Campbell Scale Models-Ice House

Hello all,

I went to the Houston/Pasadena train show this weekend and picked up a Campbell Scale Models kit.

Ho Speeder Shed & Ice House #403-795

I got a really great deal on this and been wanted it for awhile but at a rock bottom price.

Now what would the Ice House be used for? Any information/history on this building? Anyone have and /or built this kit also?

The train show this year was very small and not many vendors at all or layouts.

I hope the one in January will be better at the George R. Brown center downtown.

After the show I decided to go to the Houston Roundhouse and G&G Model shop and found some things there to.

Thanks,

Mark

The ice house kept ice, cut in the winter from a lake and stored under a pile of saw dust. It would be used for anything that needed to be kept cold, like food or early refer cars.

The Campbell Ice House if I am not mistaken, is the type that would be used on a farm in the late 1800’s through the early 1900’s. Back in those days most farms had an ice house to provide refrigeration for food and dairy products. There were commercial operations in most areas of the country that supplied ice to homes and businesses every few days. The blocks of ice were quite large, some being 300 or more pounds. Here is an article on the harvesting of Ice from the Illinois River.

http://www.museum.state.il.us/RiverWeb/harvesting/harvest/ice/