Site is McLean sawmill area, Vancouver Island, BC. I hope it proves inspirational for somebody.
Mark
That would make a nice, simple scratch build. I’ve got a bunch of old buildings like that in my area. I never seem to have my camera with me when I see them though.[sigh]
A superfund site in the making! Old gas stations are invisible here in the US. All the old underground tanks have to be removed, filled in or upgraded so if there’s an abandoned pump standing somewhere, eventually someone will find it and destroy it. On the other hand, the father of one of my top employees had two old Gulf gasoline pumps that stood about 8feet tall.
Alot of farms have their own fuel pumps with either above or below ground tanks.
How timely…I am in the process of scratchbuilding this very scene on my small logging railroad. Thanks for the inspiration and for new ideas provided by the photograph,
Wayne [:)]
I thought I took another picture of that structure! Here it is.
Mark
Thanks Mark, both pictures have been downloaded and will be used when scratchbuilding this scene.
Wayne
One thing I find particularly interesting with this structure is that there is only one vertical support for the porch roof. Therefore, I presume there is no heavy snowfall in this area of Vancouver Island, BC. This bit of minimal engineering surely wouldn’t have worked in the Sierra Nevada of California, many, many hundreds of miles south of VI, although farther from the weather-moderating coast and with much higher altitude. Sierra Nevada logging operations typically lasted only six months a year (like late April to late October) because of heavy snows. Most roads passing over the Sierras south of Lake Tahoe are still closed much of the year (typically November through May) due to snow.
Mark
Mark,
I’m wondering if there were a total of 3 vertical posts at one time? My freelance railroad is in West Virginia and I think with additional porch supports this structure would look prototypical.
Thanks again, the timing of your post is impecable, this is exactly what I was looking for. [:D]
Wayne
One post was prototypical, nevertheless, three posts would be needed in the Sierra Nevada and perhaps in your modeled geography too if there was significant snow accumulation. Regardless, the photos were to inspire and not necessarily to be copied exactly when making a model. You made my day when you found the photos helpful. [:I]
Mark
I love the barrels and that junk pile(background-right). A nice way to display scraps from scratchbuilding or kitbashing.
More likely someone buys them up for a few $ or simply takes them, restores them and sells them back to the public as vintage collectable display objects for the meager price of $2K.
I was meaning more the station gets paved over.
Hi Mark,
This photo and the ones on your “Dump your logs here” post are indeed “inspirational !” Post more photos, if you have any. One can gain ideas as how to make “trash” eye catching, and so nostalgic. I still remember the glass tank on top and handle to pump up the amount of gas you wanted,(at $0.27/gallon, back in 1930. I still rented a fully equipped apartment for $35/mo. in 1950. I, also, made $1581/yr. at my first teaching job, in 1950. Money is relative to times! Bob
Thanks Bob,
I’ve got more more photos (blacksmith shop, lumber carrier, etc.) taken around the McLean site and will be sharing them over the next week or so. Stay tuned.
Mark
Mark I do hope you post more as I would like to add this scene to my own layout. It would be great hidden in the woods in a corner or to only be seen from outside throw the window in my train room. I’ve had that idea for years and it has been hiding in the recesses of my mind. Maybe a single street light on a back road some where just to light the scene up when running trains at night.
When I was growing up you could find scenes like that all over the south. Just a few years ago while driving on a back road, I spotted an old liquor store at a cross roads in the middle of no where. A “huge” little brown jug, type of structure about 20 feet round and 25 feet tall. It was outrages to see it just setting there like that with the weeds growing up around it. I thought to myself “That giant is going to miss that jug soon”. Must have been a 40,000 gallon jug. I wish I would have had the time and a camera to get just one picture of it.
Come to think of it there are a lot of odd structures that were built in the 60’s and 70’s as the highway’s of the US where getting better and more and more places had to get the travelers to stop as they went driving by. A huge elephant some where out west comes to mind and the huge guy holding tires.
Were cooking with steam now.
Thanks, Johhny Reb,
Don’t overlook my earlier “Park it here” thread, about a “companion” structure to the company fueling station.
http://cs.trains.com/forums/1455392/ShowPost.aspx
Mark
Thank you Mark, you have my mind spinning with idea’s to make for my layout just to jazz it up a little.
Back in the early 80’s while working in the risk management department for a large forest products company we had a major roof collapse due to excessive snow loads at one of the company’s saw mills in central OR.
Peter Smith, Memphis