliefs somehow adds to my self; expanding my 'self', assisting me in raising the bar, taking some risks, and perhaps, changing my purpose, goals, and relationships throughout.

I sometimes sit back and watch my eldest grandson play on my iPad or read or watch his favorite shows; commenting on social faux pas, and reset my mental calendar to a simpler time. With those prescription glasses on, it provides a whole new vista before me of what I may still accomplish if I have that level of curiosity, inquisitiveness, and somewhat innocence to where I might go, in expanding and filling my appetite for change.

Over the next few weeks, I will complete the article; photo board and all; and whether they deem it publishable or not; post it for all to review and close this chapter.

Then it is on to something else left languishing; finishing my degree (or 2). Thank you Ed-X. I hope we make a great team.

Stephen Terry's Drawing Journal: Hi folks. Been a while. If you are a Garden Train ...

Stephen Terry's Drawing Journal: Hi folks. Been a while. If you are a Garden Train ...: Hi folks. Been a while. If you are a Garden Train lover or follower, then click on my Submittal #2 magazine picture, and it will take you to...

Hi folks. Been a while. If you are a Garden Train lover or follower, then click on my Submittal #2 magazine picture, and it will take you to Garden Railways Magazine where you can register for free, and download the working drawings of Branchline Station for your Garden Layout or indoor layout. It is in 1:29 Scale. There are quite a few pages, so make sure your printer is loaded! Comments welcome, or if you have a building you would like to see redrawn to use, blog or email me at slterry01@gmail.com. Thanks!

Hello. I finished the Engine House. The Senior Editor at GRW came up with some excellent suggestions and comments. One was a response to my inquiry about auxiliary doors to the building and did they exist? Yes, and so I included one. He also suggested that period buildings had attached sheds, so I designed one after searching the web and coming up empty handed. Hope it seems appropriate to the time (30's - 60's) and compliments the Engine House. Thanks for looking. Tripp.

Nasty week last week. End of Year construction projects and management, plus our little guy had to be rushed to ER; now the youngest daughter is in CCU. Still have to hold down the fort, and little guy watch and chores while the missus is doing nurse calls and more. Still, my sanity escape is my drawing work, late at night. So here are the results of Submittal #4 preliminary elevation renderings. Thanks for looking. Tripp.

Well...its finally Friday (again). Last night was a late one, getting final cleanup to my AutoCAD so that I could start the page sets for printing for the GRW subscribers at Garden Railway Magazine. http://grw.trains.com/ 

I hope that those of you who model in 1/29 scale will take a minute to email me or blog me and let me know what you think; what you are looking for; or if you have any plans that need conversion and drawing overlay. Be glad to chat with you all. Thanks for stopping by. Tripp.

Hi all:

I have updated my Blogspot to allow for album viewing, and include a blog link to my work blog that covers the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and the projects I do there.

Garden Railway Magazine liked the rendering of the Brick Sand House, but wanted something more current, or active as a functional structure. So I removed the old plaster and faded grey brick, and made it a Red Brick facility more in the period of most Garden Railroad eras.

Submittal #3 - Brick Sand House Finished!

I am continually amazed at how a simple struture can be so difficult to re-render in Google Sketchup; which is one of the easiest tools to use. I did learn a trick in AutoCAD; before final save; to enter the command FLATTEN, which then puts all your lines on even layer plane.

Since this was an old 'typical' structure; plaster on brick; I attempted to simulate fractured plaster patches left on the wall; peeling paint on the sand tower, doors, and trim. I hope it is successful. It was quite an effort on my limited knowledge part! Thanks for commenting if you can. Tripp. (See final render group on right).

A little lunch time fun; getting elevation and wall texture suitable to match the age and presentation of the Brick Sand House. You can see the CAD outline imported in the rear of the photo, for which I will take out the sand tower and affix to this 3D image for final rendering. Please comment as you can and thankyou for visting my blogsite!

Busy week. Not much if any time to blog my status on Submittal Drawing #3 - Brick Sand House. It is from July 1957 Model Railroader magazine. Drawings are rough, but as you can see on the right, I finally got them through AutoCAD in real dimension, to outlines I can now render in 3D. That is coming. As I started out on this journey, I had only a one project mindset. Now, I can see limitless projects based on historical buildings, bridges, edifaces, Architectural features and featurettes, landscapes and more. While my drawing talents are very limited, this dimensional form of drawing allows me to put to electronic paper what consumes me on the second tier. My first tier is Automotive designs and COTS applications for you engineering buffs. Once those projects come out from the veil of NDA, I will begin to publish them for public comment and review. Thanks for reading folks. Please take a minute and comment, bad or good. Tripp.

Ah...Sunday. A lot going on this weekend at my eldest daughters; getting a low threshold shower into place after removing a poorly made shower and tub unit that failed after only 7 years. I forgot how much work goes into redoing the walls; installing a floor pan system; plumbing; putting in the shower wall system; wall plastering; and finish baseboards and trim! Love doing it though.

Came home and found my 3rd Submittal assignment in the mailbox. Its titled "Brick Sandhouse". It comes from the July 1957 Model Railroad magazine. Immediately there were issues with scaled height, window sizing and one drawing depicting rafter tails, and another not. This photo shows how I start a forensic drawing to determine what will be correct for the AutoCAD page that will print out to scale. This also is the foundation for the final 4 elevations that will be rendered in color. Enjoy!



New project in the works. Found several historical buildings out there. Issue with plans. Everyone but me wants a piece or a sum for something that didn't belong to them in the first place. This is a Black Smith shop based on the old Jesse Hoover Shop with a few tweaks to make it my own.

While taking a break this week and looking for new subject matter, thought I would post the website version of Garden Railways Magazine and my first submittal being featured for free drawing access.

Took time to update- Looking over the last 3/4 century of MR magazine articles in hopes of discovering something unique to draw for submittal #4. There are so many older Railroad Buildings out there in varying shades of decay, with no archival history available to state its purpose or function, its life, its demise.

Trying to extrapolate a structure from one or two possible dimensions known to general construction is a daunting task and takes its toll on the fire within that drives me to draw and render them. I have recently uncovered old covered bridge photos - but (sigh) no drawings. Great structure - it wil task me but the reward may be worth it.

More to come.....

Received approval of final Drawings and Elevation renders for submittal #2 to Garden Railways Magazine. It was a challenge. A small building, but none of the original elevation dimensions matched. Seems to be the norm with G or 1:29 scale drawings of the past. My process is not perfect by any means, but at least it gives the modeler a fighting chance for a clean structure. Should receive project #3 next week.

Almost FriEday...or as my favorite singer The ol' Possum sings "Finally Friday". Finished the AutoCAD drawings for Branchline Station and they are at the Editors desk for review and edit. Click on the Submittal 1 drawing and it will take you to GRW Magazines website where my building package resides.

Watchman's Tower is complete in Elevation according to the original drawings. But looking back at similar structures in train yards and depot heads, the upper level seems to be taller than the old magazine article depicts. So - round 2 will be a reconstruction to standard balloon framing and more typical construction principles to see if I can get it to be more prototypical, and yet be conducive to rescaling in 1:29 scale for modeler ease of use.

Hey...it's Monday...or with the addition of a vowel MoAnday. Lot's of EOY work, but spent time looking for historical buildling blueprints. Found a great outbuilding site, and historic William A. Radford site of older homes to experiment with. Work In Progress posted on the right.

Saturday is here. My Grandson Xander, sits here and critique's my final 3D rendering of the Santa Fe Train Order Depot in order to get it ready for posting today. My right hand man. The original magazine elevations were not equal, so I had to rebuild the building from the 'ground' up in order for all elevations to marry together and create a feasible structure. There is a FLKR posting of this Boron Depot in California that is now a museum.

Almost the end of a long week. Total Campuswide Shuttle Signage project up and running. 12 more projects to close out before EOY. Exhausted this year. But it doesn't stop me from drawing! See new left posting of the Train Order Station. Taking the old train magazine article, rescaling and correctly sizing brings about a different building, but with a lot more life and character! Another actor on my Structure by Structure stage.

Well...it's mid week - work load at the ol' University keeps escalating. Seems like me time is more precious, so while the wife is watchin' American Idol, I am not idle. Finished the bay window side elevation of the Train Order station. It's odd. My eyes are older, but I could see the issues with the drawing I chose when comparing Gable elevations front and rear. The scales used for the previous article didn't come close when tearing the design apart, and reassembling in 3D. The post to the right is the final elevation. Enjoy.

Today was a day of turmoil; designing new storage facilities for Football field maintenance; Campus Shuttle Stop signage utilities management; ADA signage for yet another EOY rush job for King Building along with exterior signage assessments. I actually found time to work at lunch on my personal stuff for 10 minutes before it all started again. So no rendering news today; unless you count that I have almost completed the eave elevation drawing and will hang it out on the site tomorrow. Hope anyone who reads this had a better day!

If you don't continue to practice, whatever your craft or skill, it will soon fade fast, especially as you get older. So I practice my Architectural renderings daily in some form or another. If I don't do a lot of AutoCAD or rendering at work, then I succumb to my desires by rendering in the evening while the missus watches her Dancing with the Stars! Thus the post at the right (WIP or Work in Progress). This elevation takes about 2 hours to pull out of a photograph or PDF page.

GR Submittal 2 -

Notified by Marc Horowitz; Senior Editor at Garden Railways Magazine that the second submittal drawings were approved. Only one edit pass this time. Will post links to GR website where the entire package can be reviewed. Waiting for the next assignment with anticipation!

Update - Submittal 1 Drawings

The Publisher notified me that they will go to press and go out by April 21st. I will then hang the elevation drawings of Branchline Bucket Coaling Station on this site with a link to GR Magazine to access the scaled drawings and background article about the small structure circa June 1955. Submittal 2 is already into review and redline and will be published once I am notified of that date.

GR Submittal 1

Late last week, I received my notice from Garden Railway Magazine that my first forray into resurrecting small old railway structures will be published, and Submittal 2 prelimary drawings are also approved for the second publishing. An interesting growth process.  It fuels my desire for recreating more of these old structures and ties it in with an old love of scale modeling that I cannot pursue right now.

Where to start?

It's interesting what turns you take in life. As a Carpenter by trade, I sure didn't stick with that total focus. During my late 20's to early 30's; back to school; I chose to learn about Computer systems, and numbers, and literature. Over the next few decades, all three came to play a major role as I progressed from Tradesman, to small business owner, to managing construction Corporations, then back the other way. When I arrived at UNC Charlotte as the new 2003 Renovations Supervisor, the minimum email and Microsoft were all that was needed. But I still used my skillsets to take Excel to the next level. Then the big accident here; blasted to unconsciousness; and during recovery made a major profession change; that of  Facilities Construction Engineer. From there I picked up Excel on steroids for major reporting linked to all MS products; AutoCAD MEP for Architectural Design; SketchUp Pro for rendering those designs in 3D; and a host of Adobe products to round out. It was then that I thought back to what started my in my original profession; a love of structures, bridges, out buidlings of all types; of all designs. But most dear; pre-1950.

So I started out doodling in my spare time; finding old photographs or building elevation plans; finding a common measured feature; then scaling the photo so that I could import it into AutoCAD and do an overlay of dimension and structural features.

Doing simple structures is not so simple I find. But there is a simple satisfaction in the many steps and edits it takes to create an elevation drawing that might attract those of like mind.