Originally built in 1891, the CB&Q station was extensively remodeled in 1930 to compete with the Union Pacific’s new station, which opened nearby in 1931. This remodeling removed much of its original ornamentation but gave the station a cleaner, more modern appearance. It served travelers until 1974. Since then the building has been used as a warehouse, office space, and a farmers’ market. Currently, the station is abandoned and faces an uncertain future.
Though it’s not an exact model of the CB&Q station, the Walthers kit neatly captures the simplified Neo-classical Revival look of the remodeled building. The model’s length has been shortened from the prototype, but it’s still an impressive scale 216 feet long, 81 feet wide, and 74 feet high (16 x 6″ x 5½”).
The kit includes an assortment of injection-molded plastic parts, clear window and skylight pieces, and an easy-to-follow instruction page with isometric drawings. The box has color photos of the finished model, which come in handy as guides for painting and weathering.
The plastic pieces feature crisp architectural details and are molded in several realistic colors. Though I built our sample station straight from the box, it would be easy to paint the walls before adding the windows should you be interested in capturing the look of a different type of stone. All of the kit parts fit together easily and needed little trimming or filing. It took me about three hours to complete the model.
Platforms. In addition to the passenger station, Walthers has released a set of modular station platforms with butterfly canopies. These platforms assemble in scale 81-foot (6″) modules, and one kit yields 650 feet (48″) of platforms. Additional modules may be combined end-to-end to extend the platform length, or side- by-side for multiple platforms to serve as many tracks as desired. Each kit includes passenger benches, “wooden” pedestrian walkways, signboards, and underground subways to link multiple platforms.
The platform parts are molded in only one color, so the canopies will need painting and some weathering to look realistic; however, this task won’t be difficult – the canopy posts simply press-fit into the platform.
The subways can provide underground access to the platforms, but there’s no concourse. This leaves the builder to his own devices to connect the building entrances to the trackside platforms at ground level.
Walthers’ Union Station kit is a welcome addition to the N scale structure market, filling the need for a good-looking American city passenger station. You could also use this building’s grand columns and finished-stone exterior to represent a library, city hall, or museum. To me, this big station is a big hit.
Price: station, $49.95; platforms, $19.98
Manufacturer
Wm. K. Walthers, Inc.
P.O. Box 3039
Milwaukee, WI 53201
www.walthers.com
Description
Easy-to-build plastic kits
Just received mine in the mail and look forward to super detailing this kit