Nooksack Valley Fruit and Produce Co.

 

Exploring ideas for produce warehouse

In my last post I discussed the idea of using a grain elevator for the 4th spur track or industry in the town of Nooksack. While I still think that a wooden grain elevator is a prototype proven to be appropriate, I don't like how it would fit in this location. As my model railroad grows, I plan to use the elevator kit and small feed supply building somewhere, just not here. In an earlier post about long range plans, I see several opportunities for planning for a grain elevator. As I am now skeptical about having a logging supply company here in Nooksack, what will the industry be?

Well, doing some research and staying in the agricultural theme, a produce warehouse or more accurately a local packing house might be an appropriate choice. My prototype for the town of Nooksack is its nearby sister town of Everson, and as seen in several recent posts I am also using Ferndale for some prototype reference. Everson did have a cannery as a major industry. It and Ferndale also had Carnation condensery plants. As I am planning on modeling the one outside Ferndale, I am omitting the idea of a second one here in Nooksack. One of the founders of the town of Everson planted fruit tree orchards after the immediate area was logged in the late 19th century. In addition to apples, other fruits were marketed such as prunes, pears, and cherries. Berries and potatoes were other agricultural products shipped from the area. By the 1950s, Eastern Washington was the major apple supplier, but agricultural goods would still be distributed from Whatcom county. 

A few research resources to remember moving forward:

• History Link Everson Thumbnail -- Everson History
• Yakima Valley Libraries Fruit Crate Collection -- Fruit and Apple Industry
• FoundSF Produce Market -- Detail Photographs
• Industries Along the Tracks by Jeff Wilson
• Fruit Shipping History

In terms of building a packing house complex, I have some ideas. First of all I have parts left from a previous kitbashing project on the Ingleton shelf layout. I have a front wall and other pieces that I could use to kitbash a brick structure. Many of the brick or masonry structures used as cold storage or produce warehouse buildings are painted white, so I could consider exploring reproducing that look.  I think that I might use the green roofed Walthers warehouse here instead of with the cannery. At least for now I can use it as a stand in. I would also consider scratchbuilding a simple structure here. Working out the tansition into the backdrop will be a challenge, but a challenge that I enjoy. 

Another consideration with adding an idea for an industry is adding or having appropriate rolling stock to partner with that industry. Although I didn't really need it, I recently ordered a Western Fruit Express Steel Reefer from the Great Northern Railway Historical Society. I also had on the shelf a three pack of wooden WFEX reefers. While none of these are in my original rolling stock roster, these would be worthy additions, matching the needs of a packing plant. 

Granted that neither building a packing house complex or a group of car kits is high on my priority list right now, I do feel comfortable with this plan for the final unknown industry in the town of Nooksack. For now, the plan is to finalize some of the projects that I have underway, and after the holidays get focused on making some progress!

Updates: Passenger Service, Initial Operations, and Nooksack Industries

After Dick Bradley commented last month, I went down the rabbit hole of learning about steam generators and clues to tell if a locomotive is appropriate for passenger service. The F7 that I have been using has no visible signs of having a steam generator, and F7 A units rarely had them. In GN passenger service A units were seldom used without being paired with a B unit, where the steam generator would be located. On the other hand, my GP7, seen above, does appear to have a steam generator in its short hood. The clues are the air intake dome and exhaust vent located among the short hood details. Looking at the prototype references mentioned in an earlier post and rooftop detail descriptions in this thread, my GP7 is much more applicable for use in passenger service than the F7 that I have been using. 

Since my last post, I have not made much progress on the combine, but I have gathered the parts I plan to use. Today I weighed the parts, the weights that came with the kit, the metal replacement wheels and the battery for the marker lights. Unfortunately I will need to add some additional weights to bring it up to NMRA recommended weight. As I configure how to wire the power switch into the underbody of the car, I will also have to figure where to add weight. I am reasonably happy with the weathering of the trucks, so I may as well start working my way upwards from there with construction of the car seen in my last post.

Whether they end up as passenger or freight power, both the F7 and GP7 need to be "broken in," so I have been using them in my first trial ops sessions. I mentioned before that I have struggled figuring out what my initial operations approach might be with Nooksack and East Branch as essentially a one-town approach. I am trying to work out a sequence system following the Fun for One approach of Byron Henderson. The first few sequence steps are working well for me, but when I transition to classification or small yard work I hit what my friend Mike Hauk calls "infrastructure" issues. As seen in the photo, the switch list ends up on the railroad. I need some sort of surface for writing the switch list. I don't know yet wether clipboard, shelf, or roll out desk is the answer. The agent desk approach that I discussed here and here may well work as the 4th Subdivision grows, but for this first phase it just seems to add an extra layer. To make up the switch list, I propped the car cards up against the cars and filled out the switch list before gathering and removing them. Now that the switch list is complete, I am set up to do some classifying and return to the sequence. After I work out some kinks, I will post with more detail on the sequence system.

Delving into the Ferndale Memories website for prototype passenger service ideas, I also reevaluated the industries that I am planning for Nooksack. The cannery, the team track, and the fuel dealer will all stay, but I am seriously considering replacing the planned Slease Supply with an elevator and a small feed supply building that I had started for my Meadville layout. In the arial shot and some photos of Ferndale on that website, a grain elevator and feed supply are located on a spur much like the spur here at Nooksack. As I work my way from rolling stock back to structure building, I am thinking that the grain company may better capture the atmosphere or feel of 1950s in Whatcom County.