DUNDON
The photo above shows about 85% of the Dundon shop area on the layout. The photo of the same area on the right was taken during a fan trip and is the picture the photo above was modeled after. Note that on my layout, due to space considerations, it was necessary to build Dundon as a mirror image of the prototype.
Besides the structuures, details captured from the prototype photo include #14, the crane and tender, the fellow sitting on the pile of rails and a rail bus. In the model it is Motor A, while in the prototype photo it is Motor B.
ERC&L Headquarters
There wasn't room on the layout for a model of the complete Headquarter building (above) so I made do with a greatly compressed version (left). The gabled roof over the doorway on the prototype inspired the configuration of the model.
That's "Bob" Johnson, dispatcher, standing on the porch.
This view is taken looking the opposite direction...toward WIden. BC&G #4 is sitting near the sand tower. Dining Car X-6 and ex-Pennsy coach X16 are visible on the siding in the background. The B&O boxcar is sitting at a freelance loading dock in the yard that was added to increase operational opportunities.
The scratchbuilt ex-Seabord Airline 150-ton crane and its tender flat #108 are in the foreground.
Compare the model of #4 with the prototype photo below. In both cases the engines are facing toward the engine house. They are usually seen facing the other way.
Ice House
Prototype photo of Engine House
The model of the ice house compares favorably with the prototype. For the full story of the prototype ice house, click here.
J.G. Bradley's House
Here is my completed model of J.G. Bradley's house. It was built from the only decent photo (insert) plus recollections graciously provided by Patsy Baughman. It will occupy a spot on a hill overlooking the Dundon Shops on the layout. Perhaps Mr. Bradley himself will be standing on the front porch overlooking his 'empire'.
For a drawing of the structure as modeled click here.
Engine House
Here is my "new" and more accurate model of the Dundon engine house. It features a complete interior with structure, workbench spare parts and lighting and the doors are hinged. The interior structure was modeled from sketches prepared by Phil Bonzon. The unique smoke vent made from 55-gallon drums appear in very late photos of the engine house. (see above)
NOTE: My model is a mirror image of the prototype.
Two prototype photos by Jeff Madden
The MAGIC OF MODEL RAILROADING
"Here are a couple of slides from a trip I took to the BC&G around July of 1962. I got to the Dundon shops early in the morning just as #14 was emerging from the engine house and three or four crewman prepped the engine for the day's run. As always, the engine looked great! Then later that evening the air was muggy and the crickets were really going at it, but I stuck around until they put the engine back in the engine house for the night. There was just enough light from the setting sun and the dim lights of enginehouse that even without a tripod I was able to capture an acceptable image. It was a great day of railfanning, to be sure!"
Here's another view of the Dundon shops model. Compare it with the prototype photo above. The prototype photo was taken somethime before 1958 and therefore includes the "old" sandhouse while the model has the newer sandhouse. Other prototype details captured in the model include the ash pit, the light colored car with a dark roof, the acetylene tanks in the shed at the end of the machine shop and the power pole.
Here are two more images demonstrating the fun of prototype modeling. The photo on the left was used to inspire the image on the right. I don't have a model of a Ford wagon and so made due with a Chevy pickup!
Sand House and Tower
The photo on the left is my model of the sand house and tower that stood in front of the engine house. Compare it with the two prototype photos above and to the right. As with the engine house, my model is a mirror image of the prototype. Note that the model is of the "new" sandhouse that was built after 1958 and included a cover over the sand pile.
Details Around the Yard
One of the fun things about prototype modeling is finding little scenes and reproducing them, scenes that you might not be able to think up yourself. Who would have placed a wooden folding step ladder in a work scene like this? I assume the tank holds compressed air for power tools.
Rail Bus Shed
Here's my model of the small shed used to house Motor "A". The prototype was down the main a ways from the Dundon Shops but my model sits closer to the engine house within the yard limits of the Dundon shops. None the less, it captures the character of the prototype.
ERC&L Company Store and Feed Storage Building
Here are some photos of my model of the Dundon Company Store and the smaller feed storage building attached to it. I have added a Coke machine to the boardwalk where a man and young lady are chatting. A workman is doing some repair on the boardwalk down at the store end, and has replaced two boards already down in front of the feedstore. Both the store and feed building have lighted interiors...seen in the photos to the left. In the store, the man behind the counter is store manager, Mr. Newman Baughman. On the other side of the counter preparing to make a purchase is Opal Triplett, a local school teacher. In the back James Stidon is pulling a box off the shelf for a delivery to someone in Dundon. (Thanks to Patsy Baughman for providing the names of these folks!)
This model is dedicated to Patsy Baughman as thanks for all her help in describing the details of the building!
Prototype Exterior
Prototype Interior
The MAGIC of MODEL RAILROADING
Romance, especially a summer romance, is a wonderful thing. It's the summer of 1958 in Dundon and a local fellow has taken a liking to the young blonde that works at the company store. He has learned that she sweeps out the store and the wooden walk along the front about the same time each evening, just before closing. So that's when he times stopping by to pick up a coke. If the truth be known, she's on to his game and she lingers at her task to give him plenty of time to show up. In the photo above, he's been out cruising in his '27 Ford street rod and has pulled up to the store for the obligatory soft drink. They make small talk as the moon casts a blue glow over the scene.
On another day, the routine is repeated, but this time a cracked distributor cap has stranded the street rod at home and so the young man makes his "Coke run" in his trusy Chevy pick-up. The mode of transportation to the store is not important to him...what is is that he gets there before his summer love-interest has gone for the evening. "Next time I see her", he says to himself, "I'm going to ask her out on a real date". If the truth be known, she'd like that.
Photographer's Note: These three photos were taken using only the light from the interior of the store and a small amount of evening light entering the train room through a glass-block window. The blue cast in the upper photo is the result of improper white balancing in the digital camera. It is one of those 'fortunate mistakes'. In the photo to the right, the headlights of the pickup and the engine smoke were added digitally.
Same scene as above in 'daylight'...
This photo of BC&G #14 returning from the interchange was inspired by the prototype photo of a similar scene with #13. Note the ESSO sign and the interior detail in the store.
A few days later the scene is repeated, this time with the young suitor driving his cousins red truck as he had his all prepped for painting. While the two would-be lovers talked, BC&G #14 came by headed for the internchange. The train was running way late this day due to a tender truck derailment up at the mine..
