Having modelled the CN Outer Station which is the 'right-bookend' structure as one enters my HO scale Hanley Spur layout, I turned my attention to the 'left-bookend'. The limestone Imperial Oil Warehouse is right beside the lightswitch as one enters the layout room - very visible! I would need one or two spurs - one for tank car deliveries of bulk oil, the other for boxcar deliveries. The bulk tanks were on a rise above the North Street location, so it was time for some lumber-and-papier-mache landforms.
Newspaper applied The 'gravy' was a bit thick.
Lumber screwed down (above) and papier-mache added, all subject to change once I placed the mockup structure. Scaling-out the warehouse at 90x66 feet, it was time to produce a cardboard mockup, using post-it notes for approximate window/door locations:
Test-fitting two sides of the mockup in place. Note the cardstock 3-D tank structural backdrop at the right end of the paper oil tank backdrop:
In a stroke of blind, dumb, modelling luck, the measurements for each long side of the warehouse were exactly the same as a bisected sheet of Evergreen styrene! Then it was time to glue on the limestone paper, windows and doors (darkened as found in an original Caldbeck-Cosgrove catalogue), sills, arches and prepare door openings and potential platform and stair locations.
Endless limestone!
I measured the windows out based on the photos at hand. I 'keystoned' some more of the limestone pattern above each window, then grey paper windowsills below. I plan to keep at least one door open to add modelling interest. I'll produce the doors, then scotchtape them inside if needed!
What to use for a roof? This piece of foam-core was previously used as an oil tank enclosure. It measured out just right and I had to add two corners. I liked the edge effect, as the wooden eaves eventually rotted away on the prototype. And it has a spray-texture paint finish on top. Hard to judge the actual prototype roof material from photos. I liked the thickness and the overhang of this piece, so on it went, with a cutout made for the chimney.
On the layout. A small outbuilding on the south side, as well as an upper-level loading dock to be added. Exact siting to be determined:
After test-fitting the mostly-complete warehouse, I realized that the topography I'd built to support the bulk tanks should be level and enlarged. So, some lumber scraps and some re-applied papier mache ensued, bringing the scenery right up the the rear wall of the warehouse. The bulk tanks are made from cardstock, rolled to approximate the tank curvature based on the space I had, with taped cardstock tops:
The topography has been painted and a couple of pill-bottle Esso tanks added. I also did some scenicking, including the tank car unloading stand. It required a track bumper since it abuts the warehouse, with room for only one tank car, it is a tight fit!
The outbuilding is on. Gotta make some topography to reach that upper-level platform though:
There's lots of room for boxcars to be spotted in front. We'll just have most of the oil delivered by lake tanker! It was a fun project, and cheap - just the cost of styrene, about 8 bucks, and printer ink for the paper windows, stone, and doors!
Fencing surrounds the bulk tanks and the tankcar unloading area, boxcar unloading platform finished:
Scenicking on the hillside near the tanks in March, 2020:
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