Construction Update # 22 - Westmoreland, TN Part 2 - The Texaco

The Westmorland Texaco

 

Early on in the planning phase, I determined that Westmoreland should have a "old" 1930's era Texaco gas station.  Most of these old service stations were originally built without the canopy over the islands.  Later on, many were modernized by the addition of a canopy.  Most of these old gas stations have been abandoned, torn down, or re-purposed.  But, some of the old stations are still around like the one pictured below in Gonzales, TX.   It was built in 1936 and leased by Rufus Melvin King in 1940.  Later, his son, Rufus Mickey King, took over the station and operated it as a "full service" gas station for nearly 50 years.  It was converted from a Texaco station to an independent in 1991.  The station is still a family business.  A third generation King, Rufus Trey, is in charge and Rufus Monroe, a fourth generation King, is also involved in keeping the tradition alive.

 

 

These Texaco gas stations have three distinguishing features. First is the canopy, second the two fins above the canopy and third, the three green stripes that run along the upper sides of the structure/canopy.  The rest of the station, with its porcelain coated metal side panels, is pretty typical of 1930's "Ice Box" era gas stations. 

 

Before going any further, it should be noted that a perfect copy of the prototype was not the objective; a reasonable representation was.  In HO Scale there are at least two candidates for kit bashing a one of these stations; one from City Classics and the other from Walthers.  Both appear to be generic examples of "Ice Box" style gas station.  There may be others.  Since I already had the Walthers version on hand, I decided to go with it. 

While the basic structure is fine, I couldn't find a picture of a Texaco "Ice Box" style station with rounded windows anywhere.  The rounded windows used on the kit appear to be an element associated with "Art Deco" style stations.  So, the first thing I did was square the windows.  I did three, took a picture, and finished off the one on the lower right.  This took about 5 minutes with a small flat file.  The factory glass will slide into a recess behind the windows without any modifications.

I assembled the basic shell next.  Again, there are elements of the kit that are not representative of "Ice Box" style stations.  The roof over the office is to low and the front of the office is recessed from the front of the service bays.  I decided to live with these differences.  After all, we're talking about a reasonable representation here. 

I had a hell of a time keeping things square while I glued the parts together.  I temporarily installed the roof over the office to help.  This, along with the robber band, clamps, and base, kept things square while the glue dried.

Next up was the canopy.  I guessed on the dimensions and after three times came up with something that looked about right.  The canopy is made from .0030" sheet styrene over a core of .0040" strips.  I made the upper skin and then used it as a pattern for the lower skin.  The sides were then wrapped with a piece of .0010 x .0125" strip styrene.  The styrene ribs along the top came from my scrap box; not sure about the size.  I just used what looked right. 

The 45 degree angle on the corner is also a bit unusual but I did find one example of a Texaco station with this feature.  

The base is a piece of .0080" black styrene.  I painted most of it to represent asphalt.  The remainder, around the island was painted to represent concrete.  Weathering the concrete islands and the asphalt parking lot around the station will reflect the beating these areas take from traffic, dirt, and oil and gasoline spills.  I drilled the holes for the canopy support poles through the island and base.  Once everything else is glued in place, the poles will be slid into place from below and cut to the right length from the bottom.

I decided to do the stripes around the top of the building and canopy with dark green decals.  I ordered the decals so while I am waiting for them to arrive...

 

Make way for the Gas Station

For those of you who have been following the blog, you know that I tend to change things around.  I moved the gas station from its original position to where the general store and red Victorian home were.  This made room for the gas station and a new road behind the station and in front of the detailed building "back".  This change not only made room for the gas station but it also made the building "back" more visible.  I also redid most of the existing roads eliminating two obnoxious joints and the concrete sections.  And, as can be seen in the following photo, the road is more in character with the backdrop.

Finishing up the Westmoreland Texaco

While waiting for the green decal stripes and some detailing parts, I masked off most of the. station and painted the green stripe around the base. I also painted, decaled, added the hoses to the pumps.  The large Texaco sign came from a image of the internet.  Finally, I added a air conditioner, vents, and other details to the roof along with some light weathering.