The Val Ease Central Railroad ©

Taking Z Scale to the Public Around the World
(Text and photos © Copyright Jeffrey MacHan)

Trackplan with elevations

Structures
Table Description:  Buildings, structures and other landmarks on the VEC

Location Name Source Comments
CVE  CVE PURRfect Cat Food Company / VE Sparkling Bottle Water  LifeLike N Paint Factory kit  heavily kitbashed kit with interior details and lights, Seuth-powered smoking chimney 
CVE  Yardmaster office  Märklin USA-style caboose shell  porch steps and lighting added to caboose shell 
CVE  Lovers' campfire  Circuitron flickering campfire module  placed near white metal motor boat on river for quick gataway! 
CVE_Upper  track scale and office  scratch  trackside scale office from unkown source, painted styrene strips laid between and outside tracks for scale 
CVE_Upper  Summit Lodge  Vollmer Swiss hunting lodge kit  Interior lighting, woodpiles,weathering, vehicles 
CVE_Upper  General store  Märklin resin store  Painted and detailed with goods and figures on loading platform, vehicles 
CVE_Upper  Chapel  Märklin resin church  Shortened by 1/3, stained-glass windows (acetate) 
CVE_Upper  MOW crew quarters  Märklin resin American-style bungalow  painted, porch added, brass radio antenna added 
CVE_Upper  Worker dormatory / residence  Märklin resin two-story cottage  porch added, figurines 
CVE_Upper  International Transworld Services (I.T.S.) Mine  Märklin resin mine head, fuel oil storage  loading space heightened to allow loco and rolling stock to pass 
CVE_Upper  I.T.S. mine service buildings  scratch  fuel / water storage & small office 
CVE_Upper  steel arch bridge  Märklin arch bridge  extra girders cut and fitted in upper structure, weathered with antiquing wax 
CVE_Upper  wood trestle  scratch  Northwest scale lumber pilings and very fine strips used in board-by-board construction 
CVE_VEPA  Pacific Grain Terminal  Microfigs resin 1/285 6-silo terminal kit  Painted and wire details, door added 
CVE_VEPA  Old River Lighthouse & residence  Discovered resin lighthouse  Major kitbash, installed simulated lighthouse circuit, BIC pen shaft used for light housing 
CVE_VEPA  Tug boat & barge  "Smit Frankrijk" Revell Kit 5219-0389  Before building the tug kit, I removed a section of the hull to lower the boat in the water. The barge is a Sylvan Models resin N-scale kit that I narrowed to fit the space. 
VEE  Roundhouse  Märklin kit  Narrowed by 1/3 and moved closer to turntable, solenoid-powered operating doors, interior lighting, diode-gapped stall leads 
VEE  Mocassin factory  Märklin resin warehouse kit  painted weathered, delivery truck and figures, rooftop sign 
VEE  Textile factory  Kibri set  individual floors added, lighting inside each floor and tower, etched-brass fire escape added, loading dock modified to fit space, delivery vehicles, pallet stacks 
VEE  Power plant  Kibri set  Seuth smoke generator installed in plaster-cast base of chimney, interior lighting 
VEE  Transfer Company  Bachmann N warehouse  Severely kitbashed, extra doors, second loading platform, full interior details including office, figures, lighting, speaker for industrial sound effects 
VEE  VECRR car shop  Kibri kit  figures added around welding torch, fuel oil storage from oil distribution kit, brass radio tower from scrap Brawa light tower 
VEE  Coaling tower  scratch  scribed styrene sheet, ribbed aluminum for roof, styrene L-girders for supports and braces 
VEE  Steel girder bridge  Atlas N steel girder bridge  Narrowed for Z width, approach girders filed down to Z width 
VEE  Water tower  scratch  styrene sheet, brick sheet, tank from N kit 
VEE  Turntable  Märklin turntable  rewired to operate from control box (see article), voltage dropped to 6 volts 
VEE  Signal shed  N resin accessory  painted silver, speeder deck added, placed on treated wood foundation 
VEE  Samanth's Gazeebo  scratch  styrene shapes, square rod to form hexagonal gazeebo in park 
VEE  billboard  LifeLike N plastic billboard  lighted, Z-sized billboard announcing "Gone With The Wind" at local theatre. 
VEE  Diesel fueling station  scratch  styrene brick sheet and piping from N kit 
VEE  VEE depot  2 Märklin resin station buildings  Kitbash, popsicle stick base, weathering with acrylics, Preiser figures 
VEE  VECRR offices  scratch  half plastic 35mm film canister, ribbed aluminum sheeting for roof, Märklin loco buffers for roof vents, door from N kit, heating oil tank from N kit, radio tower from N Brawa brass light tower 
VEE  VEE Central Station  Märklin Baden Badhof kit  Americanized, lighted platform using 3x 1.5v in series Microminiature fliament bulbs 
VEE   Fuel storage  bash  small N vertical storage tank, ladder stock 
VEW  Apartment block with detached garage  Märklin plastic kit  painted, figures and car, streetlamp 
VEW  Church  Kibri plastic kit  Stained glass windows, porch and cross on steeple, removable roof hides small speaker for farm animal noises 
VEW  Freight house  portion of station/freighthouse kit  shortened and separated from original kit, lighted- detailed interior with figures 
VEW  VEW station and hotel  Station portion of kit with freighthouse  Covered car park, lights on platform, passengers, signs, vehicles 
VEW  MOW stores, water tower, mobile coaling conveyor  Kibri plastic kit, N scrap water tank, Gold Medal Models N conveyor  Building shortened, scratchbash water tower. 
VEW  Fuel supply distributor  Kibri kit  Shortened main building, storage tanks separated into two sections, tank car service platform modified to fit space 
VEW  Rochy's Gravel  scratch  styrene, aluminum roofing, architectural shapes, red LED lighting 
VEW  barn  scratch  styrene siding, aluminum roofing, detail parts from scrap N kits, fencing from Z fencing kits, white metal tractor  
VEW  curved steel bridges (2)  Märklin curved bridges  sides removed and relocated above track, centre supports added, weathered