An old train shed finds a new home

Last weekend I acquired a train shed from fellow PSGRS member Ralph Olsen who was giving it away to a good home. When I found out he only lived a half-mile away I was there in no time to pick it up. It wasn't until today that I had the time get outside and clean it up.

The shed is approximately 24 x 60 inches with doors on each end. It's wide enough for three tracks inside (or possibly four?) so it will provide storage space for several cars.

The shed upon its arrival, in need of a little TLC.

The structure is in very good shape except for the roof, where a few panels have cracks and some of the battens have broken off. This will be very easy to fix—I just need to find some similar cedar panels and I can cut them to size and swap them out. The sides are painted and the color happens to match my garage, so when I repaint the garage next year I'll repaint the train shed too.

Detail showing the roof. A few cracks here and there and some missing battens, but still structurally sound.

Once I had the roof off I cleaned out the shed and scrubbed down the floor. So many spiders!

Drying in the sun after a good scrub down.

My goal for today was to clean it up and put it up on a foundation so that the wood isn't resting on the ground. I'll wait until spring to make a decision on a permanent spot and then run track into it. For now I selected a spot on the east side of the garage where I could easily run a spur off the mainline. And the garage overhang will help protect the train shed from the weather over the winter.

Site preparation included clearing the area, spreading out some gravel and sand to help level out the terrain, then spacing bricks to provide a temporary foundation and elevate the structure above the ground.

Here is the shed in its location for now. If I decide to keep it in this area permanently, I'll probably move it back a few feet and also a bit further away from the garage so that there is a larger air gap between them.

So thank you Ralph and Lynda for the new (old) train shed for the PE&A!

After the shed was in place it was time for a cup of coffee and a stroll around the yard to enjoy the dahlias.

It may be October but most of the dahlias are still doing pretty well. Some in particular are still producing incredibly large and brilliant blooms, unusual this late in the season, such as this one called Bell of Barmera.

I don't know what this one is called but it has become one of my favorites. I got this along with a few others at a fundraiser auction at the West Seattle Senior Center several years ago.

And this one, called Firebird, was a new addition last year.