Pipe covering company base & rail car

The structure previously posted will sit on this base.  I have installed a two foot gauge industrial track set in brick to allow the hand pushed pipe car to be moved into the building and out.  At the left of the building the track is in the open under a gantry crane, which is used to move the pipes (or boilers) to and from railcars on the track which will be in the foreground.  The rail is made from 2x2 inch scale styrene strip and the brick surround is pressed paper brick from an old SS Ltd kit.  The rail car was constructed from styrene strip and mounted on two wheel sets of unknown origin.

While the railcar has no specific prototype, it is conceptually similar to the railcars used at the Virginia brick company I visited earlier this year.  Many small industries used this means of moving product in the late 1800s and early 1900s, and fits my 1939 era as an older facility.

I have scanned a 1911 ad for industrial push cars.  The ones shown have flat tops due to the types of loads they were intended to carry.

Pipe & boiler covering company

I have not posted in a while.  Life got in the way of model railroading.  I mentioned last time I would be building a small pipe foundry,  but as is often the case I changed my mind.  It is a pipe and boiler covering company inspired by the following vintage ad.

As mentioned before, it uses asbestos in the coverings which was in common use in 1939 - the era of my railroad.  I elected to use a cheap Pola plastic kit in my junk box for the basic building.  I cut off the top window area and only used the bottom cinderblock section.  I tossed the doors and made my own, and made a roof with a small clearstory. I added a brick addition on the back to house the boiler and used a mechanical pencil part for the stack.

I have to add the signage on the exterior.  I will make that using the Apple Keynote software (like MS Powerpoint) which is easier and quicker than decals or dry transfers.  When I install the structure on my layout I plan to include a small industrial narrow gauge track system (non operating) to move the pipes and boilers in and out of the plant as well as an overhead crane system to load and unload freight cars.  There will also be my usual collection of industrial junk littering the area and a few workers busy, or just loafing.  Did you ever notice when you see a bunch of workers only a few seem to be actually working?

Another run down shack

It has been a while since my last post.  We had a bad storm in the area and although my outage and damage was minimal I hosted a friend who had lost power for several days.  I finally finished a second shack for my shanty town.

The old codger who lives here is sitting on his porch with his shotgun.  When in place on the layout his dog will be nearby in the grass.

As you can see from this view the shack was constructed using whatever was available and is in dis-repair. The window on the right is open and the shaggy curtains are hanging out the window.

I am thinking of building a small pipe foundry for my next model.  This business will also supply pipe insulation made from asbestos.  Keep in mind my layout era is before it was discovered that asbestos was really bad stuff.  When young I lived in a small house with asbestos shingles on the outside walls and up until about 10 or so years ago I had some small blocks of asbestos that I used for soldering.  I also had a tube of mercury that I got when I was a kid - I used to coat coins with it to make them shiny.  Probably accounts for my occasional wacky ideas.  This pipe foundry is only in the thinking about it and doing research mode now so may be a while before I have anything.