Locate Your Industry in Kingston!

The above sign was installed at Kingston's Outer Station circa 1958. It was parallel to Montreal Street and readily visible from passing trains on CN's Kingston Sub. The implication was clear - Locate Your Industry Here! Similar signs were in Brockville and Belleville, either sponsored by local business interests or CN itself. This was era before the internet, so seeing was believing in the world of business!

Using the above image, I created an HO scale version using Paint software, built a billboard with simulated lighting and located it across from my Outer Station. The main challenge being that if I had located it facing the track, the lettering would not be visible. So, my version is visible from the layout aisle, as well as still being visible to HO scale passengers.

Modelling the Bajus Brewery

This has been a long gestation period! It was back in March, 2019 that I published a post on Kingston's Bajus Brewery The inspiration was willing, but the kitbashing was weak! I just completed the kitbash - over the course of one day! Courtney Matheson Mahoney kindly gave me an interesting archeological profile of the site (top photo - 1 p.m.! At September's Napanee train show, I picked up a Pola/Tyco brewery structure from Peter Macdonald - Peter even caught up with me in the arena when he found an additional component of the structure! The previous owner had done some weathering and I wondered if this kit might work its way into the Bajus. It did! 

The other component of this build would be another train show find- Walthers' O.L.King and Sons coal yard office - I'd previously used it as Vulcan Iron on my Winnipeg layout, Dominion Bridge on my Vancouver layout, then part of the sizeable Howe Scale works in Rutland, Vt. So it didn't owe me a darn thing! The components, including a wall previously part of my Ogilvie Flour Mill, again Winnipeg, are test fitted (above - 3 p.m.), representing the three separately-built parts of the prototype, added over the span of 25 years in the 19th century (below - 8:30 p.m.). I've added windows, and the unique kegs in the east wall - still visible today!

Rear view. I'd keep the extra storey (four on the prototype) of the tallest part. This would be the side most prominent when 'entering' my Hanley Spur layout:

 At 10 p.m., I'd applied some 'limestone' grey paint:

Then, a major decision faced me - to take the easy way out and try to make the various finishes on different walls look like limestone with just the grey paint, or use printed limestone paper as I'd used on my Imperial Oil warehouse and Outer Station builds. The latter! To the printer, Robin!

I found a useful stock photo of a stone wall and by removing the colour, then copying and pasting resized images, I was able to end up with a whole sheet of 'limestone'. I would end up requiring nearly three sheets. The components are ready for paper (above - 12 noon the next day). The first paper goes on:

 One wall done. Note the contrast with the un-papered wall. I'm glad I revisited this technique:

 The mostly-papered back wall at 1:30:

 Two hours later, all papered, including the prototypically-brick north wall:

 The completed front wall - I need to touch up the grey-painted remnants. Nearly suppertime!

That looks better - two windows remain to be added to the tallest component, as do smokestacks and quoins onto the brick walls. It's 5:30 and time for leftover turkey with all the trimmings:

Smokestacks are in place and the brewery is in place on Wellington Street. Some final scenicking and detailing to follow....

Bajus Brewery feels the ground rumble as the CN switcher rounds the bend to the Wellington Street freight shed:

Merry Boxing Day!

Well, it was Boxing Day in 1982 when Don McQueen snapped, and kindly shared these photos that he took at Quattrocchi's Produce at Montreal and Railway Streets. Notice CN iceless refrigerator class RP CN 231034's rusty wheels. I guess this 1963 Pacific Car & Foundry-built yellow, weathered warrior was spotted a while before Don took this photo, and has waited to be lifted by a CN roadswitcher. Originally NIRX 16502-16579, the cars were leased by CN then bought, with the reporting marks lettering replaced by CN's 'wet-noodle' logo, and unusually, both sides read 'CANADIAN', without a 'CANADIEN' in sight.