Thanks for the links Tomkat and Mr. B. I will check them out. Hope winter is still kind to you Mr. B.
Bear "It's all about having fun."
This is my sorce for CMW http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/HO-Scale-Vehicles-s/1455.htm?searching=Y&sort=3&cat=1455&brand=Classic+Metal+Works&show=300&page=1
I've found www.trainworldonline.com to be a good source for CMW trucks. They are much cheaper than MSRP, and they sometimes have "blowout" sales that are tough to pass up.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Hi bearman:
Your scene is looking pretty good.
Personally, I would go with asphalt for the area in front of the docks as well as the road over the tracks, but that's purely my own preference. I just think that asphalt can be detailed so nicely with cracks and pot holes and traffic wear indications.
As far as vehicles, CMW made a number of Mack B trucks that would fit your era nicely, and Athearn also made Ford trucks from that era but none with dual axles. The problem is that they both now command premium prices and tandem axle units don't seem to come up that often. I have scored a couple of decent priced CMW tandem axle trucks recently but you have to search eBay virtually every day because once they are listed they won't last long.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
I like loading dock scenes also.
Nice work, Mr. B.
Mike, sounds like my initial idea about the lot and road will work. As for the trucks, I was wondering about that. When I bought them, as I recall, they were supposed to be early 60's, which is why I got them. I think I am just going to get a couple more of that third truck and let it go at that.
And yes, the growing season in central, southern and western Arizona is, more or less, 365 days. An alfalfa field will offer up a dozen cuttings in a year, compared to a field in the Colorado high country where you are lucky to get three.
I like to turn loading docks into mini-scenes. This is an in-progress photo (note that the building isn't sitting right) but you get the idea.
Like several of these on my layout, I use a "shadow box" technique with just a small amount of detailing inside the building. This one is illuminated from above as well to let the viewer's eye be drawn into the building.
That's a CMW truck.
A long time ago, I took a sheet of styrene with a 1/2 inch grid and used it to make a latex mold. The off-white pavement in this picture is made using that mold and tinted Hydrocal.
I always pick up crates, barrels, skids and other loading dock stuff when I find detail parts at train shows, whether I am looking for them or not. That way, I've got a ready supply of them to dress up my loading docks.
Keep in mind that canneries are seasonal operations. The season would be long in Arizona. I lived there in the early 60s and with irrigation stuff seemed to grow most of the year. But I suspect it's still more likely that plain old gravel would be the surface of the road leading in.
There might be an asphalt or concrete pad in front of the loading dock, however, because of the need to maintain it in proper relation to the loading dock.
You probably already know 2 of the 3 straight trucks parked at the dock in your pics are too modern for that era. Their length didn't change a lot, but if used for canned goods, which are somewhat heavy, the two longer ones would likely have double rear axles. More likley for moving canned goods might be semi-trailers and they were much shorter than the modern equivalents, most likely no more than 35'. So the pad in front of the dock should be sized to fit those (probably including extra to accomodate the tractor, too), rather than for modern rigs that with a tractor stretch to ~70' overall length or so.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
After an extended absence I am back working on my layout. At this point I am trying to picture the scenery for the truck loading/unloading dock for my cannery.
These are two pics of the area I am looking at. the structure is Golden Valley Canning, mid 1950's to early 1960's located inthecentral arizona desert.
I was thinking of a concrete pad leading to a gravel road that will go right with a crosing over the two rerailer tracks. Anyone have any better ideas? Asphalt maybe for both the dock area and the access road over the tracks?