The model 9522 sand house, sand tower, and sand bin is the 1:20.3 scale version of our model 9502 sand house (1:24 scale) modeled after the prototype structures of the D&RGW at Chama, New Mexico!

   The sand house is made of California redwood featuring a board and batten design secured to an inner wall to provide structural support. In addition, all of the corners and inner walls are reinforced with 3/8" x 3/8" redwood. The subroof is made of 3/4" thick redwood, which has 1/8" mitered and inlayed eaves. This provides a very durable roof that can take abuse while maintaining a prototype look! The standard roof is provided with either tar paper or corrugated metal. For those wanting a more rustic look, it is available with optional hand shingled cedar shingles. It can be obtained in our standard colors (link to Color Selection), or it can be obtained as raw redwood.

   The front two doors on the sand house both swing open using handbuilt brass hinges. The door on the sand bin end of the house slides open to provide access to the bin of sand. The hatch on the bin end of the house does not open, due to structural constraints of the roof. Inside the sand house, is a stove that models how sand was dried, prior to transferring it to the sand tower. The stove flue, along with the vents on both ends, are made of brass and spray painted a rust color. Finally the sand house and the sand bin sit on two independent PVC bases to prevent ground water seepage into the structure.

   The sand bin timbers are also made of redwood along with the vertical piles, attached to a heavy PVC base. Just like the prototype, the bin features tie rods between the piles, which we make from brass rod. The normal sand bin shipped with each structure is one half the length of the actual structure. However, if you have the room, we offer a longer sand bin that matches the prototype length.

   The sand tower features a brass sand hopper painted a rust color. The sand release lever actually moves, but does not actually dispense sand. Since the tower is the most fragile part of the group, it has been designed to be removable from the sand house by removing two pins at the roof and lifting it off two additional pins placed in the ground. This allows one to remove the tower after an operating session without having to remove the sand house and sand bin.

   The sand house with the optional long bin requires a space that is 38 1/4" long and 15 1/2" deep. With the half length bin, it requires a space that is 27 1/4" long and 15 1/2" deep. The sand tower is about 17" tall. The weight of the group is about fifteen pounds. We do not ship sand with these structures due to the cost of shipping! As with all of our structures, each sand house has a stamped serial number.