One of the first industries I wanted to add to my original HO layout in Pittsburgh, PA was a warehouse for a wholesale grocer. This is a great industry for inbound loads, because everything from fruits and vegetables, to meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products would arrive in refrigerator cars, and canned goods, other packaged foodstuffs, and dry goods could arrive in box cars, all logically to be delivered by rail. The possible waybills are practically innumerable.
My warehouse was scratchbuilt from heavy artist’s cardstock (walls are Bristol board) over a stripwood frame (mostly wood, some balsa). I made the frame heavy to ensure that the cardstock would remain flat. That’s shown below, looking into the interior. The building is 24 inches long and about 5 inches wide. The part nearest my hand is the “front,” that faces the siding, and the back wall, just visible here, is blank because it can’t be seen from any angle, but does provide a view block.
The “business” side of the building has four numbered sliding doors, which can lead to requirements for “sure spots” by switch crews. (For background on that topic, see: https://modelingthesp.blogspot.com/2017/12/operating-with-sure-spots-part-3.html ). Doors are scratchbuilt, as is the inset loading dock; windows are Grandt Line.
In the photo above you can see the business sign at the roof peak. It’s shown more clearly below. This lettering was printed with an “open” typeface, then hand colored.
A view of this from one end (at a high angle, not accessible when standing on the floor of the layout room, shows the roofing and the distance from the backdrop. That’s the Zaca Mesa winery at right (for background, see: https://modelingthesp.blogspot.com/2025/11/my-zaca-mesa-winery.html ).
Normally much of the the Peerless building is partly concealed by foreground structures, but getting up on a step stool allows a view like this, so that you can see the whole siding serving Peerless. The large reefer is from PFE’s first class of mechanicals (described in my RMC article in January 1988 and of course in the PFE book).
In-service views include ones like this, with a switcher spotting an MDT reefer. Note that one of the cars on spot is a box car, as mentioned in the introductory comments, above.
This has been a great industry for the layout, with lots of traffic inbound, involving a wide variety of foods and grocery staples, coming from all over the country. It’s wonderfully flexible and to me, endlessly interesting.
Tony Thompson
Amen to food distributors! As you pointed out, there are scores of possible suppliers. Plus, they may receive a special small shipment via LCL that they need to pick up by company truck.
ReplyDeleteMy RR doesn’t cover many actual miles, but it does allow for interline shipments. Canned good from Wasco to Cojones. Certain produce between the same two towns. That’s even better because a PFE reefer goes to CalPac Plant 3 in Wasco, loads, goes to Cojones, unloads, needs cleaning, then becomes available for another shipment without leaving the RR.
Mine has one spot designated for reefers and two for box cars. Works great, always traffic.
The same question hangs over me, though. Smart & Final Iris receives a box car of Kellogg’s Corn Flakes from Grand Rapids, MI. Cojones is a town of about 40,000 souls. How long will those boxes of cereal last, meaning how long between inbound shipments of Corn Flakes? Four days, 10 days? Likewise other commodities. The ultimate question being how often will the company receive cars, every day?
Good paint about frequency, Bill. Since I rarely operate more often than once a month, I haven't worried too much about exact frequencies, though I do like to vary the inbound loads.
DeleteTony Thompson
Just when the layout seems about done, along comes another good idea. I have a business in Clovis, from Joe Dale Morris’ Friant Branch book, known as J.T. Price Storage Warehouse. A little vague as to purpose. I am enlarging it, and it will be re-opened soon as”J.T. Price Wholesale Grocers”. Thanks Tony for your research and sensible ideas. This will become a busy place in Clovis.
ReplyDelete-Jay Styron, Fallbrook CA