Modelling the Ontario Street Switchman's Shanty

Probably the most important shack (of likely many shacks) in Kingston. The switchman's shanty guarded to northern entrance to the CN-CP mutual track across Ontario Street. Now that I'm modelling the CN-CP trackage across from City Hall, it's led to the yard [re]design, building of the K&P station, the Kingston Milling Co. and the Ontario Street fire hall, and this particular shack.

Imagine the job description for the switchman that inhabited this modest wooden structure. You will be responsible for clearing every train movement across the most prominent access point to Kingston from the east. Hours of boredom punctuated by moments of the panic of an approaching, but very low-speed train almost at the end of its run. Or the beginning. You will indicate signals to permit the train to cross the street and promote deconfliction with any other trains vying to occupy the same track, from either railway. You will also be a valuable witness for the cases of many motorists who insist racing the train sometimes not ending well! Shelter, stove and bench provided. 

The above photo, provided by Charles Cooper is the absolute BEST one I've found of this humble structure, not to mention the structures and scene in the background. I rummaged through my stacks of shacks and found one that had formerly been a boathouse on the Inner Harbour before I ran out of room for boathouses!

Until this photo surfaced the new BEST one I've seen. Fellow ARK member Andrew Jeanes posted this photo, "recently shared by Exporail (the Canadian Railway Museum at St-Constant, QC), showing the flagman's cabin at the junction between the Canadian National (former Grand Trunk) and Canadian Pacific (former Kingston and Pembroke) on Ontario Street at Barrack Street in downtown Kingston. The photographer is looking roughly north toward the Soward's Coal Co. in the background. Based on the cars visible in the photo, I think it must be from the late 1940s or early 1950s. The photographer is unidentified. Note the ivy growing up the sides of the building and the flower pot in front of the door." The 179 millboard is a bit misleading. It's actually 1.79 of the CN [then] Kingston Subdivision to the waterfront, the start of the Mi 1.79-1.94 joint track with CP's Kingston Subdivision.

The shack had a brick finish, which I decided to cover over with horizontal siding. That meant sanding off some brick details, finding a roof with the right pitch, and reproducing the prototype doors and windows. The boathouse roof was grey siding, but needed to be shingles. I worked around the end door, added another one to a side wall, downsized one window and added another adjacent to the door. I rummaged around for a chimney, finding a nice metal casting from a train-show find $10 junk box.

I began the re-skinning, adding styrene strips for the corners. 

In the process, I decided the roof pitch was now good, but the shack was too long. I removed about three scale feet from each side and reassembled, cutting a hole in the roof for the chimney, then adding the signal superstructure and singular train-order signal blade. The whole structure was painted maroon, with the shingled roof black.

I added a bench for the switchman in nice weather, coal box apparently smaller than the prototype. On the layout, just awaiting some final scenicking. The mutual track is off to the left, with CN's continuous-run track over my 'Montreal Street subway'.