Fireplace & furnace maintenance & cleaning shop model

I have completed the first of three structures of my next model -  a fireplace & furnace maintenance and cleaning shop.  This structure is the office and living quarters of the owner,  The other two structures will be a dock and shed, and the last will be a maintenance shop and storage area.  

This structure view has a chimney and a corner entrance. 

This rear view shows the basement entrance and a coal Shute cover.  The next structure will be attached to the blank wall. 

Next we will move into 2021 after a difficult year.  Fortunately my modeling hobby has kept me from too much frustration from all the craziness of 2020.

1920 Ford model T

While thinking about what to build next I assembled an old Jordan Products 1920 Ford model T center door sedan kit.  Jordan gas been out of business many years but I still have a few of their kits I have not built.  This kit was interesting as the main body was one piece with a plastic insert already in place for the windows. 

Other than painting, I made no changes to the kit.  It was somewhat tedious to build, partly due to my shaky hands.  

This vehicle fits well in my 1939 era layout.  

Now I need to get serious about what to construct next.

Platform truck shop complete

 I have completed the final details for the platform truck shop.  That includes a ramp onto the dock, a storage shed and a platform truck.

The storage shed is for platform trucks.  

Above is the platform truck model.

Now again I need to come up with another model.  It gets harder and harder.  I also have almost no more room on my layout for these models. 

Platform Truck Shop

 My next model is a platform truck shop.  They repair platform trucks and other carrier devices including dollies.  The model is not yet complete as I need to build some platform trucks and a storage shed.  

The front view above shows the office and the repair shed with a loading dock.  I installed some interior details but as usual they are hard to see.  I photographed the details before they were installed.

Above are the interior details, from left to right are a cast metal workbench top (not used), a scratch built workbench made from wood with some detail parts and drawers, a set of shelves made from card stock with details, a scratch built dollie, a trash can made from a small section of a plastic straw, and a wood saw horse.  The boxes on the shelves are merely sections of thick wood strips.  

The view above shows the two types of roofs.  The main building has shingles and the shop has a corrugated metal roof. 

Above is a rear view.

Above are examples of the types of devices this shop repairs.

Unique outhouse model

I found a photo of the prototype on Shorpy, an interesting site that posts old photos.  The model was fairly simple.  There is actually a crude interior to this but can only be seen by viewing from above. 

Below is a view with the prototype in the background.

And below is a view of the model from the back.

I have run out of room to install any but the very smallest new structures on my layout.  I may build some replacements for older models that could be better replaced by something newer.  I am now trying to decide what to do next - a continuing problem as I have done so many different things already.

Wire goods company complete

 The wire goods company model is complete.  I have added a shed and interior detail.  Inside the shed are drums of wire for use in the production.  The interior includes a long work bench, some shelves, some machines, two figures and lots of detail parts on the work bench.  

Below are the interior detail photos.

I got my ideas for this from the ad below.

Wire Goods company shop

 My next model is a wire goods company.  They don't make wire - they buy wire and make a variety of goods for home and businesses.  This is a work in progress and has been more complex than I expected, partly because of the materials I selected to build it.  The walls are made with card stock covered with textured brick paper by Illinois Hobby Craft. the roof is from a plastic kit.  The roof is removable so I will be adding a detailed interior which will actually be able to be seen.  I also will be adding a side shed and some weathering.  

There are two skylights on the roof.  Lots more to do.

Below is a painting I did years ago for a christmas card.  I am adding this for some variety.  

Truck model for lithography shop

Building this truck took longer than I expected.  The only commercial parts are the wheels and the steering wheel.  The rest was made from wood and card stock with a few other parts.

These photos are not great.  I don't seem to get good photos when photographing small items, or maybe it is my camera.  

The grill on the front is a piece of metal from a filter of some kind that I saved.  

The rear view shows some boxes inside.  They are sections of wood.  

This truck will sit inside the garage of the lithography shop.

Next I will will build some kind of small industry.  It is getting harder to come up with new ideas as I have built so many small  industries.

Due to the oddly revised statistics section of blogger I no longer look at them since they provide almost no information anymore.  I will just rely on comments by my viewers to determine how I am doing and what is of interest. 

Lithography shop complete

I have added the shop garage completing this model.  The garage was built board by board with a tar paper roof.

 There are some details inside the back of the garage which of course you cannot see.  The doors are also board by board.  I added another sign above the front windows. 

The side window is scratch.  The tar paper is paper painted black.

Next I think I will build a truck for the garage.

I am still trying to get used to googles new format for posting but I do not like it!  The statistics are worthless to me.  

Lithography shop model

 This model is a lithograph shop.  Lithography in recent times is a printing method using plastic or metal plate.  It was originally a means of printing using a stone surface. This shop model will have a garage added for a truck.  

There is an interior detail inside by the front window and as usual cannot be seen.  

The oil tank on the side of the building was made from a wood dowel that was sanded to get smooth sides.

The stack was made from a plastic sprue.  

Many years ago I had a newspaper customer who had recently changed from printing with metal type to a more modern system but still had the metal type devices sitting in their hallway.  It was interesting.  They are no longer in business. 

I am struggling doing this blog update since the blogger company just changed their process and i really do not like their changes. It is much more difficult and I find no advantages.  

Bark hopper car for extraction plant

I have built a bark hopper car for my extraction plant.  I modeled it after an old prototype photo.  It is 20 feet long and has board sides and ends. I added some chopped up bark from one of the trees in my yard.  It is HOn3 scale.

This is actually the second car I built.  The first one of which this car is mostly built from I stupidly filled with the bark then sprayed with alcohol in order to spread the matte medium to solidify he load.  Well the alcohol loosened all of the glue and warped the floor beyond use. Bad idea but that is the way I fasten down scenery and ballast.

The prototype car photo is below.

It is not a great photo but you get the idea.  My model is similar but not exact.

Wagon repair shop complete

The wagon repair shop is now complete with a fenced in work area and a bit of scenery around the structures.  The whole shop and work area are on a piece of card stock folder that was spray painted before attaching it.

Above is a front view showing the signs and a bit of the yard content.

This end view shows some minor details on the shop roof and a wagon on the right.

Here is a rear view.

This elevated view gives a better view of the yard contents.  On the left side by the fence is a scratch built, open top wagon sitting on blocks being repaired.  There is a very small wagon (cart) near it next to the entrance.  

This elevated view of the rear gives a better view of the wagon being repaired and the stuff in the front corner.

This was an interesting business to construct and there are a lot of spare wheels in the yard area.

Wagon repair shop model start

I have started work on a wagon repair shop.  Actually the structure part of the model is essentially complete.  What remains is a fenced in work yard which will contain wagons, wagon parts and more.

The main building has clapboard siding, a tar paper roof and a smoke stack made from a piece of plastic sprue.

The attached structure is a work shop with interior detail.  As usual the interior detail is almost impossible to see but I like doing interior detail.  Inside is a work bench, shelves, saw horses with a board on top, a figure, a hanging hook and a wood barrel.  There is an upper door at the back of of the main building which provides access to the roof.  I am planning to add details to the shop roof top.

Next I will create the fenced in work area.

Vintage truck model

I built a Jordan Products truck kit which was a dump truck which I modified to be a standard truck.  I will be adding this to the extract plant as an additional detail.  I added a number of metal barrels, a dolley, and a ladder.

I added more modern headlights.

Sadly Jordan Products went away years ago but i still have a few of their kits.

I have begun work on my next model which is a wagon repair shop.  Since my layout era is 1939  wagons were still in use to some extent at that time.  I remember as a child seeing an ice wagon on the street in front of my house.  The owner gave us kids pieces of ice.

Extraction plant installed

I have installed the extraction plant on a layout extension shelf at the inside end of the aisle through my main layout.  From the aisle you are right next to the plant.  To see the other side you must look across 10 feet of layout.

The plant is located next to my narrow gauge subsidiary.

This view of the other side of the plant shows a little of the plant.  I will probably add some more details to this plant but I wanted to get this posted.

Extraction plant office

I have completed the office for the extraction plant which is the last structure for this small industry.  The windows for this model are a combination of cast metal on the front and back and plastic on the sides.  I do not know the manufacturer of the cast metal windows as they were among many cast metal windows and doors in a box of parts.

The chimney on the left was made using a plastic sprue with a metal top cap.  The roof was shingled.

The right side has a shed with an open door.  Inside the shed are various details including boxes, barrels and a figure.

Above is a view of the rear.

Next I will install this structure resulting in all structures installed.  Then I need to finish adding scenery and some details.  

Extraction plant water tower

I have built a water tower for my extraction plant.  It is 34 foot tall.  The tank is made from plastic tank parts.  The base of the tank with the railing on it is a large metal washer.  The hatch on the roof is a reefer part.  The support structure is wood strips and the railing is made from a thin card stock strip.

I used a prototype photo (below) for ideas on how to construct this tank though the prototype is way taller than my model.

I built a layout extension shelf at the end of my main layout aisle for the extraction plant.  So far most of the extraction plant models are installed on this shelf which adjoins part of my narrow gauge track.   I am now applying scenery to the area.

T&E MRR history 2020

As I do every year I am posting more photos of my Fathers Troll & Elfin model railroad.  He took many photos over the years though the majority were 35 mm slides which is a bit of a problem.  He and I got into model railroading at the same time.  My father modeled more for fun than any prototype.

Above is a view of the town of Troll with a train on the tracks.

Above is one of his scratch built hopper cars.

The photo above shows some of his structures, a few of which I now have on my model railroad.

Most of his photos were black & white.  I have this small "station" on my layout also.  My fathers layout was much smaller than mine is but I saved a few structures and most of the details.  The rest I either sold or gave away.  Neither my kids or grand kids have any interest in model railroads so my stuff will be disposed of when I die, thought they will probably save a few pieces.