Boarding house model

My boarding house model is mostly complete.  My inspiration for this model was an old photo of a similar view of what I built for the back of my model.   Some time ago I built a model of a rooming house.  The difference between a rooming house and a boarding house is mostly that the boarding house provides one or more meals as I understand it.   This boarding house provides rooms for some workers at the bobbin mill and the businesses along the water front.

The platform levels and stairs took some time.  I plan to add more details on the platforms.

Above you see the front which is very plain.  The front and rear bases are made from card stock  which will be flattened when I install the structure on the layout.

Above is another view of the back directly in front of the camera - just another view.  On the lower left is a small storage shed.

Bobbin mill installed

The bobbin mill is now installed on the layout with some scenery added.   The near end has piles of wood chips from the bobbin turnings, similar to what the prototype had.  I will be adding more scenery along with the next model I am building.

Next model

My next model will be a boarding house adjacent to the bobbin mill.  That will give some of the bobbin mill workers a place to live.  The Glen bobbin mill had a boarding house near by but it was not very interesting.  My boarding house is a 3 story building with an interesting back that will have a porch on each level with stairs and lots of details.  I have a rough start with the front and two sides - lots more details to be added including the corner posts.

I am also building a Jordan Products model T Ford stake truck to serve the bobbin mill.

Some personal railroad history.

Years ago I belonged to the Three Rivers Narrow Gauge Historical Society which dealt with narrow gauge railroads the used to serve the Pennsylvania and Ohio areas.  All of those roads had ceased to exist and had very little remaining vestiges.  We used to have annual tours to visit the areas where the railroads ran,  About the most we ever saw was an occasional bridge, barren right of way (some vestiges of ties and track, and a box car used as a shed.  We had fun any way.  The society published a quarterly newsletter called Light Iron and Short Ties - L.I.S.Y. (I have the issues published while I was a member).  The society eventually folded due mostly to lack of new information.  I was looking trough the newsletters recently and remembering the good times.

Bobbin mill coppice barn

I have completed the coppice barn for the bobbin mill and attached it.  The coppice barn is for storage  (and sometimes debarking) of the hard wood for making the bobbins.  Although it is somewhat difficult to see in the photo, I have detailed the interior of the coppice barn with stacks of logs (sticks I gathered in my back yard), a scratch built dolley next to the ramp into the mill,  a figure hoisting a log,  a log cart, and a scratch built work bench.

There are a few tools on the work bench and a saw leaning on the front of it.  The roof of the barn was made using the venerable Campbell shingles.

In the photo above you can see a photo of the Glen bobbin mill which I used as a guide in making my model.  I am guessing the elevated covered wooden shaft rising from the shed to the upper part of the boiler room was for moving wood chips for use in heating the boiler.  There will be piles of wood chips at the base of the building once it is installed on the layout.

Above you can see the rear of the structure and the rail siding that serves it.

Above is an overall view of the rear of the building.

Next I need to add some signs and install the building on the layout with lots of detritus around it and maybe a truck delivering logs.

Bobbin mill complete

The bobbin mill is mostly complete (there are a few details to be added including signs and scenery).  The photos were taken on the layout approximately where the mill will be installed but it is not yet installed.  This mill was modeled based on a very small photo of the Glen Bobbin Company that once existed in South Hiram, Maine,  I tried doing some research on it but found very little.  I think it was built about 1920 and at one time the president was Charles Fox, possibly related to one of my wife's family members who live in Maine.

Above is a rear view with the attached engine house at the right with the stack above it.  The building is wood style with a stone foundation.

Above is a track-side view.

The side at the right will have a "shed" attached adjacent to the track where the raw wood stock is stored.  Bobbins where made from various types of hard wood.  This type of storage was referred to as a coppice barn.  I will make the coppice barn next.

Above is a chart from an old book that shows a variety of bobbin styles,  They came in a vast variety of styles and sizes.