Tannery finishing building

The finishing building is the last stop for the hides before they are shipped.  Here the hides from the tanning facility (I have not yet built this) are sorted, dried, trimmed, and receive various colors and finishes as ordered by the buyer.  In my tannery the hides are packed in crates for shipping.  While I have a good number of vintage leather manufacture books, going into tedious detail on what occurs in the finishing process is probably not of much interest to the casual modeler.

Above is a photo of my completed finishing building.  The rail siding is to the right and the loading dock where the figure is standing serves that siding.  The right side of this building adjoins the previously built wash building.  The rear of this building backs up to the engine house and the tanning building which extends out beyond the left side loading dock used to receive supplies delivered by truck.  I have not detailed either of the hidden sides as I try not to waste time on invisible details.  The sign on the roof reads:

C W DAY TANNERY, We Tan Your Hides"

This is a wood clapboard siding building with a stone foundation and a wood shingle roof.  I am making each tannery structure a little different for visual interest.

The next structure I will build is the tanning building which will likely progress slowly due to the holidays.  The last structure will be the boiler house to provide steam for the Corliss engine.  The boiler house will be behind the rest of the tannery buildings and not connected (other than by the steam supply pipe).  The final details before applying scenery will include a water tower, an acid tank and perhaps some other small items.

Tannery Engine House

I have completed the engine house that contains the Corliss engine that drives the tannery machinery.  The engine is driven by steam from the yet to be built boiler house.  The pipe to the boiler house projects from the engine house to the left of the left side door. While I have built the engine house roof it is not shown here, and is (at least for now) removable.  There is a hole in the floor near the right front for wiring for a light for the interior.

I like detailing interiors and sadly most is seldom visible.  Inside is a workbench. some barrels, a storage cabinet, several pieces of miscellaneous machinery from the scrap box, a ladder, and a workman.  There are a number of posters on the walls (mostly pinups to entertain the workers).

The engine house is affixed to the beam house wall, and the right side of the engine house is unfinished as it will be covered by the adjoining tanning pit building (yet to be built).

I am now working on the finishing building which is in the front of the complex to the left of the wash house and behind the engine house.  Things are probably going to slow down for my modeling as the holidays approach, but there is no timeframe on my hobby work - just the fun of modeling.

Leather Hides

I have been doing more reading in my old leather manufacturing books.  Keep in mind that I model 1939 so what I say here likely differs (maybe a lot) from modern practices.  Most leather is made from hides or skins of animals slaughtered for food.  Most of those hides were apparently converted to leather regardless of the demand for leather - it seems that would diminish the price of leather but I guess they did not throw the hides away (may have sent some to the glue factories).  In any event, hides were treated before shipment to the tannery to preserve them, often with salt, to protect it from putrefying.  Before curing the hide was referred to as "green" and after salting, "green salted."

Hides were classified mainly by size and weight.  A skin is simply a small hide.  In the case of cattle, a hide weighing less than 15 pounds when green was called a calf skin.  Between 15 and 30 pounds it was called a "kip".  Over 30 pounds it was called a hide.  A hide less than 53 pounds was called a "light cow" and over 53 pounds a "heavy cow".  You can see these hides were usually heavy.

The diagram below illustrates the designation of the parts of the hides.

The terminology of hides was actually way more involved but that will do for the purpose of explaining the tannery processes for my model.  Different size hides and different parts of the hides were used to produce different types of leather, and for different purposes.

Tannerys also had preferences as to what packing plants they acquired hides from and generally preferred large packing plants which tended to have more experienced butchers who performed the process of flaying the hides from the animal with less damage to the hides.  Further, most hides in 1939 were obtained from US plants though some were imported from other countries.  Larger packing plants also often had workmen who specialized in flaying particular parts of the animal thus providing better results for the hide.  The parts are identified in the diagram above.

Tannery steam engine

This is the steam engine for the tannery.  I made it from a Rio Grande Models Corliss Steam engine kit.  I like the RGM kits - they have great castings and make really nice models.  They do however sometimes have some limitations, which in this case was the foundation for the engine.  The engine needs a foundations as the flywheel extends lower than the engine and the kit does not supply one nor any clue as to how to make one.  Now that is not rocket science but it would be nice to have at least an example.  In any event the engine is now complete and I can thus determine what size to make the engine house.

The steam pipe on top of the cylinder block connects to the steam boiler in the boiler house to supply steam to the engine.  There are two pulleys on the rear of the cylinder block for driving the machinery.

Just having fun!

Tannery beam house model

I have finished the beam house.  It sits behind the wash house structure.  My beam house is built with clapboard siding and a flat roof.  It is well weathered as all parts of the tannery will be.  This is a scratch-build with commercial window castings.  The doors are a mix of commercial castings and scratch.  The building has a masonry foundation built from the same material as the wash house.

The next structure to be built will be the engine house, which will be to the right of the beam house.

Tannery beam house

The next tannery structure I am building is called the "beam house", an old term derived from the practice of working the hides for hair removal and other preparation activities over rounded beams.  In later years (not sure when the change occurred) but clearly by the 1940's, the work in the beam house was done by unhairing, fleshing and checking machines.  Since the interior of my beam house will not be visible I do not need to decide what methods would be used in my beam house in my 1939 era but I am assuming a more modern approach such as described below.

The photo above shows an earlier beam house interior with the hides being worked over rounded "beams".   This process was replaced by a variety of machines.  The fleshing machine has rollers and a sharp spiral knife which revolves at a high rate of speed as the skins are forced and drawn against it by friction.  This way the excess fat and flesh left by the butcher is cleaned off and a clean surface is left for the chemical treatment to follow.  The first chemical treatment is depilation where the hair and epidermis is removed.  For this the skin is placed in a paddle tank containing a lime liquor to which is added some sodium sulphide.  This action can take 3 to 4 days.  This loosens the hair to enable the next step where the skin is unhaired by using a machine similar to the fleshing machine but with a blunt knife.  The next process is a scudding machine that further cleans the skins.  The next process is called "bating" where older processes using dog and chicken manure have been replaced by chemicals such as ammonium chloride or sal ammoniac, and some inert substance such as cornmeal.  This process is accomplished in another paddle tank.  The skins as they emerge from the bate liquor have lost their rubbery texture and now are fairly soft and flaccid.

At this point the skins need to be stabilized and so undergo another paddle process where they are worked in a solution containing sulphuric acid, salt and water.  The next step is the tanning process but that will be covered later.

I will soon post a photo (or two) of my beam house which sits behind the previously completed wash house.  This structure has been a challenge due to my practice of not drawing any plans - thus the in-process changes have been frequent, compounded by incorporating a brick wall on one side for the following structure which will be the engine house (containing a Corliss steam engine to drive the machinery in the tannery).  It is all fun to me.

Tannery hide shed

Here is the hide shed that receives the hides via rail car.  The hides are sitting on pallets and are then transported into the wash building on a push cart.

It is somewhat hard to see inside the shed but it contains a workbench on the far wall next to the building, a box, an empty pallet leaning against the back wall, a hide hanging on a hook which the worker on the right is reaching for, and near the right front two barrels with hide scraps.

The shed is made of strip wood with a rusty corrugated metal roof.   The finish on the shed is only alcohol/india ink stain with a dusting of gray chalk on the decking to give a dirty effect.  There are a few signs on the side and the back.  I told my wife I made the piles of hides by skinning a mouse, but she was not buying that.  In fact they were made from a Kleenex that I spray painted on both sides, then tore it into small pieces which I glued into small stacks.  I also used the painted Kleenex to make "leather" aprons for each of the workers.

Tannery wash house

I have decided to make this structure the wash house where the arriving hides are washed and cleaned prior to the scraping and hair removal.  It seems by 1939 that tan bark use had declined so leaching of the tanbark was not necessary.  In any event this is building number one.  I am working on a receiving dock for the hides which will adjoin this structure on the right side.

This building is of course reduced in size as I have no room on the layout for a full size tannery which would be quite large.  The beam house will adjoin the rear of the structure so I did not bother detailing the back - it is merely blank card stock.  The front and sides were made from the Downtown Deco plaster rough brick, the windows are commercial castings as are the vents on the roof and the exhaust fan on the front.  The roofing is covered with painted paper strips to represent roll roofing and dirtied with black and gray chalks (with a small tear at one point), with rusty streaks from the vents.  The upper walls are scribed wood.  I prefer weathered structures so that is the way I built this.

Tannery leach house - start

I decided to start with the leach house as the first tannery structure.  I had some plaster rough brick wall sections I bought from Downtown deco so I cut up one into 3 walls, and in the front wall I cut three window openings.  I am using three 60 x 120 inch Grandt windows.  The 4th wall in the back will not be visible after all buildings are completed so that wall will have no detail.

So far so good.

Tannery model preliminary sketch

Years ago I used to draw detailed plans when I scratch built a model.  Then I realized I always made modifications to each model, sometimes big changes for which I seldom if ever made a revised plan.  Eventually I decided that the plans were mostly a waste of time.  Then I began to use only a sketch of what I intended to build.  The sketch takes far less time and still gives me a concept to work from.  Sometimes I make a cardboard mockup - mostly to determine the most pleasing or effective size and impact on the surrounding scenery.  Does this result in mistakes - oh yes, but then so did the detailed plans.  There is no shame in tossing all or part of a model you are building and starting over or making significant revisions.  This is after all a hobby and the fun is in the building even if it is a do-over.

So....  I have made a rough sketch of my tannery complex, which is not just one big building but rather a complex of specialized buildings each designed to accommodate the function being performed inside.    It thus is important to understand what function is permed in each building.  You should also realize that this tannery complex will be a highly condensed version of what size an actual tannery would be - a typical situation for most models.  Here is my sketch.  After doing several days of research, the sketch took about 30 minutes.

The layout space for my tannery is at an outside corner of the center peninsula of the layout.  It already has a track spur installed as seen in the drawing.  The buildings I am planning include a hide receiving shed (my hides will be received via rail), the leach house, the beam house, the engine room, the tanning pit house, the finishing room, and the boiler house.  This set of buildings and functions fit my time period of 1939.  The tannery in my 1939 time period has been around for quite a few years and is not new.  Since I will be recording the building of this tannery in the blog you will get a chance to see what changes (and mistakes) I may make.

Building a model tannery

My next big project is to build a tannery for my HO model railroad.  Years ago I bought the Fine Scale Miniatures tannery kit which I later decided was too silly to serve as a tannery, and so I sold it.  I have long collected old industrial books and industry postcards to assist in my modeling efforts and it seemed clear the FSM kit bore no resemblance to any of my references or anything I could find on the Internet.  I model the 1939 era so that influences the models I build.

The tannery industry is one of the oldest industries - heck, even the cavemen wore animal skins though their tanning skills were probably crude.  In the 1800s and early 1900s almost every town of any size had their own tannery.  Now there are few tanneries left in the US.  In the late 1960's my brother-in-law worked in a tannery in Maine for a while before getting a more desirable job.  Tanneries were smelly and used lots of nasty chemicals.

The postcard above shows a tannery in Endicott New York.  There is a tank car sitting on the rail spur to the tannery.  This is a much larger tannery than I intend to build.  I am now sketching out what i intend to build to fit the area available on my layout.

Logs in the bog

Logging apparently at the waters edge.  The loader is in the background probably on dry land, but the rails continue into the foreground in shallow water - sort of a bog.  A little animal assist is also in evidence.

Makes for an interesting scene.

MOW Car

Below is a photo of a maintenance of way car I cobbled up from two cheap plastic kits I had lying around - a Walthers flat car and an MDC old style tank car.  I enhanced the flat with paint, weathering and new metal grabs and mounted to tank car tank on one end of the deck.  On the other end of the flat i built a simple wood encloseure which i then filled with detail parts including a compressor, a pallet loaded with freight car parts, oil barrels, a ladder, compressed gas tanks, and a small cable drum.

Everything is heavily weathered - the way I like it.  Just a simple model from my imagination.

Skidder on flatcar

The skidder shown below appears to be a home built affair, probably incorporating a commercially available donkey engine for hoisting.

The flat car is from the Wisconsin Central, a predecessor to the Soo line.  Lumber and logging was a significant business for that line around the turn of the century (1899/1900).  The only visible means of holding the skidder to the flat (other than gravity) are some chins at the rear.

McGiffert in the woods

Here is a photo of the McGiffert on the layout in the logging area.  The logging is being done on the mountain in the center of the layout.  The mountain goes all the way to the ceiling and hides a support column.

Keep in mind the scale is HO and the track here is HOn3.

McGiffert finished

I have finished building the RGM kit.  It was interesting.  It makes a really nice model but does entail some work.  I mostly followed the instructions but cheated near the end when doing the wheel cables. They were  tricky to string through all of the pulleys and drums, not helped by my bad eyesight and hands that shake when doing intricate details but that is life.  I will now place it in my logging area.

Time to move on to another project.

Logging railroads in 1887

Some statistics from an 1887 issue of the Railroad & Engineering Journal:

Number of railroads - 383
Total miles - 2286
Number of locos in use - 428
Number of cars in use - 5182

There were a lot of additional statistics but the points of interest are that many of these roads were very small and of various gauges.  Some even used wood rails and animal power instead of locos.  Many of the roads were temporary affairs with the track being ripped up and moved when the timber ran out.  Some of the roads even became permanent general purpose roads.

McGiffert almost complete

My RGM McGiffert kit is almost complete.  I still need to add the wheel lifting cables and the roof.  The kit has been interesting to build and will provide a key element to my logging area.  I elected to add a wood fuel box next to the boiler.  The kit does not supply any specific fuel solution but notes it could be wood, coal or oil.  Wood seems to me to be an obvious selection.  I also added a figure near the boiler on the other side.  Figures bring some life to the models.  Another addition is a ladder from the deck to the ground - hard to see in this view as it is on the other side - I think this is necessary because the deck is about 8 feet above the ground.  One thing I never noticed until I started build this is the boom does not swing sideways - just up and down, thus I guess the log tongs are just pulled to a nearby log, attached, to allow the loader to drag it up as it is hoisted.  The logs would be moved alongside the loader by dozer or animal power.

 I added a few details on the deck such as an open top barrel loaded with junk and an open box full of supplies.  I also placed a few tools on the deck placed by the operator after doing some minor adjustments.

McGiffert progress

My model is moving slowly forward.  The basic frame and mechanism is complete as is the boom and the rear water tank.  The floor is individual 2 x 12 planks stained with an india ink and alcohol solution (I use only 91% alcohol to minimize the water content and thus the potential for warping) then brushed with powdered chalks.  For the boom truss rod cables I substituted a thiner steel wire in one piece for the supplied brass wire and added cast brass turnbuckles instead of the strange wire loops described in the kit.  For the rear water tank I substituted a cast resin round riveted tank for the wood dowel supplied with the kit.

I have not yet added the log clamp and cable just behind the collar that holds the boom truss rods.  Next is the hoisting machinery for the log hoist, and then the superstructure.  I will likely deviate from the kit instructions on that as McGifferts were frequently modified by the logging companies to suit their needs.

RGM McGiffert build start

I have made some progress on the Rio Grande Models McGiffert kit, although other things keep getting in the way.  Below is the frame and retractable wheel assembly.  Thus far it is all white metal casting and brass wire bar.  As I am building this for an HOn3 railroad the legs required extensions (provided) to fit the rail at the base.  RGM also suggested that the brass wheel axles have paper insulation on one side to prevent shorts but I substituted plastic coated wire for the axle which made that easier.  So far all is going well.  The wheel assembly will be mounted inside the frame.

As you can see I have not applied any paint yet.

McGiffert Log Loader

The McGiffert log loader is an interesting piece of machinery.  First built in 1902 and used into fairly modern times.  The frame was designed to allow the empty log cars to pass under with the machine resting on the ground.  The loader then loaded logs onto the cars which were then moved forward to allow the next car to be loaded.  Below are some prototype photos of McGifferts.

A string of log cars passing under the McGiffert

Lifting a log onto the log car

End view

There was a lot of variations among the McGifferts as well as logging company modifications.

RGM McGiffert log loader

The Rio Grande Models McGiffert log loader kit consists of lots of cast metal parts, wood strips, and corrugated metal.  The hardest part of kits like this is painting the cast metal parts with realistic colors and some amount of weathering.

The above photo shows the parts and instructions photo.  I plan to build this over the next few weeks,  I had planned to be at the narrow gauge convention in Hickory NC but had to cancel due to my wife's illness so will spend that time on this kit as well as continued scenery work on the layout, oh - and continued cleanup from the recent hurricane damage - mostly downed trees.

Logging area

Below is a portion of my logging area on the mountain.  The logging area is served by an HOn3 narrow gauge line which hauls the logs to the sawmill.  I have installed sound in the logging area using the Fantasonics logging operations sound CD.  It provides the sounds of sawing, chopping, trees falling and environmental sounds such as birds in the woods.  At this time the logging area is incomplete though mostly sceniced.  The one key thing missing is the means of moving the cut logs and loading them onto the railcars.  I plan to use the McGiffert log loader which I am about to build from the Rio Grande Models cast metal kit  I really like their kits and have built a number of them.

My logging area is reached by a steep line around the mountain culminating in a small switchback into the logging site.

Logging wood refuse

The photo below shows logging wood refuse - small branches and wood scraps from the logging operation.  All of these wood refuse scraps are from the birds - actually from their seed bag.  My wife loves birds and has bird houses and feeders around the yard.  One of the primary seeds used are black oil sunflower seeds which we buy in large bags.  Them birds are really hungry critters, especially in the winter.  When the sunflower seed is harvested pieces of the stalks which have been shredded end up in the bag along with the seeds.  As I loaded the feeder I noticed that many of these shreds of stalk looked suitable for use as logging refuse on the layout, and it is free (since we are buying the seeds anyway) and quite plentiful.

Another nice thing about the bird seed stalk scraps are that they look fine without any further coloring.  If the intent is to simulate well weathered refuse the stalk scraps can be soaked in an india ink and alcohol solution which gives it a grayed look.  

Maine Narrow Gauge Portland

I also visited the Maine Narrow Gauge RR Museum in Portland last week.  They are located right on the waterfront on the edge of the Portland downtown area.  When I arrived they were using a small diesel for train rides.  I had a nice discussion with the conductor about the rumor that the RR might be forced to relocate.  Apparently their railroad has a 15 year lease on the right of way but has a 90 day vacate clause, as the city is trying to find a buyer for the valuable real estate that the RR is sitting on.  The primary thing in the RR's favor is the bad economy.  Two of the possible sites where towns have expressed interest in having the RR are Gray which is just a short distance north of Portland and Bridgeton which is perhaps an hour away.  Bridgeton was once served by two 2 foot railroads back in the early 1900's  (the Bridgeton & Harrison and the Bridgeton & Saco River) but the location would likely result in a much lower visitation rate.  In any event the MNGRR is doing fairly well and has a reasonable sized shop area where they are displaying and restoring several NG passenger type cars including the parlor car "Rangeley" as well as a nice rail car.  They also have some small sheds where they are restoring several steam engines.

Above is the diesel and the tourist railcars, plus a caboose on the end of the train.

Above shows the inside of one of the restoration sheds.

A line of freight cars alongside the mainline.  This museum RR is doing a nice job of keeping the Maine 2 foot history alive.

This makes for two NG railroads very close together if you plan to visit the Portland Maine area.

Many years ago I traversed much of the area once covered by the Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes RR.  There was a surprising amount of remnants of the RR still visible.  Phillips had a bunch of equipment in various states of restoration along with a cobbled up imitation of a steam loco which operated on a gasoline engine.  In Kingfield the roundhouse was still standing being used by an auto dealer to store cars.  In Rangeley the iconic stone station had been converted to a private residence, and after a tip from some residents I found the foundation of the roundhouse in the weeds of a then vacant lot.  There were more remnants, many of which I now have forgotten. 

One year I visited the late Dick Andrews who was living in Maine and he escorted me on a brief tour of Bridgeton and Bridgeton Junction.  We were standing in a field near Bridgeton Junction and Dick was providing great detail on the track and facilities that used to be there (nothing remained) and we were being devoured by mosquitos so I asked Dick if we could continue the discussion up on the roadway.  He was very intense about those railroads and a really nice guy.

The Maine Narrow Gauge railroads continue to be some of my favorites.

Wiscasset Waterville & Farmington Narrow Gauge Visit

I have been in Maine for the last week and on Saturday I visited the Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington narrow gauge railway museum.  I have been a member of this neat little museum railroad for many years but do not get to visit often.  They have one operating 2 foot gauge steam loco and a nice little operating rail car.  They have just a few miles of track but it is through nice scenery with some modest grades.  They operate from Sheepscot station in Alna (a few miles north of Portland) to the end of track and back.  As my nephew was fireman on the loco I got to ride on the loco behind the engineer, who is also the RR museum treasurer.  The museum staff is all volunteer.

Above is a photo of #10 returning to Sheepscot station after a round trip.  The loco is never turned but always runs at the head end of the train whichever way it is going.  There is a run-aroun d at each end.

Above is the railcar.  It has a built-in turntable underneath which is cranked down to allow the car to be turned around by pushing it.  Cranking it up is work.  Cranking it down is easy.

Above is the Sheepscot station with end of track to the right and the mainline to the left.  The station also house a gift shop as well as the ticket counter.  Below is the WW&F web site URL.

http://www.wwfry.org/

sawmill model

Below is a photo of my sawmill.  It is scratch built.  I relied on many photos of early 1900s sawmills, primarily from Pennsylvania which is the general locale of my 1939 era model railroad.  The lower level diamond shaped windows seemed to be typical of the locale and era.  I started by drawing a sketch, then assembling a crude cardboard mockup of the general layout I was looking for to get a sense of what size mill I wanted.  The initial mockup was too big so I cut it down a little and that seemed to suit me.  I long ago ceased drawing detailed plans because the models changed too much during construction as I revised my ideas.  I used commercial scribed siding, stripwood and commercial plastic windows.  I left the end with the log haul from the log pond open to allow some chance of seeing the detailed interior (saws, lumber tables, etc.)  I included overhead interior lights.  The structure on the roof is the saw sharpening loft.  To the right of the mill in the photo is a raised deck as the ground slopes down towards the log pond.  There are standard gauge tracks that run onto the deck from the rear of the mill.  The logs are delivered to the log pond by a narrow gauge railroad (the camera is sitting on the narrow gauge rails). To the right of the deck is a large lumber drying area with many lumber stacks.  The lumber drying area is on a lift-out section to give me access to that area as it is difficult to reach from the aisle.  Everything on that lift-out is well glued down.

I installed sawmill sound by Fantasonics based on a CD, and two speakers - one on each side of the mill near the log pond with each speaker pointing up and disguised to hide them.  The Fanasonics sounds are really good and have a lot of variety in each CD.  This one has sounds for the log haul, saw sounds, a mill whistle. bird sounds and more.  I keep the sound low so it does not carry over that much to other areas of the layout where I have other sounds by Fantasonics. Their web site is at  http://www.fantasonics.com/

To the left of the mill there is a small pump house with a water pipe extending down into the log pond. I have not yet poured the water into the pond as I am still adjusting the pond color and moving around the floating logs in the pond waiting until I find a look I like.  Once I pour the logs are fixed.  I will be using Envirotex Lite which I also used for my harbor.  I have used the Magic Water product but the Envirotex gives a harder surface finish.

More later.

Logging and Lumber

The largest industry on my model railroad layout is the logging and lumber industry.  The logging takes place on a mountain in the center of the layout.  The logging is served by a three foot narrow gauge railroad.  The logs are cut and hauled down the mountain to the lumber mill where the logs are dumped into a log pond.  The logs are cut into lumber at the sawmill then the lumber is placed in the lumber drying yard until they are ready to be delivered the customers via the standard gauge railroad.  Since the era of my layout is 1939 I try to keep the equipment and machinery faithful to that era, 1939 or older.

The sawmill pictured above is not on my layout - it is a postcard with a 1912 postmark.  My mill is actually larger than this and modeled after the style built in Pennsylvania in the early 1900's.  I will be discussing this in more detail with photos later.  Early postcards are great sources of information for modeling, and I have a substantial collection of old industry postcards.  That could be a hobby of it's own.  They augment my collection of old industrial books.  I changed from building kits a while back and now prefer to either kitbash if I have something that fits my needs or better yet to scratch build.  It is all fun, and modeling is a journey.  

Vintage workers

The photo below is from an early, undated real photo postcard.  While it was never mailed there is a penciled note on the back saying that brother Frank is sitting in the front row on the right with the men he worked with, so we know that is a picture of Frank.  I do not know the date of the photo but am guessing it is either pre-1900 or shortly thereafter.  I cannot tell what the industry is.  The very dark background appears to be a large building, with perhaps a windowed clerestory at the top resulting in a lot of light there.  It appears that the men in front left are sitting on a short 2-wheeled cart, and frank is sitting on a wooden box.  The man standing on the left is wearing a long coat not unlike the ones worn in foundries or steel mills.  All of the men are all wearing hats which was typical of early workers.  The man sitting second from the left appears to be wearing a tie so he may be the boss, or the boss may be the man standing 3rd from the right who appears to have a pocket watch in his vest pocket.  I find old photos fascinating.

Brickworks overview

I have essentially finished my brickworks.  There are a few more details and touch-ups to do but this is all I plan to post on the brickworks on the blog.  I will next move on to another subject.  If anyone has questions on the brickworks feel free to contact me.  The photo below is an "airplane view" which gives a good overview of the brickworks other than the clay pit off to the left which I posted a photo of a while back.

If you look closely you can see a black bear family on the hill above the upper rail line near a dead tree in the upper center of the photo.

Clay Excavator

While I am busy installing all of my brickworks models on the layout and doing the scenicing, I thought I would show an alternate clay excavation machine circa 1916.  While I think this would make a neat model it would not fit in my situation.  It is an Adel excavator shown in the photo below operating in a shale bank. The machine consisted of a bucket elevator with cutting tools spaced at intervals between the buckets.  The elevator was carried on a sort of railcar with wheels (RR truck) on one end and rollers on the other end.  It pivoted in  a half circle.  It was a fascinating machine that moved under it's own power.  I am guessing the power was an electric motor.  When the half circle cut was complete, the machine advanced itself as well as moving the half-circle track which the roller moved on.  I would love to be able to see this thing in operation but doubt any examples still exist.  The operator cab is the lower enclosed part on the right with a window.

The buckets discharge to chutes that load a storage hopper on an elevated trestle alongside the machine.  The hopper appears to be pulled by a small electric loco which hauls the hopper to the plant, then returns for another load.

Clay pit

My clay pit is on a hill to the left of and above the brickworks. This was done because there was no room adjacent to the brickworks but I have found multiple prototype examples of this.  The photo below shows the clay pit in almost finished condition.  There is a derrick with a clamshell bucket to dig out the clay and dump it into the bin at the right, from which the clay is then dumped into the tramway bucket on the tramway.  The small structure to the left of the derrick houses the lifting engine.  There is a lot of litter of old machinery around the site.

There is a discarded tramway clay bucket on the ground to the right of the pit.

Industrial Litter

When modeling industries there is more interest if the scene has some character and is not neat and clean like it is brand new or the cleaning crew just finished clearing the area.  I have visited many industries of different types and even the most tidy had some litter or temporary pile of stuff.  The less tidy industries can be real messes.  Below is an example of a real mess, but it will provide real character to your industry.

Modern brick company

About 12 years ago I toured Glen Gery Brick company in Pennsylvania with the Railroad Industry SIG.  It is a very modern brick company and they gave us a very nice tour.  They are on of the largest brick companies in the US started in 1890.   You can find their web site at
http://www.glengerybrick.com/about/history.html

The photo below shows the clay extrusion being cut into bricks by the rotating wire assembly.  Center bricks move to the right.

Below is the clay mixing area.  Reject hardened bricks are crushed and used as "grog" in the new mix.

Below shows brick product on an in-plant rail car.

Cart loads of brick in the baking track.  Heating pipes in the rear.

Below you see the brick baking ovens.

Clay tram railroad equipment

The photo below shows a locomotive and two clay tram cars of the Union Mining Company at the clay dump near Mount Savage Maryland about 1920.  

Clay Manufacturing Company

The photo below shows the Kittanning Clay Manufacturing Company vintage about 1900.  The company was located in Kittanning Pennsylvania and manufactured bricks using the clay from the adjacent clay pit partially visible on the hill to the right.  The clay was ground, screened, and mixed in a pug mill.  The bricks were then molded and wire cut in a stiff-mud machine.  They used two rectangular up-draft kilns and four round down-draft kilns.  Gas was furnished in pipe lines to heat the kilns.  The works was close by the Allegheny Valley railroad and was equipped with a siding.

In the photo you can see two round kilns and the finished brick loading shed next to the rail siding.  There is a gondola car next to the shed with a worker on top.

Coal dock crane

My brick ovens are heated with coal so I have built a coal dock to be supplied from the railroad mainline.  The coal is loaded from gondolas into large buckets which are hoisted by the crane onto the platform, and then the bucket is moved to a small flat car on the brickworks narrow gauge.  The car is then moved to the ovens where the coal is shoveled onto the ground, and then into the ovens for baking the bricks.  Very labor intensive work.

The crane is a Tichy kit.  The buckets are cast metal - I believe by Durango press but that may be wrong as they have been in my scrap box for a long time.  The platform is made from strip wood with a liberal dusting of black chalk dust.

Lots of fun doing this stuff.

Brickworks office

The office is the last structure in the brickworks and the only one made of brick.  I used some cut down wall sections from a DPM kit for the basic building.  I added a wood peaked roof as the basic flat roof DPM kit did not have the right look.  I also added a stone foundation to change the look further.  There is a small wood entrance extension on the right rear side.  Since there is no interior, I sprayed a frosted coating on the outside of each window to represent dust and glued tan paper inside to represent blinds.  Almost all of the structures on my railroad have dusty windows.

I added a pigeon to the peak of the roof, and painted it white with shades of gray on the head and tail.  Pure white pigeons are less common and definitely not interesting.

Brick kilns

My brickworks will have 4 kilns with a stack between each pair.  These kilns are of the downdraft style where the fuel (in my case coal) is fired around the sides with the heat forced up to the rounded roof then down over the green (unbaked) bricks in the center.  The hot gases then move downward though grates in the floor and into the adjoining chimney.  The coal and firing is input through the ports in the side of the kiln.  The ashes are removed through lower ports.  More modern versions of these kilns had external gas piping around the outside of the kiln with burners projecting into the kiln.

After firing, the bricks are removed from the kiln for cooling.  The type of clay and any additives, along with the method of heating determine the coloration and characteristics of the brick.  The heating process  took about two weeks per batch, plus the time for cooling and curing.

My kilns are all commercial products from two different manufacturers with some modifications and added finish.