Box factory model research and planning

Here I go again with another structure.  This will be a box factory with belt driven machinery powered by a steam engine.  I will fully detail the interior which means that building this will take some time.  In the past I have put interior details in several structures only to find that once they were placed on my layout the interior was difficult to see.  This time I hope to avoid that problem by placing the structure at the edge of the layout with the wall on the layout edge removable.  In the past my structures with interior detail had all or part of the roof removable.  The photo below shows a foundry pattern shop with belt driven machinery viewable through a removable roof section on one side.  As you can see the result was not satisfactory.

 The shop is located about 16 inches from the edge of the layout.  I built this over twenty years ago and it has a nice coating of dust.  I more recently built the Yorke pool hall/bordello kit, with the bordello on the top floor and the roof removable.  Full details in that including figures as you might imagine.  It has been popular with (appropriate) visitors but they either need to be tall or use a step stool for viewing.  Other structures with some degree of interior detailing are lighted and rely on what can be seen through windows or open doors - again not a good solution.  These hard to see interior details,  while fun to build are not very effective.  For the box factory I contemplated having the whole structure removable from the base but after thinking about that for a while I decided that approach could have problems.

My first job will be to select and construct some appropriate machinery for the inside.  I have a good number of cast metal machines and machine kits to select from.  Then I need to design a floor plan for the interior.  The line shafting will be installed parallel to the edge of the layout so as not to interact with the removable wall.  I may also install some lighting to help with the viewing as the roof will put the interior in shadow.  The site on the layout that I have selected is not large so the main building will only be about 30 x 36 scale feet - I guess they will only make small boxes.

Below are two vintage photos of belt driven machinery in the Union Twist Drill company shop - bigger than what I will be making but gives some idea.  My ceiling will also not be that high.

Another photo of similar vintage shows a locomotive machine shop with all of the machinery really crammed in together.

That should give you some idea of where I think I am going with this.  I will post progress photos from time to time.

Give some thought this Memorial Day weekend to our veterans, our troops and those who have given their lives to protect and keep this country free and safe.

Gutta Percha factory model

It has been a while since I last posted.  This model took longer than expected plus we had some health problems at home, but all is well now.  I suspect many of you have never heard of Gutta Percha.  It is a material obtained from Gutta Percha trees found in Southeast Asia, Northern Australia and other locales in that area.  It was used from the late 1800's through the 1930's to create a plastic type of material but was supplanted when petroleum based plastics hit the market.  Some examples of where Gutta Percha was used was for a covering on the first trans-atlantic telegraph cable, and for many household and decorative products.  One of the few uses now is in dental work.

My model is a combination of kitbash and scratch build.  It consists of 3 buildings - the large building uses the walls and windows from a cheap plastic kit (I do not recall what kit as I saved those portions and discarded the rest long ago). The center connecting section is scratch built from wood.  The third section with the deteriorating stucco is based on 3 walls of what I think was a military model of which I only had the three walls and roof.

I modified the large building by adding an entrance shed on the left side, a large exhaust fan in one front window, an exterior plumbing pipe on the right side, a roof made using Tichy slate roof shingles, and a chimney of unknown origin.  The signs were made using computer presentation software.

The building on the right was made higher with a stone wall base as it was strangely short.  I added a small water tank on the roof and a ladder at the back.  I think of this as a garage for the facility as it is not a rail served industry.

The center section is primarily a connector between the two buildings.  I added a porch/balcony on the second floor for visual interest.  On that porch I have a figure at the railing, a chair, a box and a broom.   The lower part has a drive-through with a loading platform for the main building and doors on each side.

The rear of the complex is somewhat plain as it will face away from the edge of the layout (when I figure out where I can put it).  This thing just grew from a germ of an idea - or two, and the kit pieces in my scrap box.

This was an interesting project, including my research on what Gutta Percha was.  If you want more info on that just do an Internet search.  The structure itself could be anything.  I may add more details when I install it on the layout.

Crisfield Maryland seafood by train

One of my early posts in May 2011 was of the railroad station in Crisfield Maryland which I found interesting because it was right by the water.  Crisfield is on Maryland's Eastern shore on the Chesapeake Bay and was once a substantial source of seafood such as crab and oysters.  Around 1919 it was served by the Eastern Shore Railroad - now long defunct.   Following are a few more photos.

The above photo shows the loading platform at Crisfield with a railroad car being loaded with crates.

Above is the interior of one of the seafood companies where employees are "picking" crab meat from the shells to be packed for shipment by railroad express. 

And above we see the interior of an "oyster car"  being loaded for shipment.  

My Next Modeling Project

I am well along on my next modeling project although progress has been slowed by the need to attend to the yard, as the grass and weeds are growing like gang buster.  Life is not all model railroading.  This next project is a factory for a product that is now all but extinct and which was in the process of being replaced by a new technology in 1939 - my modeling era.  I  came across mention of this product in one of my old industrial books and thought it would be an interesting selection for my next industry.  I suspect few of you have ever heard of it.