Richmond Packing Co.
The Richmond Packing Co. is the 3rd kit in in my Frank Ellison Tribute Series. The footprint is10-1/8 x 12-1/2 which includes the freight dock.
Frank Ellison was a pioneer model railroader back in the 1930s, 40s & 50s. He was considered a top name in the field and his beautifully built Delta Lines was perhaps the most widely known model railroad in the world according to John Page, the editor of Model Railroader Magazine in the early 1950s.
Frank authored a series of articles on all aspects of model railroading. Of particular note were his “How-to” pieces on scratch building the structures he created for his railroad. Back then, there were no building kits and detail parts like we have today. He made most everything out of cardboard with the features like planks or bricks drawn in with ink and colored with oil base artist colors. So, I am bringing these structures back to life with my spin on them. The idea is that if Frank were alive today, this is how he would do it—using modern methods and materials. I’ve included a reproduction of his article that appeared in the November 1946 issue of Model Builder magazine - a Lionel publication
In his 1946 article, Ellison described this building as an “old brownstone residence built perhaps 75 years ago for the richest man in town and subsequently abandoned.” (This would date the structure to 1871). “We shall suppose that some of the partitions were ripped out, a window or two bricked up, other windows enlarged into doors, a heating plant, boilers, and vats installed, and a condenser put in for the cold room. Short fat pipes and a ventilator pierce the old slate roof and a cattle pen occupies the back yard.” He also mentioned “limestone sills” and “blocks of red sandstone... set in brown mortar.” This, then, is part of Ellison’s genius. Thinking about the history of what he was modeling, created a realistic building that showed credible and logical changes over time which accounted for its present state.
Although Ellison saw this as a local meat processing plant, it lends itself to any type of small manufacturing plant. However, for those who would like a place to drop off their cattle cars, a cattle pen will be available separately in the near future.