Hi all - I am modelling a herring smokehouse as part of my steam era freelanced layout set in coastal Maine. I have based my smokehouse on the famous McCurdys in Lubec, and I am quite pleased with the structure, but now need details.
I have found many sites referencing the smoked herring industry, which have been very helpful, but I cannot find what size the wooden boxes were that the smoked herring were shipped in for sale, other than (from some sources) they held 10 lbs of fish.
Does anyone have any information that would help me please?
Thanks,
Bob (UK)
Gidday Bob, the following is a link to modern information but I’d presume that smoked herrings haven’t changed that much in size.
https://www.fao.org/4/r1263e/R1263E06.HTM
Not sure how you’re going to duplicate the stamped printing on the boxes though. 
Cheers, the Bear. 
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Thanks for that, Bear! I think the wooden boxes in that table may be a bit on the big side for the way I’ve read the fish were sold from the smaller smokehouses. A story I read from John McCurdy said they sold to “Mom and Pop stores, a hundred boxes here, a hundred there”. So my guess is that each box wouldn’t be so big, otherwise storage would be a bit of a problem. I also read that the boxes were assembled on site by the women in the packing shed, so maybe they were more the size in your photo - Choice Bloaters indeed!
As for the printing on the box - hmmmm…
Just for fun, here’s my fish processing place - pickling and brining shed on the left, smokehouse, and skinning/packing shed on the right.
Some nice golden smoked herring almost ready
Bob
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Gidday Bob, by changing my search “question” I came across this, which while purporting to be from the 1950s maybe more “correct” for your time frame.
Dimensions: 13.75" long x 6.25" wide x 5.25" tall
Here’s a link to the actual site.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1677030341/vintage-herring-crate-with-green
I guess you could get quite a few boxes out of a length of HO scale 6” x 6” strip wood, with the bonus that it looks like the printing back then was not so colourful! 
I had seen your photo before, was it in the What Projects Have You Been Busy With? thread? Not that where matters, as it is definitely well worth another look. 
Cheers, the Bear.
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Ah! That’s perfect. Thanks so much - you managed to find what I couldn’t. The 10lbs packed weight seems just right. Quite tiny in the end, so maybe have to pass on the printing!
Herring-horses, loaded with fish are my next target - no idea how to model those though!
This pic, which I found on the Maine Boats Homes & Harbors site, shows the “horse” and a pile of boxes too, that look about the same size.
I can make the empty horse OK from small styrene sections (or a passable approximation), but the fish may have to be printed on paper. The joys of HO scale!
Regards,
Bob
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Gidday Bob, I’m presuming that the herrings seen in the windows are printed on paper/card, if so, I think that method is going to be perfectly acceptable for adorning those fragile to build herring horses.
Just as well you chose HO scale over N!
My crystal ball is worse than useless, but I reckon that smoke house pier scene is going to turn out great.
Have Fun,
Cheers, the Bear.
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I am the museum director of the McCurdy Smokehouse Museum. I came across your post from a google search, which Inenjoy doing from time to time. I can answer some questions about the boxes, and anything else you may have if you still need answers.
The boned, skinned herring were packed in standard or “medium scaled” boxes. The dimensions with lid were 8"W x 11.5"L x 5.5"H. The photo of the 18lb box also posted here were common to McCurdy’s as well in the earlier years. They were called bloater boxes, and those herring were packed whole, or “in the round”. All of these boxes were assembled by smokehouse employees in the winter months when the herring were in the deeper waters and the weirs were empty. There were many months of prep work before the next season began. We still have thousands of boxes in storage.
The herring “horses” or carts in the photo on this thread were a two person operation predating McCurdy operation. In 1964, John McCurdy helped his father, Arthur, add wheels to those carts for one person maneuverability. McCurdy carts had two wheels, if you’re making a period replica.
We sell the boxes and herring sticks. I’d be willing to ship you some things that may be of use to you, as it’s not always I come across someone online with an interest such as yours. Of course, if you have any other questions, I’d love to help.
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Well, what a surprise! Thank you so much for taking the trouble to post this information. As I am UK based, getting access to some of the information I need can be a bit of a challenge, to say the least!
The box dimensions are very helpful, though they’ll also be a challenge to recreate in HO scale!
For the time being I have put on hold trying to make very small detail parts, pending a decision on buying a resin 3D printer (my filament printer isn’t up to the job of making very fine parts), but I shall certainly bear what you’ve said in mind.
My time period is (very) roughly 1920s-30s (I’m aiming for the atmosphere of coastal Maine rather than a faithful rendering, for the geographic reasons stated above), so the old style horses would be what I’d go for. I can take a good guess on dimensions, based on how two men would be able to lift and carry those.
Thanks again,
Bob
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