Modelling the Bailey Broom Factory

At last night's ARK Hanley Spur Module group meeting, we moved from discussion to goal-based construction. We're planning to have a model module available for the November Railfair train show. Starting with the River/Rideau/Cataraqui  nexus, it's time to finally build the Bailey Broom Factory. Stay tuned here for progress updates! A 1949 aerial view, while serving as a fuel oil dealership:

September 29 Update: In my scrap box,I found some wall parts that I can use. But I really need some measurements! Going to the RAW architectural drawings for the revamped Bailey, I found millimetre measurements and converted them to feet. The entire east-west length of the office and factory is 118 feet (15 inches in HO), and the width is nearly 29 feet (3 inches in HO). The concrete addition to the north along Rideau Street is 59 feet, and the office is about 20 feet square, with the small sloping wall to the north about 9 feet. On a two-foot wide module with two tracks running down the middle, 118 feet of building simply will not fit! Even on my layout, where the tracks are closer to the backdrop, it won't fit. Time for selective selectivism!

October 5 Update: The walls of some long-forgotten engine shop train show purchase are the feedstock I need. They include pilasters, thought not cast in brick. The foundation is nice, and will have limestone paper attached to it. That end wall is too narrow, so will be discarded. The side walls are too tall, but the Dremel brought them down to an acceptable height:

My on-site photos from 2001, as well as online photos from the city report provide inspiration. Before long, the side walls are tilted up, an end wall has been installed, and the office walls are being pieced together. Measurements are out the window at this point. I've dropped two bays from the north-south original factory, and will drop at least one from the concrete addition. The office is more-or-less full-size. This phase of the construction is taking place on the layout, to make sure I have room to shoehorn the finished structure in between River, Rideau and Cataraqui Streets! Look sharp and you can see that while Dremelling, I've collected lots of those cooled hot-styrene shards. I like to use these for scrap remnants glued into gondola car bottoms!

October 6 Update: During our grandson's naps, it was quiet time for some quiet construction and surreptitious structure-building. Shhhh! The Dremel is not in use and I've added the office bay and some more wall pieces. I've covered over the top third of the engine house windows with brick styrene, and will cover most of them further with 'plywood' styrene.

October 9 Update: Bridging the gap to the concrete addition (along Rideau Street) is a bit of a guessing game. Apparently the office was not built exactly to Newlands plans, so that gives me some licence. The office walls and brick pilasters come from DPM structure add-on kits.

October 10 Update: Doesn't everything look better with a coat of paint? I used some brown and green hobby paints to paint all the brick, and the trim, doors and windows respectively. I used strip styrene to represent the aluminum-covered window sills, and added a scratchbuilt loading door on this, the Cataraqui Street side. Notice the built-up brick over the front door. At this point, the bay is not glued on, ready for its window.

October 11 Update: Office windows and door are in. Roof is ready for the factory. Starting to look 'right' to me:

Another nap means more time to work! I've added the back of the office walls, with some roofing left over from a Superior Bakery kit. Styrene from another kit is being cut to shape for the factory roof sections:

October 12 Update: Generous work block during a dreary fall afternoon! Roof in place on office and factory, so it's time to add the concrete addition. To keep this wing in scale with the factory wing, I've shortened it by one bay, and will use grey styrene, to be reversed and painted white, for the walls. 

Measurements made on the back of the grey styrene walls, Dremel in use and chopped windows and doors from the scrap box are ready to add:

The walls are up and painted. I may still 'plywood over' some of those windows. On the prototype structure, some of the original windows were still in place under the plywood! Depending on the date this factory will be 'set' in, I've decided to keep it in semi-serviceable condition. No-one viewing it would remember the factory in its oil-dealership use, so I'm placing the exterior appearance date somewhere close to my 2001 photographs.

Coming full circle. Returning the structure to where it all began. Roofing, detailing and scenicking still need to occur, but it seems to fit! Though the prototype structure was set on a grade sloping down along Cataraqui Street, and the concrete addition 'bent' slightly backwards to parallel Rideau Street, I've built this (mostly) level and square. Perhaps I can set it 'into' a grade when finally scenicked.

A 'drone view' of where the structure will sit. It will be used on both my home layout and the Associated Railroaders of Kingston modular Hanley Spur layout. I'll be adding lots of cross-bracing and details that will not get knocked off in transit!

With the ARK module group meeting four days away, I hope to have this structure ready to take along to provide some inspiration!

October 15 Update: The concrete addition is attached and styrene roofing completed between all parts of the structure, and pilasters added to concrete addition.

 Limestone-paper foundation added as well as some weathering done:

October 17 Update: Shingles! Realizing the factory, as most structures on a layout, are viewed from above, I would need to add some shingle detail! A piece of cardstock, cut into strips a few millimetres wide, were then cut to individual shingle size with manicure scissors, and glued in parallel from the eaves up. Some shingles were bent up with an X-Acto knife. The roofing between the two wings seems to always have been a problem on the prototype, patched and re-patched!

Tonight's ARK module group meeting went well. Excellent discussion led by Andrew Jeanes focusing on the Rideau/Cataraqui Streets area. So much modelling interest in such a small, two-module space! It was great to have this impetus to finish my structure, and it looks like it will fit in well on my home layout as well as the module/portable layout!

October 23 Update: Now that construction is done, it's time to scenick. Since the factory is on a grade, with Cataraqui Street running downhill along its length, the scenicking should run downhill. But now wanting to change the whole grade on my layout, I decided to built the structure up a bit. So it was off to Dollarama, to pick up a package of plasticene. Setting the structure on the plasticene, I built it up till it looked good:

Then added scenic material up to the bottom of the structure.

Street level view...so far! Now to decide whether to make it vacant (unlikely), roofing contractor (somewhat likely), oil dealership (quite likely) or broom factory (also unlikely) in reverse chronological order. The fun continues. Next door, the National Grocers building awaits...