The Straco Layout, Part 16 - Station-Aero

The Straco Express pulls into the Bandai
Areo Station.

The little layout I've created for the Straco Express has come together slowly (read more about the whole project here). I've only had two basic rules for the setup.

1) All the pieces must be Japanese toys of the same vintage as the train (late 50's - early 60's).
2) No item can cost more than $10 (and the cheaper the better).

I recently came across something that fit both those requirements -- a Bandai Aero Station.

This lithographed tin station doubled as a battery power pack for an early 1960's HO train set, an "Atomic Armored Train Set," no less. I suppose such a space-age atomic train needed not just a station, but an aero station!

The Aero Station originally came
with this Bandai train set.

The complete set is worth several hundred dollars, which is a little beyond my budget. But there was the station on eBay, being auctioned separately (I suspect it was one of a few surviving pieces of the set). I won the auction for $8.99, and then got to work.

As I explained in Part 15, The Roads Must Roll I created a parking lot for the new piece. When it arrived, I found I had a little more work to do. It needed a some cleaning, and I had to crimp the roof so it would latch properly and stay closed.

But when it was done, I was glad I'd made the (modest) investment. The bright, lithographed colors fit right in with the trains and accessories.

The Bandai freight at the Bandai
Areo Station.

In order to get the station to the right height, I made a small platform for it out of some scrap wood.

And there it is. The layout's mostly filled in now, and the trains have a destination.

That parking lot looks pretty vacant, though...

• Pegboard: $4.95
• Flathead Screws: $0.40
• Moulding: $2.49
• SilClear: borrowed from a friend
• Green Paint: left over from another project
• Wood Screws: $3.60
• Felt Pads: $1.99

Power Pack: $5.90
Small Houses: $3.00
Testor's Gray Paint for road: $1.29
Two Japanese toy cars: $2.00
Bandai Areo Station: $8.99

Total Cost: $34.61

#Straco