Hooper Strait Lighthouse

[DWilde1]

I'm trying to locate plans published in MR for this early classic Chesapeake Bay light house.

Hooper Strait Lighthouse

I've looked in my 75'th DVDs but don't see it. I don't have indexes for the newer issues. Can somebody who does help me zero in on this layout-definer of a structure?

[hon30critter]

DWilde1:

I think it would be fairly easy to create the plans yourself simply by using the photographs.

To determine wall sizes etc., start by assuming that the door is a standard size which would be about 34" x 78". Using those dimensions you can calculate the width and height of the main exterior walls as well as all of the other dimensions. A set of calipers will help the process enormously.

I will admit that the dimensions may not be exact using this method, but they will certainly be close enough to create a decent model.

My rough estimate for the main wall sizes is that they are about 19 - 20 ft. long by about 10 ft. tall. The roof overhang is about 2 1/2 ft., and the roof slope is about 5/12 (in other words, the roof rises about 5" for every 12" of width. Trust me, I spent much of my working career selling roofing).

As far as figuring out the rest, your sense of proportion will serve you well. This is a situation where making up a cardstock mock up would be a good idea before starting to cut styrene or wood. Start by making up the basic shape and then you will be able to see what sizes work for the dormers and windows, etc.

I don't know what experience you have with scratch building, but I suggest working in styrene. If you want more information on scratch building, please don't hesitate to ask.

Good luck with your project. I agree that it will be a focal point for your layout.

Regards,

Dave

[shanny10]

Don't know how your scaling or making plans ability but this might be a good kitbash. Really close in size and remove a few dormers and I think this would work for you. Little pricey but nice kit. Hope this is helpful.

http://www.besttrains.com/products_1017.html

[mbinsewi]

I agree with Dave, a great scratch building project, using the pictures and a "sense" of dimensions from the photos.

I just tried a couple of seaches in the digital archives, and came up with nothing.  I tried light house and Hooper Strait.

Mike.

 

[Steve Hunter]

Have you tried contacting the US Coast Guard?

I've had good results in the past, asking the Canadian Coast Guard for help on drawings for a specific lighthouse, and I would expect the USCG to be helpful as well.

Steve Hunter

[Colorado Ray]

Steve Hunter

Have you tried contacting the US Coast Guard?

I've had good results in the past, asking the Canadian Coast Guard for help on drawings for a specific lighthouse, and I would expect the USCG to be helpful as well.

Steve Hunter

 

Post 9/11 it might be difficult, if not impossible, to get plans for a government building.  Too bad it's come to that.  The suggestions to work from photos sounds like a great idea.  I'm sure that would resul in a model you could take great pride in having built.

[G Paine]

Colorado Ray

Post 9/11 it might be difficult, if not impossible, to get plans for a government building.

On the other hand, many lighthouse structures have been sold off by the goverment to conservency groups. Only the light itself belings to the government.

This is the case with the Pemiquid Point lighthouse a few miles from my house. The light itself belongs to the Coast Guard, the tower structure belongs to a lighthouse conservency, and the surrounding land is owned by the town as a park. The light tower is open to the public on days the park is open.

Something similar may be the case with Hooper Point. It is worth checking out, a concervency group may have plans used to restore the structure.

[BigDaddy]

Lighthouses appeal to all sorts of modelers and I'm surprised I couldn't google up any plans, although the National Archives has a pdf of a list of lighthouse plans.  It was not obvious how to get to the plans themselves. 

It's hard to believe that someone did not write and article about building one.  Around here you can get a house built like a lighthouse, if you don't know what to do with all your money.

These are called screwpile lighthouses.  The pics you see of them on dry land, at least in Maryland, are ones that have been decommissioned and moved to historical societies and museums.  They were built in fairly shallow shoal water, but could be a mile or more from dry land.  At least one was round, most that I recall seeing when my dad had a boat, were hexagons, but some on the east coast were rectangular.