Retread repair shop walls

I have mostly finished the two primary walls of the retread repair shop.  The other two walls are mostly blank.  The main shop doorway still needs two doors which will be open.  The shop will sit on a floor which will be added when the walls are complete as I need to be able to add the interior details.

The chimney is for an interior "fireplace" used to providing a heating source for the retread work.  There is no roof at this point.

Below are a few photos of vintage pneumatic tire construction.

The photo above shows building of the tires.  The principal phases in making a pneumatic tire were building, finishing and curing.  The operator at the left is building up what was known as the carcass. A demountable wheel with a core the size of the inside of the tire was first coated with rubber solution.  A  layer of fabric, under tension, was then stretched and balanced on the core.  Next the fabric was puled down to fit tightly to the core with no creases or air bubbles.  That was done using two small wheels called stitchers one on each side of the revolving core.  The stitcher wheels gradually work down on the revolving fabric from the center of the circumference pressing inwards toward the rim.  The process was repeated for each layer of fabric.  After the second layer was in position, the bead was applied - one on each side of the rim of the core.  The remaining layers of fabric were then applied and folded over to secure the beads in position.  The number of layers of fabric depend on the size of the tire.

Above the chafer strip is applied.  It reinforces the bead and prevents the tire from rim cutting.

Above shows adding the side wall which was made entirely of gum compound.

More to follow.

Tire recapping shop model start

I have developed a design sketch for the tire recapping shop and built the four walls.  I am making this model from styrene.  My inspiration for this was a photo on Shorpy - one of my favorite sites as they frequently have vintage photos that are useful for modeling purposes.  Below is the link.

http://www.shorpy.com/node/19061?size=_original#caption

This is an interior view and shows the shop has wood walls and a brick heat source - perhaps a chimney - on the right side.

Above are the walls with the window and door opening cut out.  I have temporarily inserted the Grandt Line window castings into the window openings.  The rear wall is planned to be very plain as it will be very hard to see.  The front wall is clapboard and the other walls are vertical boards.  If you look at the Shorpy photo the walls are vertical boards.  In my model this shop area is on the right side with the left side being an office.  I am planning to build a brick chimney on the right side rear with a corresponding brick area inside the shop.  All of the walls have been braced on the back.

I plan to detail the interior of the shop area with machinery and tires, and also to provide lighting so the interior can be seen.

This model will be located near the front of the layout next to the Bettern-air model I previously built.  They will all have a street running in front of them.

Pneumatic tires were first made for automobiles in 1898. The first tires were crude and subject to frequent flats.  When I was a young child I remember taking automobile trips with my parents with flat tires being not uncommon.  As a young man with a tight budget I sometimes purchased recapped tires as they were less expensive than new tires.  One time on a trip the recap began to separate with a resulting rough ride, and I had to pull into a service station and replace the tire.  Below is a photo showing a section of an early cord pneumaticity tire.

In the early 1900s rubber was used for many products in addition to tires and the rubber then was not as durable as it is these days.  This resulted in a strong business in reclaimed rubber scrap as is shown in the photo below.

My next process will be to create a floor and interior wall upon which I will build the interior details before doing final assembly.

Railroad icing equipment 1952

After all of the vintage icing equipment information, here is something a little more current.  Below is a photo of a top icing equipment machine for top icing refrigerator cars.  It takes in blocks of ice, crushes them, then directs a high velocity jet of crushed ice into the car until a thick blanket encloses the tiers of crates or boxes in the car.

This was a quick procedure.

Below is a larger dock-type car icer.  These were self-propelled machines that traveled on rails on a high type icing dock to service lines of reefer cars on either side of the dock.  It was designed to do both bunker-icing and bunker-salting in one operation.  It could also be equipped with a crusher slinger to do to- icing independently of bunker-icing.

Movements of the machine and starting and stopping of the dock conveyor were under the control of one operator stationed on the machine.

Side view diagram

End view diagram.

I finished the SS Ltd truck kit.  As usual the kit had lousy instructions drafted in 1975.  As stated by company owner John Coots, he provided an isometric diagram rather than "wordy instructions" i.e. - no instructions.  These kits were always a challenge but they have great white metal castings.  This kit was also missing some parts, and ironically had a few extra duplicate parts.

As usual, I built it as a weathered and deteriorated truck.

I have decided what I will build next - a tire re-tread business to go next to my Bettern-air company on the layout.  I am in the progress of doing a design sketch.  

Ice machinery factory installed on layout

I have installed the completed (is anything really completed) factory on my layout.  I still need to do some work on the scenery around the factory but I wanted to get this posted.

There is no scenery or structure on either side of the factory at this time and I am not yet sure what will go there. I still have a good amount of layout space on this layout extension so lots of room for more structures.

I have been working on two other small projects - an old SS Ltd light delivery truck (kit developed in 1975) and an old Gould (now Tichy) plastic flat car kit.  The SS Ltd kit is a pain but the Gould is an easy build.  I am thinking about what structure to build next - I am toying with several ideas.

Ice handling gig

For one model of ice handling machinery I have built a model of an ice handling gig (what!!).  Yes, that is what they were called, and they came in single (as modeled) or multiple tilting bottoms.  They were used to hold and dispense blocks of ice.  They often operated in ice elevators.

Above is an example of an ice handling gig, and below is my model.

The model was made using paper and light card stock.  This will be placed on one of the platforms. The model is 7 HO scale feet high with a 2' x 4' base.

I have learned a lot of industrial history in the process of my modeling, and the time spent operating the Railroad Industry SIG for 20 years.  I also acquired a large quantity of old industrial books for information.

Ice machinery company mostly complete

I have finally completed the last of the ice machinery company structures (total of four).  This last one had a few challenges and some re-do work.  I also created signs and have decided on a name - Frigid Company - kind of a humorous name.  Most of the signs will be on the original structures.

This is a front-on view.  The width of these two structures is 5 inches.  The other two structures will be to the right of these.

Both structures are pre-scribed wood with stone bases from commercial plastic material (it was clear plastic which I painted).  The roofs are card stock.

This is a half right view and you can see the right side is unfinished as it will attach to the other structure.  All windows are commercial plastic parts except the partially open one on the left side which is a cast metal window.  All doors are scratch built from card stock.

My next task is to install all of the components on the layout and add a little scenery around the base. This structure complex will temporarily be isolated as there will be no structures on either side until I build them.  I also plan to scratch build a few ice machinery units to place on the platforms.

As usual, everything is subject to revision and additions.

January has brought really cold weather and some snow for me to clear away - so much fun.  My cable company has also created challenges for me which occupied a little of my time.