Restoring E. L. Moore's Water Wheel Mill, Part 2

I think one needs to have some sort of guiding philosophy in place before attempting any sort of restoration work. Mine could be summed up as: Do the least. The idea is to let the original work speak for itself without too much intervention on my part.

Believe it or not, I did follow that principle when restoring the HOJ POJ manufacturing company, even though there was a lot of work on that project. There turned out to be less work on the water wheel mill restoration than I expected, but the principle was nevertheless important to apply here too.

I decided that I wasn't going to attempt to recreate and reinstall any missing parts, just build a simple base to support the model - Mr. Moore accomplished this by setting it in a diorama - for displaying it with any detached parts glued back on. The model was in pretty good shape as is, so I thought this was a good approach. It also means that I avoid the problem of trying to exactly match E. L. Moore's building style when it comes to making missing parts. The purpose of the display is to show Mr. Moore's work, not to ask the viewer to assess how well I can copy it. 

The base is made from 0.060" sheet styrene, and the various supports are cut from 0.040" sheet. When finished is was glued to a piece of artist grade foam board, and then the whole thing was painted flat black. 

Circle marks location of missing flume / crib support pieces

The biggest reconstruction problem was that the components that support the flume on the cribbing were missing, as were the pieces that model the mechanism that opens the flume's gate. However, it was possible to support the business end of the flume on an existing crib cross-piece - and secure it with two small dabs of Weld Bond - so as to achieve the correct look and positioning of the flume over the wheel. 

Also, the two trusses that support the far end of the flume were missing. Their function was provided by two pieces of 0.040" styrene I cut and glued to the base. Since I wasn't installing the model in a detailed diorama I didn't feel a need to create trusses to mimic the originals.

The front door and steps had come loose and fallen off. Luckily they were still in the packing material, so it was a simple job to glue them back on with a little Weld Bond.

You'll notice a missing roof beam in the upper left corner. I hummed and hawed about replacing it, but in the end, in accordance with my philosophy, I decided to leave it be. Anything I could make would stick out like a sore thumb and detract from the overall look. Just because I have a philosophy doesn't mean I don't test it often during the course of a project, because as a model builder myself I have a desire to make things right, even if it isn't always to right thing to do.

I should note that I didn't glue the model to the base. The model is just placed on. The plastic base supports around the crib, and the styrene foundation support on the opposite side, more-or-less lock the model in place without the need for glue.

In this view you can clearly see the gap between the bottom of the flume and the crib. The building has a light in the ground floor. The wires for which I've loosely curled up under the model and are hidden from view by the black foundation support. I need to test the light to see if it still works, but if it doesn't there's no way to replace it without damaging the model.

I think the 'water' gushing from the bypass might droop over time, so I may need to rethink how I've supported it with the arty little oval pedestal.

The model's got a nicely detailed interior and I'm scratching my head trying to figure out how to get photos of it. The top floor is easy as the roof comes off, but the ground floor can only be seen through the exterior doors and down the stairs from the top floor. Anyway, fun little problems like that are good to have :-)

Restoring E. L. Moore's Mountain Water Wheel Mill, Part 1

I think the place to start a restoration of this sort is to gather up any reference material, and inspect the parts.

As for reference material, this project was featured in the Spring 1961 edition of Model Trains magazine. My plan is to attempt to use minimal restoration to get the model to look as it did in that article.

As for parts, included with the main structure were two flumes. The one on the left is the one described in the article, and I have no idea what model is associated with the one on the right. 

But, let me speculate. It could be an alternative flume for the model. One where the spillway gate is closed. Or maybe, Mr. Moore built a second water wheel mill of which this is its spillway - he was known to build multiples of some models. Or maybe it's a part to some lost model we've never heard of. 

Anyway, to get the model back to as it was seen in the MT article, I'll use the flume on the left and set the other aside.

E. L. Moore's Mountain Water Wheel Mill has fallen on hard times

E. L. Moore's Mountain Water Wheel Mill is one of his earliest and finest works. It's in rough shape, and will take a bit more that just some dabs of Weld Bond here and there to restore it.

It's an amazingly detailed and clever model. The roof comes off, and the inner workings of the mill are all there and finely made. The wheel itself is mounted to a brass axle that protrudes from the far end of the building, and the way the axle is finished suggests that maybe it was powered by a motor hidden in the model's diorama. And, when the axle's spun, it spins smoothly without binding. Very nice indeed. There's even a light bulb buried in the first floor. I'll have to see if it still works. This model is 60 years old, but I think with some careful restoration it can be returned to its former glory.

E. L. Moore's Water Wheel Mill

["Many years ago, while traipsing around through the Great Smoky Mountains in western North Carolina, I came upon an ancient mill." So begins E. L. Moore's article Mountain water wheel mill that appeared in the Spring 1961 issue of Model Trains.]

Of all the E. L. Moore photos that I've seen so far, this is my favourite. It didn't appear in his Spring '61 Model Trains article, Mountain water wheel mill, and I'm surprised because it's highly evocative. I was lucky to have seen this model in person at the meet-up, so if I ever want to try and colourize the image I'll have some reference material.

In this composite image, that's his photo of the prototype on the left, and the model is on the right. The model's built from balsa as was his custom, and you can see it's a good representation of the prototype.

Here's a different scene with some backwoods farm buildings. This is a charming photo, and illustrative of the care he exercised in making his images, but I like the opening photo better because the composition is more focused and less busy.

E. L. Moore's Mountain Water Wheel Mill

[E. L. Moore's Mountain Water Wheel Mill; J. Collier collection]

E. L. Moore's Mountain water wheel mill was published in the Spring 1961 issue of Model Trains. This is the only model I saw at this meet-up that originated from a Model Trains article. Now, that magazine was ostensibly targeted at beginners, but this project is not beginner level as was C. Reid for Feed and Seed.

In the article Mr. Moore notes that it's based on an actual prototype.

Many years ago, while traipsing around through the Great Smoky Mountains in western North Carolina, I came upon an ancient mill. I was captivated by it and took some photos. The white-bearded miller obligingly opened the sluice gate, which was operated from within the structure by a lift bar, and let the water from the flume pour out upon the overshot wheel, setting it in motion. When the gate was dropped, the water backed up and was diverted through the overflow spillway where it splashed to the ground, found its way back to the brook and continued on down the mountain.

The article contains one of those photos E. L. Moore's took of the prototype and the caption notes it was shot in 1930. The model and photo match  quite well.

This model is another in Mr. Moore's backwoods style. The owner mentioned that this was probably his favourite, and I have to agree that it's a gem of a model.

And, as the article notes, Balsa is the basic material.