Building A Railway - phase I, II

Building A Railway

Phase I

In a related article ‘Why The Railway’ we talked briefly about the talented individual who built the bridges, tunnels, and structures. As with any railway full size or miniature, a survey needs to be conducted upon which the actual ‘way’ or course of the railway will be built.

The first sections of track would lay along the top of ‘point of display’ showroom modules built by Benny starting in 1998. Our expanded showroom needed product displays on which we could pin posters, mount blade samples, glassware, controls and wall art. We could have built the modules from plywood and two by fours, but as Benny pointed out, the cost would be enormous. So, the display idea stalled out for a week or so until Benny came back with another idea. As with most factories, shipments arrive on skids, and new machines are often shipped in wood crates. We had plenty of both. Ben’s suggestion was to build as many of the displays from recycled wood. After we drove around the back of buildings in our Tycos Drive neighbourhood, it became evident that there was no shortage of rough lumber which companies were anxious to get rid of. In the hands of a craftsman, even rough lumber and forsaken skids can be constructed into something very presentable. Weeks went by as the process of retrieving unwanted skids and old crates were hauled into our plant, de-nailed and assessed for reconstruction as ceiling fan presentation displays.

Now the displays were roughly constructed, but let’s just say not even the word rustic came to mind. How else could skids and weathered lumber have looked having endured Mother Nature for who knows how long. Taking a measure of pride in the fact that we had built an entire showroom out of scrap lumber for next to nothing, we were still faced with the collective appearance. Once again Benny came up with an idea. Over the years Wilcorp’s Paint Studio had retained half empty cans of paint from customer requests to have their fan painted a specific colour.

But how to apply so many different colours and have the outcome look anything but messy, or even worse, bloody awful. Jackson Pollack provided the guidance. Not suggesting for a moment that a trip to Wilcorp will reveal hidden artistic treasures applied to our merchandising displays, but, Benny soon got the hang of splattering, flicking, rolling, throwing, dabbing and dribbling a broad spectrum of colour onto rough lumber. In the end the ‘mash-up’ looked better than leaving the lumber un-finished, and with some artistic beadwork along the top of the modules, the showroom displays were completed at little cost for recycled paint, lumber, and old skids. Now when I overhear customers commenting on the wonderful ‘rustic appearance’ of our showroom, I just smile.

 

Phase II

Our Own Pont Neuf

Yes, this is the oldest standing bridge built in the late 1500’s to span the river Seine in Paris. I can hear folks asking “so what has a historical bridge in Paris got to do with a railway in a ceiling fan store in Toronto”? Well, I’m glad you asked. After the displays were built the railway could only operate point-to-point. In other words the train would run along the top of the displays from one end to the other, then reverse. Back and forth would be its only mode of operation, unless we could lay the track in a circle. To do that, a bridge was needed to get the trains from one side of the showroom to the other where the bridge track would connect with each end of the track on top of the display.

Ok, so we needed a bridge. One idea was go buy 2 x 8’s and smack it all together with some nails and paint. No, no, no madames et monsieurs, we do not just cobble stuff together here at Wilcorp. We build with panache, style, elegance, grand design and above all else . . .sturdiness. So, over a period of several weeks while Benny thought about how to build a structure spanning more than twenty feet with no center supports, nine feet above the showroom floor, I dove into researching bridge designs. When I finally landed on high resolution photos of the Pont Neuf in Paris, I fell in love with it!

Even Benny was surprised by how much detail I wanted built into the bridge, arguing that the bridge according to the photos would take longer to build than all the displays. Thrusting my chest out, and mustering up my best Inspector Clouseau voice in mock French, I said "I do not care, I want it!"

Our bridge would be a master piece, and nothing less than a very realistic looking European bridge would be acceptable! Benny was right, three weeks later he was still building it. However, when it was finished, and lit up with miniature lamp standards sitting atop parapets along with aged brass railings, when the cracked plaster had been highlighted with paint to add patina and moss hung from the arches, it became a work of art. Today twelve years after the bridge was powered-up, two mainlines carry a steady flow of rail traffic for all to enjoy, and for Benny to point to with great pride. 

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