1935 Miloco station

[Carey Williams]

Hello all ...

ebay can be a wonderful thing once you wade through the 99.9% of the #*&#@ ..... of course each of us has our own opinion on exactly what is #*&%$# and what is not ... some like Atlas other Acme ..some like MTH others (and fortunately far fewer (for me)) Miloco . Lee B Green hit the O scale world with all the glitz and glamour of Harold Hill selling a boys band .... but Green was selling 17/64ths ...... and he was (and still is) correct about the scale thing ...but could not win the war ... First NMRA president Haverly was a 17/64ths man .... but by the end of 37 only the true believers in reality could hear the bell .

Green's MiLoco 1935 catalog proudly showed the K4 and NYC Hudson .... both in O and 1 gauges , 3 freight cars , a coach , many other items that never surfaced, full track offerings and buildings ......one stop shopping for those who desired the correct overhang on their trains.

The survival rate of model trains that are 80 years old .. say 20-40 % + - ..as a guess ...now the survival rate of buildings from the same period ?... 2-5 % ? Buildings are big and bulky .. and even with better building codes during the day ... it is asking a lot to have a big structure survive that was placed in a layout 80 + years ago ...layout has been gone for 70 ...

Imagine my surprise when scanning the images on ebay ...a MiLoco station ! ...grab the catalog ...and yes same characteristics..complete with we do custom work send us your design . Unfortunately this example was used on the set of Wizard of OZ and upon landing back in KS half of it's roof was gone .......does any one make cut wood that looks like siding ?

I'm sure placing the station on a huge piece of plywood was great for construction ..but not ideal for placement on your layout . Here we have a MiLoco station and MiLoco Hudson pulling in ...
Cheers Carey

station.jpg (1.26 MiB) Viewed 3792 times

Specail station.jpg (1.88 MiB) Viewed 3792 times

my station and hudson.jpg (985.68 KiB) Viewed 3792 times

my station and hudson a.jpg (1018.51 KiB) Viewed 3792 times

[Rufus T. Firefly]

does any one make cut wood that looks like siding ?

Yes.

I'm sure placing the station on a huge piece of plywood was great for construction ..but not ideal for placement on your layout .

Probably contributed to its survival.

[ScaleCraft]

so..are you saying the bottom catalog photo is the same as your colour photo?

With all the fascia different?
Doors and windows different?
Support posts square versus round?
It appears the siding is slightly different in height.

Maybe closer to the first catalog photo and heavily modified?

Even the angle of the roof over the agent's cupola is way different.

Guess: Scratchbuilt by someone who saw that catalog photo and was "creative".

[John Webster]

https://www.northeasternscalelumber.com/

https://kapplerusa.com/y2k/kp-main.htm

https://www.handlaidtrack.com/scalelumber

[Carey Williams]

Thank you for the link with all the wood products ..that will make replacing the roof a snap ...


Dave ...the second station is a "special" order station ...as per the text ....which also states they will be happy to build to design ..

the doors & windows on my station and that found on the first MiLoco station are the same .. as is the nail construction as detailed in the text of the catalog ..

Thank you
Cheers Carey

[ScaleCraft]

Anybody can claim custom....especially when all parties are dead and gone.

Too much. No sills at bottom of windows, no mullions in windows, fascias all different, posts totally different, and how does one discern nailing from description?

Nope. Need more than that to convince me.

Heck, even the siding doesn't line up tightly. Gaps all over. If you count the runs visible on the sides, different. And boy have I seen that in all sorts of venues.

Sort of like the 1946 Ford Fordor Sedan with a flathead four cylinder (A, B or C) touted as "original" with no supporting documents.

And how many muscle cars are built today from grandma grocery getters?
Convince yourself.
I am not.

And I think twice before accepting raw aluminum castings as "factory original", when folks used to buy one, make a mold, and cast their own aluminum bits in home or high school foundries....and the ONLY way to tell is match size up to known original (as in, original box with invoice and instructions rather than a shoebox and copy of an old catalog) as usually those castings shrunk.
Was offered SC hopper casting once, many moons ago, that were just that....homemade copies...and smaller...and not interested.