Some INCREDIBLE work here, guys! Randy, you need to add the live feed cameras (Youtube) that are on the Flagstaff station now. Here's my Ralston Purina plant from the last layout.
You mentioned the research and that's more than true. The original 1973 shots I got from a model railroader living in Flagstaff photobombed the entire downtown at that time so I could figure out the depot model, included the Commercial Hotel in the background with the big sign on it. That building burned to the ground in 1975 and is still a somewhat open hole in the street view today. But my research on the building that I finally got to build years later led to stories I found in the newspapers about the ladder truck mysteriously sent out of town before the fire, a body that later turned up in the debris that hadn't been reported, a real investigation of the fire cause and local investigation and all kinds of sordid accusations that were right out of a murder mystery. I even sent all the newspaper stories to a friend that was a writer to see if she wanted to base a novel on it. In the year I'm modeling, the piggyback circus ramp (that is still there) was in use across from the depot with a Mack Model B tractor doing the honors, the Lumberyard was still a lumberyard, and Southwest Lumber Mills was still a big rail served operation. Scratchbuilding stuff isn't just fun, it's also a good reason to stretch your research legs. And I've made plans to donate all the buildings and scene on my passing, as it's already a rather historical time capsule model of the town. It's amazing to see the change from a western lumber town to a gentrified college town today though as I've been back many times. I regularly check the webcam, but sometimes I just sigh. When they had that last big derailment at Angell a few weeks back, the SWC got annulled and turned at Flagstaff. They had to bring in a BNSF unit to lead the two Amtrak P42's back west, because the wye at Flagstaff is now out of service and the P42's were pointed east. Heck, it was still there the last time I was in town...check on Streetview, sure enough, the track is now bumpered just short of the crossing even though the rail isn't lifted. And the oil distributor closed, too, after many years. What I am modeling has rapidly changed.
I believe it is; I don't know why, but Street View shows it very clearly. I try to get it as close as I can...
That purina plant on the east side (which predated my era) is a big shipper. I distinctly remember several years ago looking at it from Google Earth, and it actually had a transfer table on the site to move cars around. I don't see it any more. It may even be INSIDE the building now, considering the snowfall that can make life interesting out there.
I remember 5 years ago there was a dust explosion in the grain elevator at the Purina plant in Flag. It blew one of the panals out of the checkerboard panels at he the top ( a design safety feature). We happened to be going to Flag the next day and saw it all from the freeway. https://arizonadailyindependent.com...t-nestle-purina-plant-in-flagstaff-injures-3/
Yeah, I've been a fan of that Purina plant forever! I remember seeing the blow out panels opened when I was up there. The truck and trailer works are enormous there, and so I have no real interest in modeling it other than some strategic hints of it. Randy, it appears one track still leads inside of the western wall, but not sure if active. My current Purina plant is under construction now. It will have two separate switching leads, and will probably handle a dozen or so cars when full, plus a long lead for more. I need to get cracking.
CORP Auto. I used the satellite image to get the dimensions and then built it off of scaled pictures I took.
Ag advertisement painted on shed corrugated panels, replaced after some mishap in the wrong order. Glen flora, TX on the AT&SF Matagorda District, (formerly Cane Belt RR), ca. 1981. Description of Purina plant in another post as a pet food factory reminds me of an industry in Houston listed in a 1973 Southern Pacific tariff of online customers... E. K. Wine, listed as a dog food manufacturer. I assume if letters run together, it would be pronounced "equine" which hints at the protein source of the dog food. Would anyone dare name a structure on a layout with this name. But it apparently was a real company.
When my wife and I traveled through Flagstaff some 25 years ago, the Purina plant caught our attention too and we asked about it during a stop for lunch near the depot. The waiter smiled and said, "Oh, you mean Fort Purina?" It struck us as so funny.
Finished assembling a N-Scale Architect "Greendel Tower" kit. It's very similar to the prototype tower in the East Binghamton yard that is the subject of this area of my layout. Unfortunately there is not enough space to include the shop building on my layout.
I started work on the Bergen National Laser craft kit of the DLW Binghamton station that will replace my rather crude scratchbuilt replica of the prototype shown in these photos. The Bergen National kit is a laser cut wood kit that I estimate will take 100 hours to complete.
Two months later, the engine house remains unsold at the same crazy price. Typical listing that accomplishes nothing but cluttering up the eBay site. https://www.ebay.com/itm/N-Gauge-Si...ty-Craft-Models-NOS-railroad-kit/254354194538
Super nice DL&W tower and depot work mrhedley! I enjoyed railfanning Binghamton 40 years ago. I'm not sure what sort of activity remains today.
