Modeling the EBT Shops: Conclusion

In 1874 the East Broad Top Railroad began grading and construction south of Mount Union through the Aughwick Valley.  By the end of that year, tracks had been laid as far as Rockhill Furnace, ten miles from Mount Union.  Rockhill Furnace was so named for the large iron works located on the east side of the tracks.  To the west, between the tracks and Jordan Creek, the railroad built a turntable and roundhouse, along with a number of wooden structures to service and support the railroad.  A coal fired power plant provided steam to operate an overhead system of belts and pulleys for the engine shop and machine shop.  An enormous car shop was constructed to build and maintain the EBT's rolling stock.  The railroad made almost everything it needed.  There was a large forge for casting wheels and a myriad of iron parts, small and large.  The blacksmith shop adjacent to the forge contained a huge steam hammer and overhead crane.  Other buildings were erected for storing lumber, pipe and rod.   A sand house and tower were built to service the locomotives.  I have already described the scale and scale house that once sat close to the car shop.  Most of these structures, dating back to the late 19th century, still stand today, unchanged more than 60 years after the EBT ceased operations.

In the first installment of this series on modeling the EBT shops, I posted an aerial view of the shops looking north toward Mount Union.   My goal has been to construct a model of the shops as close as possible in appearance to the prototype.  Below is a photo of my model of the shops alongside the aerial photograph of the prototype.  Note that while the shop buildings are in their proper position relative to each other, the yard has not yet been scenicked or the track ballasted.

The photo of my model of the EBT shops is taken from roughly the same angle as the prototype photo, but some of the structures modeled have been significantly compressed because of space limitations, The car shop, for example, is more than half a football field in length.  Here is a view of it during tourist operations.

When I modeled the car shop, I realized that it would have to be compressed if I wanted to include any of the other shop buildings in the scene.  The model was shortened by two thirds.  Here is another view of the car shop.

And here is a side view of the model.  While it is clearly foreshortened, the basic proportions of the car shop have been preserved.  The exterior was painted oxide red, and then dry brushed with a light gray color to suggest the weather beaten appearance of the prototype.

Originally, the car shop covered only two tracks, but it was extended to the east to incorporate an additional siding, resulting in the off-set appearance of the roof.   I constructed the model with open doors at both ends of the easternmost track, allowing me to run cars through the building for repairs and servicing.  The other doors are partially or completely shut.  There are no windows on the other side of the car shop, since they are not visible from the aisle.

The locomotive and machine shop abuts the car shop on the west.  The heart of the shop complex, the locomotive shop was able to drop the 48 inch drivers from a steam locomotive and move them to a large wheel lathe.  The shop had a variety of presses, drills, brakes, punches and other heavy equipment for repairing and servicing virtually anything on the railroad.  A central building paralleled the car shop, with two large bays protruding to the west.  The bays were lined with tall 9/9 windows, In the following photo the south bay on the left joins the central shop structure.  The power plant smoke stacks appear in the background.  The building in the foreground houses the shop latrines.

Since the locomotive and machine shop is quite large, I decided to use the greatly compressed White Ground kit rather than trying to scratch build an exact copy of the structure. The kit has only a single bay, greatly foreshortened.  However, since the locomotive shop faces west, most of the interesting window detail cannot be seen from the aisle of my layout anyway.  Here is the side facing away from visitors.  The large locomotive doors face to the north.

Since the side of the locomotive and machine shop facing the aisle is completely hidden by the roof of the car shop, what visitors see of the model is essentially just the roof.  I spent a good deal of time on the corrugated iron roof, weathering it heavily with chalks and powders to give it a grimy, rusty appearance.  I did not bother to install windows on the side adjacent to the car shop, since no one can see them anyway,

Just to the north of the locomotive and machine shop is the blacksmith shop.  As mentioned, the blacksmith shop contained a large steam hammer and overhead crane, as well as several blacksmith forges and hoods for smaller work. This structure had been neglected for many years after the railroad closed, to the point where several of the large post and beam supports were rotting or had disintegrated.  The building listed to the side and was in danger of collapse.  The FEBT undertook a major restoration of the shop a few years ago, jacked up the sagging sides, replaced the support posts and poured new footers.  The building had sagged so much that it was necessary to replace much of the lower board and batten siding.  Here is what the building looked like after restoration.  You can see the replacement siding along the bottom of the walls.

In recent years work has continued on the structure, windows are being replaced and the entire building has received a coat of paint.  The result is a significant improvement.

Here is a photo of the blacksmith shop model I built from plans in the Historic American Building Survey and Historic American Engineering Record (HABS/HAER).  I used the same techniques as with my model of the electrical and air brake shops.  The model was relatively simple to construct. The north and south ends and the east and west sides are identical, with a central door and identical arrangement of windows.

Situated to the west of the locomotive shop is another, less imposing but still interesting structure: the sand house and tower.  Like many other shop buildings, the sand tower had fallen into disrepair and was listing to one side.  The FEBT launched another restoration project, stabilized the buildings, and provided for their structural integrity,

The sand tower was built from another White Ground kit, following the directions in a straightforward manner.  However, when it came to the adjacent sand house, I decided to have some fun and portray it in a weathered and dilapidated condition.  After assembling the walls using the same methods as previously described, I then brushed the board and batten siding with a mixture of 93% isopropyl alcohol and India ink, applying more of the solution to the bottom of the boards, where they would have had more water damage.  I then applied Floquil oxide red paint by pouring a small amount in a flat dish, dabbing it with a cloth, and wiping the paint with gentle downward strokes, applying the paint heavier at the top and fading away to the stained boards at the bottom.  Finally, I brushed a thin layer of Minwax gray stain over the siding.  The edges of the corrugated roof panels were dabbed with Floquil rust to suggest a deterioration of the metal edges.  Here is my version of the sand house and tower.

Much work remains to be done on my shop scene.  Track has been laid and wired, but still needs to be ballasted.  Ground cover, weeds and grass will follow.  The roundhouse is a work in progress.  I still have to finish aligning the tracks and gluing them down, installing lights, and constructing the roof.  But the end is in sight!  I will continue to update work on the Rockhill Shops as it progresses. Thanks for your continued interest and support.