Project - Work in Progress - Interior of Waipahu Engine House

Copyright 2020 Nicholas Kalis

Project

The interior of my Fn3 scratchbuilt Waipahu engine house is a work in progress. Here is an example of a photograph capturing our errors and motivating us to move forward.


Fn3 (1:20.3) peaked roof engine house with no doors and missing boards. Both the model and the prototype have a clerestory roof with no windows. No doors for employees is visible in any prototype photo so none were provided in the model. No electric meter was visible in the published photos so no meter was modeled.


Location

Captions of many published photos I have found, locates this engine house near the Waipahu sugar mill owned by the Oahu Sugar Company on the island of Oahu, Hawaii.

When Built
The prototype was built some time after 1897 when the Oahu Sugar Company was incorporated and before 19xx – the date of (Cochrane Collection). I have been unable to locate any plans for this engine house.

Exterior Walls

I used a MicroLux® miniature table saw to cut my strip bass wood to size. The missing boards on my model follow those missing in photos of the prototype. Boards were glued to a wooden frame. All boards were stained and knot holes were created with a Dremel tool

Light Fixtures
My model has no exterior light fixtures as none have been identified in any of the photos of this structure. It is thought that the lighting for outdoor work was provided by light fixtures affixed to adjacent utility poles.

Window Openings
Multiple window openings were modeled just as in the prototype. Window openings follow the prototype and are intentionally not glazed just as in the prototype.

Roof

The clerestory roof was constructed of plywood sold for hobbyists which I cut to size and then covered with Northeastern Scale Lumber Co. GCORRMRFB Corrugated metal. The corrugated metal was painted.

Identification of the Scratchbuilt Features
I scratch built this Fn3 (1:20.3) peaked roof engine house following photos I found in various books. Inside the engine house are miniature shop benches and items bought from Larry G Scale. I then assembled my boards using a Manufacturer Unknown WT-260 hot glue gun and Surebonder Glue Sticks.

To an interior wall near the opening, I glued a calendar made of paper that I downloaded from the internet. The calendar is from 1944.

List of All Commercial Components Appearing on Model

1.      Preiser pigeon 47084 1:25 scale
2.      Northeastern Scale Lumber Co. GCORRMRFB Corrugated metal roof G scale
3.      Larry G Scale  casting of work bench
4.      Larry G Scale BE1016048 Shop Fan Miniature Diecast Upright 1/24 Scale
5.      Larry G Scale LG2005009 Desk Miniature Office or Shop 1/24
6.      Larry G Scale LG2035002 Trash Can Miniatures 1/24
7.      Larry G Scale GF1044011 Desk Phone Miniature Black 1/24 Scale
8.   Ozark Miniatures Fire Extinguisher Item No. 0165 G scale
          9.   Ozark Miniatures Water Bucket Item No. 0151 G scale

Materials Used in Building the Model

  X-Acto® knife
2.       Manufacturer Unknown Various strip bass wood
3.       Manufacturer Unknown Plywood, hobbyist grade
4.       Manufacturer Unknown Paint

Comments