Ice machinery elevated conveyor

I have been working on the next structure in the ice machinery company, as well as an elevated conveyor to move supplies into the upper floor of the building.  The conveyor has been labor intensive.  The structure is not complete as it has no roof and the lower loading dock has not been built.  The right side connects to the main building and the left side connects to an as yet unbuilt structure.

The lower section of the conveyor is on a platform to prevent the conveyor from being too steep or protruding too far from the structure.  The structure to be built to the left of the conveyor will have a platform to allow convenient loading of the conveyor.

At he base of the conveyor on the left side is a control box for operating the conveyor.  The conveyor is made from wood and styrene with styrene NBWs along it's side to "hold" the roller inside the frame in place. The structure is primarily pre-scribed wood.  The partly finished structure shows the crude interior, which will not be apparent when finished.

Below are some samples of 1920s/1930s style conveyors similar to what I am building.

This photo shows a conveyor with section plates such as I am modeling.

This photo shows an elevated conveyor being used to move hay bales.

This photo shows an elevated conveyor lifting boxes.  Because it is so steep it uses small "fingers" attached to the section plates to hold the boxes in place.  I considered adding fingers to my model and may yet do that.

There is still much work to be done in this industry so we move into 2015.

Happy New Year!!!!

Ice machinery co roof details

I have added some details to the roof of the main building.  These details include a water tower, a smoke stack, a roof access door, and some other small details.

The stack is located to try and disguise the wall corner.

I may add additional details to this roof but I do not want it to look too busy.

My next project is the last building in the complex on the left of the main building.  It will be a wood structure.  This will likely be slowed by the holidays.

Ice machinery company building two

This section of the ice machinery company extends off the right side of the previously posted main building, also against the wall.  It is smaller and has less depth.  This structure is scratch built using two different brick material sections - one embossed cardstock and one plastic.

As you can see the "tunnel" at the left of the structure has a mirror at the back so when it is installed against the wall it will appear that it goes through.  The stone block base is formed from molded styrene by the N scale architect.

There will be additional details added to this structure including signs.  For me, nothing is ever really finished.  I frequently make modifications and improvements.

I have used many mirrors on my layout, mostly small mirrors such as the one in this structure.   My largest mirror is at the entrance to the main layout room by the harbor.

Ice machinery company start

This is the central structure of the ice machinery company and the largest structure in what will be a J shaped business against a wall corner.  The black card stock sections are where other parts of the structure will be attached.  I also plan to detail the roof with components such as a small water tower.

This structure was built using two walls of an old Magnuson kit.  The back walls are plain wood pieces since they will not be visible.  I added a covered entrance on the "front" of the building and put metal security grills on the lower windows.  The grills were made using pieces of etched brass decorative fence.   Two sets of corner windows have been bricked in.  There is a hoist above the vertical string of loading doors.  On the right end I installed a vertical vent extending up from one of the bricked-in windows.   The vertical vent was made from sections of square wood strip with sections of paper between them to simulated seams.  

Here is a front view.

And here is an end view.

The structure that will extend off the right end will be a mostly plain brick structure with minimal details to fill out to the end of the short wall section.  There is a covered column in this corner of the room so the layout is installed around that - makes for annoying scenic issues.  The structure extending off the left side will be a wood structure with a loading dock and likely an elevated conveyor.

As usual, the most time consuming part of scratch building without copying any prototype (or even worse copying some manufacturers kit) is the time it takes to design something that I like and looks right to me.

There will be more details to this section I have already built as the complex progresses.

Re-icing reefer cars

Here are two photos showing equipment for re-icing refrigerator cars.   The first photo shows a truck mounted machine for crushing cake ice into snow ice, which is then forced into the refrigerator car through a hose.

The below photo shows re-icing a refrigerator car using a hose from the ground.  I don't know if the hose in this case is being powered by the machine on the truck but it is likely.  You can see the word "ventilated" on the side of the reefer.

I am almost finished constructing the main building for my ice machinery factory and will post a photo soon.

Ice making machinery

My next model will be an ice making machinery company.  Ice was an important product in the 1800's and early 1900's.  I remember as a small boy in the early 1940's seeing a horse drawn ice wagon on the street where I lived.  My friends and I would flock around the wagon in the summer to get a chip of ice to suck on.  There were still people then who had ice boxes instead of refrigerators.  My grandmothers cottage on Lake Ontario had an ice box and I would row our rented rowboat to the nearby ice house to get ice for the icebox.

Above is a side feed incline ice elevator.  The ice was drawn from a lake or pond and conveyed up the incline to be stored in the ice warehouse.  My model company will be making the machinery for this type of industry.

Above shows a portable electric ice elevator for raising and lowering manufactured ice blocks in the storage room.

Above shows a crushed ice elevator and a truck for transporting the crushed ice to customers.

The photo above shows the loading end of a refrigerated car loader.

 

Above are a crushed ice cart and a gasoline powered field ice saw.

These are photos of typical ice handling machinery made my my model company.  Because they make a wide variety of machinery the structure is a little larger than most of what I have been building.  It is also located against a wall in a corner.

Machinery repair company completed

I have completed the machinery repair company.  Next I will install it on the layout.  This company is named for a friend as I usually do.  I added a lot of details to the company yard.

I added a gas pump near the office and an oil tank by the near gate, both cast metal commercial products.  On the right side is a scratch built wood maintenance ramp with a truck on it.

There is an old tractor next to the raised oil tank and a carry tailer next to the maintenance ramp.  There are four figures in the yard - one seated on the office platform with a clipboard, one at the entrance to the shed watching the repair progress, one at the hoist, and one by the maintenance ramp carrying a pipe.

This model end will be facing the edge of the layout end.  It will be located across the track from the warehouse.

I did not bother detailing the module on the left of the above photo as it will not be visible.  This was an enjoyable project, especially since i could add lots of details.

Now I will spend some time deciding what to build next and doing some design work.  I already have some ideas.

Truck for machinery repair shed

As I am populating the machinery repair company lot, I decided I needed to put a small truck inside the repair shed for maintenance.  I looked through my built and kit trucks and did not find any that I wanted to use - especially since it will be very hard to see from the edge of the layout.  I then decided to scratch build a small truck using wood and card stock.  It was not necessary to be a great model since it is hard to see.  The result is a truck with no tires mounted on wood supports.

Yes,  I know it is crude but given the hard to see location it works for me.   When I finish the module (soon) I will include a photo showing what can be seen of the truck inside the shed.

My wife is giving me a new camera for Christmas ( I know because I picked it out - when you get to our age surprises are usually not required).  I expect that will help with my close up photos.