The Green River Hot Springs Module Set: As many of you know, my 4 module Lester module set is completed, and I am now planning the adjacent modules. With that, I have two 300mm x 346mm end modules, so I decided to build the Green River Hot Springs. First as always, a little back story. If you were to Google Earth the location today, it is just forest and a river that flows towards the Tacoma Headworks Diversion Dam, as everything has been ghost-towned for the sake of the Tacoma Watershed. Located about 63 miles from Seattle, Between Nagrom and Lester WA, once stood a hotel and sanitarium known as The Green River Hot Springs. There was a small railroad station, built in 1886, originally named Kendon by the Northern Pacific, and later renamed Hot Springs. The hotel was served by 2 passenger trains daily in each direction. It was a 2.5 hour ride each way on Northern Pacific Railway from Seattle. Round trip weekend fare was $2.50 and M-F fare was $2.00. In 1888, a bathhouse and hotel was constructed to make the 132ºF hot springs available to the public. Seeing the potential to offer a Pacific Northwest option to the well known Dr. J. H. Kellogg's Battle Creek MI sanitarium, Dr. J. S. Kloeber purchased the land and built the Green River Hot Springs Hotel and Sanitarium, also known as “The Kloeber,” in 1900. Said to have rejuvenating healing powers, and situated a short walk behind the main building, were 17 hot springs. Remedy seekers would flock to the hotel for the treatment of “both acute and chronic cases of rheumatism, stomach disorders, nervous troubles, sleeplessness, skin eruptions, and all diseases of the blood,” claims a 1905 newspaper ad. These medicinal waters are noted for their health restoring properties, curing more than 95 percent of all cases of rheumatism, neuralgia, nervous diseases and their allied disorders. The ad further described the hotel as “the most modern and complete in its appointments of any in the Northwest.” Luxurious bath rooms, with modern equipment were available, staffed with skilled "Swedish Massage" attendants. Trained nurses were also on staff. A full string orchestra played at meal hours, with evening concerts and Saturday concerts during the winter season. There were also bowling alleys, a shooting gallery, a tennis court, hiking, fishing, croquet grounds, billiards, and card rooms for the amusement of guests. The hotel and sanitarium were modern indeed, even by today’s standards. As depicted in the Northern Pacific publication Pacific Coast Resorts, “The hotel is steam heated, electric-lit, and open year round.” There were 100 guest rooms, baths, hot rooms, steam rooms, and vapor and rubbing rooms with attendants. Rooms were $1 to $3 per day or $5 to $20 weekly. The “expensive” rate included a connecting bathroom, and meal service was at moderate prices. It was a great place for young physicians and nurses to gain experience, and the resident physicians could use of waters and baths without charge, while nurses could on special occasion use them. Dr. Kloeber ran the establishment for a decade, finally selling his interests in August 1910. Having married Miss Anna Rubish in 1908, Kloeber moved to Yakima County, beginning, successful career as an apple and peach farmer. Shortly after the sale, the hotel and sanitarium burned to the ground. Sadly, the train station also burned in 1923, thus bringing to a close the short history of the hotel, and springs. These are the only photos I could find, and the backstory is all the history I could obtain, so it's going to take a bit of modelers license to complete. But I do feel it is a perfect location to model on such small end modules, and I feel up to the challenge. Remember that this place has not existed for 114 years at this time. So, here is the goal:
So, let me show you a Google Earth shot of the location. These two outside corner modules will mate to the left of the Lester modules, and will represent Hot Springs as it existed in 1910, with modelers license for the location being on curved track modules, where the prototype was actually in the same valley to the left of Lester: I had previously constructed the modules, so track is down, but I needed to airbrush the Rokuhan track with Floquil Roof Brown prior to applying Great Stuff expanded polystyrene foam to build terrain, so I did that, then masked the track with blue tape and applied foam. I knew I wanted to be close to the green river, so I had previously made the right module with a riverbed on the corner, with terrain climbing to hills on the left module. Today I carved the expanded foam with a steak knife to get the terrain I was looking for: I will re-mask the blue tape then apply plaster cloth after i carve up the other module, but this is the left module where I plan to place the hotel: On this module I will place the small depot next to the tracks, and will attempt to model some of the Green River, so i can claim a place that the fishing as billed on the Hotel advertisement would take place: I just continued with this module, applying plaster cloth sprayed with dyed water, then while still wet, I peeled up the masking tape for ballast application: I applied Arizona Rock & Mineral's Copper Range Green ballast, misted with wet water, then applied a generous portion of dilute Matte Mod Podge to fix the ballast. I feel that is an important improvement over the stock Rokuhan roadbed track. Well that's all for this weekend, but the next steps is to do the plaster cloth and ballast on the other module, then work on painting a backdrop.
Looking very promising, Robert. Love how you do your research. Maybe a silly question, but why do most of the trees in the photo's seem to be in a bad condition? forest fires in the previous years? will you model the trees like that..? Matt
Back when I worked for USACE in Seattle I had occasion to visit what's left of Lester more then once for projects we were doing in the watershed for Salmon habitat restoration. Very cool to see this come together.
Actually, 2 fold. First, yes there were several forest fires that raced through the area, and second there was a lot of tree harvesting done in the area for wood, without any regard to sustainable practice. So when they harvest so many of the largest trees to build homes, and structures (remember there were 1000 people living in the area, as well as many lumber companies), they tend to leave the scrawny trees that struggled to get enough sunlight through the canopy Here is a Google Earth photo of the place today, as nature has recovered it: Here is a short video of hikers walking through what is left of Lester, a town of over 1000 people 100 years ago, as it is today. At the 2.0 minute mark you can see the Tacoma Watershed Keep Out sign, but notice how nature has recovered everything. The land where the NP structures were is still owned by BNSF, so they keep a few small structures there, but everything big has been removed, and nothing is growing on the site of the Depot, Turntable, and Roundhouse except grasses. Think about how much oils, fuels, and contaminates the railroad dumped into the ground over their 80 years of locomotive servicing and it's not hard to see why the trees have not recovered those few acres yet. At the 4.0 minute mark, they have ascended the old Stampede Switchback to the top of the mountains, and you can see the scrawny tree effects of a more recent forest fire:
Totally agree the ballast on roadbed track makes a huge difference! What you’ve done well is take that crazy slope off the edges. So how did you handle the connection track with Lester? Did you ballast the connectors?
It's the same as the ends of these tracks, with a small piece of Rokuhan roadbed but with Atlas rails, ballasted to the end.
Excellent historical references Rob. You are correct in pulling "artistic license" on the KLOEBER. Very little info on that "behometh" of a structure. It may simplify or complicate matters, but I am sure you of all people are up for the challenge.
Today I attempted to capture the backdrop of the hotel as seen in the color postcard, and I had to work quick because it's already 95º F in my garage and I want to go inside with the AC on for the day: So I tried to capture the silhouette of the mountains with the structure spread across 2 modules. I want to have the 3 storey leftmost part of the hotel between the highest ridge and it's left and right rake with all the dormers as the left half of the structure on the left module, and the right side 2 storey wing as a separate right module structure, but hide any seams when the modules are placed together. This will put the further mountain range on the left module with closer foreground mountains spanning both modules. So I just penciled in the basic contour and started painting the backdrop: I just kept blending shades of ever darker greens and finally to brown, daubing rows of pine trees from smaller and lighter at the top to darker and larger at the bottom until I had an acceptable backdrop that is not too good to steal focus from the models but sets the location good enough. And with that, the next step is for me to spend a couple weeks designing the structure in the cool AC I installed in my train shed:
You move like a rocket! Awesome!! Looking forward to this build! Thanks for sharing as always! -Tiest Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Rob, I'd say this looks cool, but it's a hot spring, so umm, you're steamin' it, or you're on fire, no. Anyway nice start and great research. Scott
All I got to today was the drawing the station walls and determining it's footprint and the platform size. Drawing is more time consuming because of the platform having to be curved to match the track: The platform walkway will continue onto the left module, this test cut is just for the right module depot placement. This is what i mean about using "Modelers License" as the prototype is on the a straight portion of the mainline, and I need it to be places on these end modules. I guess you can't really call it prototype modeling, maybe that's where the term "Protolance" should be used? Naw... : Reference:
I made a bit more progress today, after spending the past few days harvesting and pitting Cherries from my tree. Have enough for a bunch of pies now. Anyways I started building the train station, which is really just a covered platform for hotel supplies and a waiting room for guests: