I noticed your beggar’s reefer is missing a hatch, will your blocks pass through? Some Ice houses served crushed ice … and little umbrellas(https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)
I have no idea john if the ice will actually fit. I had a ready built mold in that my wife loves those wax melter heater things that stink up your house. So I used an empty one of those to make the ice blocks.
Pepper’s serve ice blended with tequila and margarita mix in salted glasses
Devon Sinsley said:
Pepper’s serve ice blended with tequila and margarita mix in salted glasses
I’ll take a reefer full (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-laughing.gif)
Devon,
I am trying to catch up on others build, your ice house has been a very interesting and unique build. I love to see a railroad having a purpose for the train passing by.
Most people have no idea of how much ice was used in the RR cars. Mostly used in hauling beef. I like your metal siding, is this a product you have made, and
what is it made from?
Great job
Dennis
Dennis,
That’s the good old standby aluminum pop can run through the Fiskers crimper. After it is glued on I shot the whole thing with chrome aluminum color paint (Rustoleum I believe) then dusted with flat black and then oil paints (raw umber and burnt umber) dabbed on and then some heavier stuff was applied and drug down to give it more of a streaked look.
Why an ice house? A couple of you have mentioned the uniqueness of the idea. My RR is small, very small; but I still want to do operations. So every thing has to have a purpose. As Dennis mentioned we have these cars on our pike but they need some place to go and serve a purpose. So if I am going to run reefers then the reefers need to go somewhere, then go somewhere else. So for my reefers I will have this ice house and there will also be a slaughter house (thats actually going where the ice house is now). And if space allows there will be a cold storage facility as well. That way my reefers have places to go and people to see. When it comes to operations I will have to go get ice and then run to the slaughter house and pick up meat, then run to cold storage in town.
The ice house had been on my list since the inception of this RR, way back in the very first iterations of track design. I once had to google ice in RR use. I didn’t quite understand reefer cars. That led to learning that they dropped the ice down roof hatches so they didn’t have to open the big doors and let all the cold out. Cold air sinks so by dropping it through the roof they don’t lose any cold air. If you have not seen how reefers work they have slats on the ends to section off an area for the ice. All the stuff needing to be kept cold is loaded between these ends (packed in such a way that it was secure but allowed air movement around it). Then ice is dropped down the roof hatches and is layered in straw for insulation.
One of the features you will see sitting next to the ice house when that whole area gets developed is a hay shed for holding bailed straw.
Devon… No Straw in the reefers them self… They are insulated on all sides of the cars… Ice was loaded in a couple of layers, and then several scoops of rock salt, another couple of layers of ice, more salt and such until full. This “salting” was he death of the roofs, and the flashings around the ice hatches. Salt and water on sheet metal… not a good combination. To facilitate the re-sheeting of the rusted out ice bunkers, all the cribbing for the bunker was bolted together so as to allow easy removal of the wood to allow the metal replacement.
There are 4x4 beams running front to rear, with about 4" spacings between them to hold the ice up off the floor pan, and allow the cold air to circulate.
Reefers have a metal bunker ( top, sides, back wall, and a bottom drip pan) to handle the moisture. There are drains in the corners to let the melt out and down to the track. The trucks ALL have inside brake shoes, so the dripping water wouldn’t freeze up the brake shoes.
ALSO: During the winter, transcontinental shipments of fruit and vegetables that could not stand to be frozen, were shipped in reefers, and inside the ice bunkers were placed oil fired “Heaters” to prevent freezing that would be issues in regular boxcars. When heaters were in use a placard was stapled to the doors warning to open all doors and vent the Carbon Monoxide before entering to unload. On the ends of the “Heated” reefers also a placard was tacked alerting the “ICE MEN” Not to ice, but to refill the heaters. Dynamite and Nitro Glycerin were also shipped in heated reefers likewise to prevent freezing. Go Figure, explosives inside a rail car with an open flame heater burning…
Thanks Dave that added a bunch to my knowledge of the reefer and how it worked. I had never given much thought to melt and what to do with it. And also the fact that a reefer is an insulated car so using it to keep stuff warm as well is brilliant and hadn’t thought of that or read that.
So thanks for the added detail. That’s what I love about this group. I learn as much as I do modeling. It makes the modeling so much better when you also understand the process.
Thanks Dave, very educational, Bill
Devon,
I’m still debating whether I should use cement board for my roofing substructure and @Rick_Marty posted he had a Masonite roof that outlasted his shingles. I’m wondering how your 2020 Mik challenge constructed with the Masonite is holding up after 3 years or whether you have moved on to something else.
this did not hold up well at all. But not because of the Masonite. that seemed to do well. The roofing made with sand paper was a bust. And a lot of the delicate wood bits didn’t fair well. Is in the hobby room seeking repairs. But the masonite did seem to hold up well.
I don’t know your climate but I would highly NOT recommend it. Speaking from experience.
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Cement board really absorbs water. But they do make a tile backer, I have some, that is not the generic firberglass mesh reinforced concrete. It is more similiar to masonite in its looks. I think its called hardy backer . . .maybe? I have wondered about that since it is made for things like shower tile. I have enough maybe I will think about giving it a shot for the roof substructure. I still think it would need to be sealed though.
As for the base of structures so far the PVC lumber works awesome. I used scrap 4" stuff and glued it with PVC cement like you would regular wood and glue. Bar clamped the boards to dry and ended up with a nice water proof base.
For this years MIK I am trying out a poured concrete base instead of the PVC because I want to do some exposed aggregate.
I can’t find PVC board here yet. Was your Masonite tempered or regular, and how thick?
I wasn’t particularly looking forward to cement weatherboard and am glad Rooster has put me off that.
Simple joys abound when things make it over here… Tightbond III, incra rulers, and saw-stops can now be found. We just don’t have the economy of scale as the northern hemisphere. (Australia is about the same size as the contiguous USA, but a population closer to that of Florida).
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can you lay your hands on marinegrade ply?
that would serve for years, if you seal the cuts with varnish.
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That is very much a possibility.
This building has a marine grade ply sub roof.
The lumber here is generally fast growth farmed, quite soft, with wide spaced grain.
I was hoping that Masonite or something else might be a better option.
Maybe:
but at least it is in country
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That’s interesting David. I didn’t realise we were talking about foam. What minimum thickness would you recommend?
Better to ask those who use it to build with and I’m sure others will chime in. I may even depend on what scale you model in.