scale/ add ons

you threw in an "approx", but 150 feet is 1800 inches, which divided by 14 is 128.6. So your scale is 1/129. Thats a tough one, no model railroad equivalents, which will really cut down on your available "stuff and junk" which would be a key for this build. I'd say go to 1/160 scale which is N Scale in model railroads, and for that you can find just about anything you want, from vehicles to machine tools, figures galore.

All this means is that your hull is now 14" x 160 = 2240 inches, or 187 feet long.

I'll defer to the experts on ship accessories, but the nearest ship model scale I see is 1/200 which is far off. In 1/160 there are all kinds of photo etched railings and ladders available, and my guess is on this type of craft they wouldn't be too marine like anyhow, more home made.

Plus, you can have some railroad cars on the dock, or a donkey engine!

Just my

Bill

You picked a bastard scale to work in.   

Very little support for something even close.  The only PE fret which is even close is the Toms Modelworks set for the 1:125 scale Lindberg Blue Devil destroyer.  Even that won't get you too far.  It is mostly weapons, 20mm & 40mm details,  DC racks, and radars.   No railings or hatches which is what I'd get the set for.  

http://www.tomsmodelworks.com/

I think you should rethink your scale to 1:96 (1:100 metric) or 1:192 (1:200 metric) if you want to make a large size model of your tramp steamer

I'm with bondoman and Ed on this one - unless you want to make this a really, really, really hard project for your first time out, and want to have to scratchbuild even the most basic things like railings, chop an inch or so off of that puppy to get a more common scale. Since you're not going from a specific set of plans, you have the benefit of artistic license - the ship can look like what you want it to look like.

Before doing that, however, I would suggest you check some sites for what PE is available, and in what scales. Knowing what's out there would help you fine tune the finished size before you go too far down that road. Toms Modelworks, Gold Medal Models and White Ensign Models are all places I have dealt with that have good stuff at a reasonable price in a variety of scales.

As another suggestion, to save your sanity (and cut wayyyyyyyyyy down on the math you have to do), once you settle on a size, buy a scale ruler in that scale. I love my 1/700 scale ruler for that very reason - if I want to lop off a plastic rod at 50 scale feet, all I have to do is lay it next to the scale ruler and start whacking. None of this calculator stuff and fiddling with dividers. I'm mathematically challenged anyway. 

www.modelexpo.com

they have oddball stuff . thread, wire, brass fittings  most for sailing ships but check them out you may find stuff that maybe very adaptable

And just to make myself really tiresome:

it would seem to me that the attraction of the subject is kind of like a logging railroad: more diorama that subject model, and certainly not pristine if you chose to make her weathered.

She might have a couple of shorty containers on her deck- not for loading but as permanent, secure lockups. Those are easy to find in N Scale, any markings you want.

From the deck down, a hull can be just about anything. I've seen battleship hulls turned into railroad ferries.