Railroad auto car 1920s

This is a far cry from what we see today, or mostly don't see as the auto cars today are mostly sealed off to prevent the vandals from damaging them.  This photo appears to be from the 1920s judging from the automobiles.

There are two automobiles on each flat car - not very efficient but they probably did not ship that many automobiles by rail in those days.  This may be somewhere in New York as there is a New York Central reefer in the background.

I am in the process of building the glue factory drying house at the moment.  Should be finished by the end of the week.  I am also trying to recover from a cold that is hanging on and making my life miserable.

Glue factory coal delivery system

The glue factory coal delivery system is now complete.  It was a difficult build both from the design and construction aspect.  None of the photos or drawings in my books gave very clear information on how the bucket system worked so I did my best to make it look reasonable.  The construction was also difficult as it was spindly and the cables (wires) were difficult to attach without damaging the cable structure - also my hands these days tend to shake when I work on fragile model work.  This was not my favorite part of the project but I think I turned out OK.

This is a front view.  The small structure next to the coal dump pit is the control shack for the bucket deliver system.  There is an old gray horse to the left of the shack - I filed a sag in his back and added a saggy belly with putty.  This is a little more humor.

The frame for the bucket system was built with wood uprights and a styrene I beam that the bucket travels on.  The cable pulleys were made from wood and card stock.

I placed a few pallets along the side of the boiler house as well as a wheelbarrow made using a plastic barrow shell, a plastic spoked wheel and small wood strips.  The scenery is partially complete with ample coal spills.

Still more scenery work to do.  The next part of the industry will be the glue drying house.

Well flat car

I have a Funaro & Camerlengo PRR Well Hole Flat car kit I bought some years ago.  I have not yet built this but it should should be easy as it has a one piece body.  I came across some old photos of similar cars which got me interested in finally building the kit.

The photo below shows a perhaps 1930s era version of a well flat lettered for the P&R.  What I find interesting is the railing around the well, presumably for the safety of the railroad workers.  I will modify my kit to include such a railing.

I am not sure how common that railing was on well cars.

The above photo shows a well car being used to transport a 48 foot length of 14 inch pipe formed into an expansion bend.  The wood support framing includes a wood version of a well railing.  I am guessing they were not transporting it anywhere where it had to go though a tunnel or under a low bridge.  An interesting model of this could be made with a lower pipe bend.  

Glue factory progress

Here is my progress on the glue factory.  It has been slow due to personal obligations.  I added some signs to the boiler house including a name for the glue factory.  I named it the Dobbin Glue Factory - a little humor.  I also built the coal storage structure next to the boiler house and added some weathering.  In front of the coal storage structure is the coal dump pit which will have the track siding over it.

The transfer line carrying the bucket will go from over the pit to the opening in the opening in the coal storage structure.  I spent a lot of time figuring out how this will work and finally arrived at a reasonable solution which I will display at a later time.

Above is a photo of the bucket I built using card stock and wood strips.  The bucket and mechanism is about 8 feet high.  This is not a good photo but you get the idea.  I just changed my photo application from iPhoto to Photos (I am a Mac user) and am still getting used to it.

Above is a detail photo of the pit.  The near section will have the track siding over it and the far end will be for bucket loading.   

Another car to truck conversion

Over the years I accumulated lots of vehicle kits, most of which I have assembled but I still have a fair amount left to build.  I have lots of automobiles on my layout so what I need now are more trucks.  This plastic auto kit was a simple, not too detailed Ford coupe kit by Williams Brothers.  I merely sawed off the back section with a fine model saw and replaced that section with a pickup truck type bed made from card stock.  

I weathered the truck heavily as it is used for dirty work and added some details in the back (boards, a wagon wheel and a wood barrel).

The boards are small pieces from my scrap box I use to provide layout scenery.  The box is about 3" x 4" and is filled will very small wood pieces left over from modeling jobs.  In addition to using them for scrap piles on the layout, I find them useful for jobs like this.

The kit looked like the photo below before modification.

I am still working on laying the track and switches for the sidings to the paper box factory and the glue factory.  While that does not sound like much work, the switches are switch kits and use individual wood ties.  These days I find track work to be tedious so I find lots of ways to defer working on it including projects such as this truck.

Glue factory coal handling

The coal handling facility for the glue factory will consist of a below-track dump pit, a bucket hoist, an operators shed, and an elevated cable run  which carries the self-dumoing bucket to the coal storage bin adjacent to the boiler house.  A device located in the boiler house carries the coal to the boiler via a conveyor.

Above is the diagram of the dumping and hoisting process.

The above image shows the car being dumped, the operators shed the pit, the elevated cable-way, and the bucket already hoisted and ready to be transported to the coal storage shed in the distance. My cable-way will be much shorter. 

Above is a photo of the self dumping bucket.  

I have been working on installing some track and switches so have not yet started on the coal handling machinery.

Glue factory boiler house complete

I have completed the boiler house.  There will be added details such as signs and more weathering.  As you can see, it is difficult to see the interior details - oh well .....

I will probably place a figure on the loading dock.

The next part of this complex will be a coal delivery facility on the right side of this structure.  It will have a track dump and elevated bucket conveyor.

Glue factory building 1 progress

This first building of the glue factory is taking me a lot longer than I thought so I decided to post some progress photos.  This first building is the boiler plant and contains the glue liquor vats where the glue ingredients are heated in the first step in the glue making process.

This building is being constructed on a Hydrocal stone foundation left over from an old kit.  I used plastic brick wall material glued to a cardstock backing.  I have yet to construct the roof.  I am building a rudimentary interior for what can be seen through the open door.

The billboard wall will be to the left of the back of this structure.

 The above elevated view shows the three vats and three figures inside the building.  That is about all that can be seen through the doorway so it will be the extent of the interior detail.

Similar to the factory seen in the prior postcard, there will be several more buildings in this complex.

In answer to the question, the building is 4" wide by 8 1/2 inches long or 29' x 60' HO.