Construction Update #8 - Finnishing up Barr Packing & Starting Redbanks Fruit Co.

Barr Packing Company

Southern Pacific GP-9 #3451 spotting the first PFE 57' reefer at the near finished Barr Packing Company Door #1.

 

The Barr Packing Company started by combining the Showcase Miniatures kit on the right with a scratch built section on the left. 

 

 The scratch built section was inspired by the packing house at Hillmead, CA.

 

January 4, 2025

Here are a series of photos of the nearly finished model.  I painted both structures with Rustoleum flat white primer.  The windows got a coat of Rustoleum gray primer followed by a dark gray craft paint.  The corrugated metal roof over the loading dock of the scratch built portion came from my leftover parts stash.  The roofing on the scratch built portion was made by cutting painters tape in 3-foot wide strips and painting it a weathered black.  The Showcase Miniatures kit came with some nice "peel-n-stick" material.

The  Barr Packing sign was made using Excel, printed on plain copy paper and glued to a thin piece of styrene.

.

The sign on the right side of the building was found on the internet, modified in Photoshop, printed on plain copy paper and glued to a thin piece of styrene.  Both signs were give a coat of Tamyia flat to protect them.

.

The Redbanks Fruit Company Packing House

When I first started on the layout, I kit-bashed a Walthers out of production packing house shown below to represent the Redbanks Fruit Company.  Recently, I decided it was to small and the wrong color (most Southern California citrus packing houses are painted white).

The last packing house in Redbanks was torn down in 1983 and since I couldn't fine any photographs of the old structure, I decided to search the internet for a plausible alternative...

Yorba Linda Packers Association

This picture of the Yorba Linda Packers Association was probably taken in the 1930's.  I found the exposed brickwork interesting.  This packing house still stands having been converted into modern commercial space (Packing House Square).

 

 This picture was taken in the late 1950's or early 1960's.

 

 Recent Photograph 

Olive Heights Packers Association

When I first saw the following picture of the Olive Heights Packers Association I thought it was the same Yorba Linda packing house shown above. While similar, a closer inspection of the photos revealed they are not one in the same. The Olive Heights packing house was smaller, featured a large "Sunkist" sign stretching the length of the main building a pre-cooler building and an attached office/sales office. The building was demolished shortly after the color photos were taken.

 

 

The pre-cooling building appears to be a later addition.

 

Note the office space and nice landscaping on the near end and the large covered open area beyond the pre-cooling building.  There is also a interesting small structure accross the tracks in the foreground of the picture. There was no date on this photo but I suspect, based upon the automobile in the lower right hand corner, it taken in the 1950's or 1960's.

The Plan

I decided to base my my model primarily on Olive Heights while incorporating elements of Yorba Linda including the exposed brickwork.  I used a Google Maps (satellite image) to calculate the length and height of the building, pilaster spacing, size of the door opening and other key elements.  Using my available space, about 36", I drew up a scale plan using 3 sheets of plain copy paper taped together.

The resulting plan was then taped to the wall behind the spur to validate the design and get an idea on how the structure would look once it was on the layout.  Note the old Kilburn Packing structure is now gone to make room for the Redbanks Fruit Company packing house.

Getting Started

January 8, 2025

For those of you who have followed this and my RGS 1st District Blog https://sn3rgs.blogspot.com/ you already know that most of my scratch built structures are built around a styrene core.  For the Redbanks Fruit Company packing house the same method will be used.  Most of the structure will be built with Evergreen #9106 .060" sheet styrene and various sized strips.  Monster Model Works #OLD12X6H116 laser cut aged brick will be used for the brickwork between the pilasters.  I built the Monster Model Works S-Scale Placerville Store for my Sn3 layout and they have some great kits in multiple scales.  Their laser cut brick and stonework sheets (basswood) are, in my mind, the best.

https://larkspurlaserart.com/monster-modelworks/                   

The plan was transferred from paper to the sheet styrene and cut to size.  At this point, I have to wait for additional styrene strips and the laser cut brick sheet to arrive before I can go any further.  That should take about a week.  Since this structure will be up against the backdrop, it will only be about 1.5" deep

Any Thoughts?

While doing doing my research, I noticed this small structure across the tracks form the Olive Heights Packing Association.  It's an interesting structure, adobe I think, and I have room to include it.  Anybody have any idea of what it was used for?  Maybe a pump house for a well?

 

As always, your comments, suggestions and questions are welcome

sdepoio@outlook.com