I've once again been re-reading my way through a stack of Railroad Model Craftsman magazines from the late '60s and early '70s. In the April '70 issue I came across a building construction article by Willam Koteles called An Ice House For Your Reefers. It's an interesting project, but what caught my eye was the lead photograph, which I've shown over there on the left.
Mr. Koteles's ice house - it's that long structure with the big, black cooling unit on top - is sandwiched between what appears to be a few E. L. Moore builds that he's done.
Item A looks a lot like the Grusom Casket Company from the July '67 issue of RMC, item B is a shortened variation on the Central Warehouse that appeared in the January '67 Model Railroader article, Turn backward, O Time, and item C seems to be a lot like a back view of the brick portion of the Cotton Waste Plant that appeared in the June '67 issue of RMC (although I might be reaching on this one). I do admit to thinking that everything is somehow inspired by E. L. Moore, but in this case, the similarities are similar :-)
And if you were wondering, no the primary construction material for the ice house isn't balsa sheets. Mr. Koteles states: I use mainly cardboard reinforced with balsa or stripwood beams.
[26 Apr 2021 update: That building on the far right is indeed an E. L. Moore project. See here.]
A handsome ice house indeed! I'm particularly keen on the lighting, as I've been thinking about that element on my own Ice Factory. Good eye catching that Gruesome Casket.
ReplyDeleteThe author notes there are 4 large, lamp fixtures on the outside, but also notes that they are non-working.
DeleteYou're forgetting D- Cal's Lumber on the far right.
ReplyDeleteYou're right, but here's the thing that bothered me. Koteles's ice house article was published in Apr '70 RMC, and Moore's Cal's Lumber Yard was published in MR in Apr '73.
DeleteYeah, '73, and that lumber yard image in Koteles's '70 photo looks spookily similar Moore's lumber yard - ok, the proportions are a little different - but, wow. This raises lots of questions. Did Moore use this photo as the basis of his lumber yard? Did Koteles know Moore, and that lumber yard is a precursor? Maybe this is all a coincidence?
I don't have anything in the manuscripts or files that would suggest Koteles knew Moore. Maybe something might turn up in later Koteles articles if there are any.
Thanks for pointing this out, its an interesting anomaly that I didn't know what to make of, but will think about it.