Troy Switch Tower

While waiting at an airport, I came across an 1890's photograph of a train speeding past a small wooden switch tower. During the conference throughout the next week, I designed this tower from that single photograph. I included provisions for an interior (flush-fitting floor) and lighting (SMD LED thru the chimney).

I designed this to print on both my FDM and resin printers, your mileage may vary. I printed the base, floor, interior chimney, and roof on my FDM (Prusa MK3S, standard PLA, 0.10mm height). For the stairs, main body, doors, and external chimney, I printed them with my resin printer, at a 0.01mm layer height.

Aside from light sanding, the parts go together snugly, and are intended to be glued in place with white (PVA) glue.

Some post-printing enhancements I did:

• I used 100-grit sandpaper for the roof texture, instead of putting a texture onto the 3D model.
• I added an 0603 SMD LED to the interior, routing through the floor and chimney to illuminate the second floor.
• I added small boxes, barrels, and other details to the interior and immediate vicinity, as well as a cat on the stair landing.
• I weathered the building slightly with Dullcote, weathering powders, and drybrushing.
• I added clear plastic to the interior to simulate glass.

While there's a clear prototype this was built for, this little tower would look right at home on any layout, big or small. It's certainly a welcome change from those overused Atlas towers.