- City of Prescott -

OK, on to the City of Prescott. Prescott isn't really a city at all, it's really a small rural town. It has an ore mine, a major manufacturer - E. Z. Street Manufacturing Co., a hotel and department store, a gas station (similar to the one in Madawaska Falls) and of course a miscellaneous manufacturer of dry goods - B. Chrish and Co.

The first structure is the E. Z. Street Manufacturing Co. Oh, how I love these old time scenes. The're just loaded with character, old world charm and warmth. I am not convinced that the old days were the "good old days" and I don't think they were too warm but hey, they make great times (and subjects) to model. The E. Z. Manufacturing Co. Here is my latest creation; the E. Z. Street Manufacturing Company. Believe it or not, the building was constructed from the DPM modular series of wall sections.

This is a different spin on the "I don't construct kits as they were intended to be built" theme. I just love taking the DPM modular sections and carving them up with a razor saw into more original creations.

Most of the barrels and crates are white metal castings from Juneco and the loading docks were made from bass wood. I used a lot of bass wood on this structure and really got into it. Bass wood is a material that is easy to work with and weather. The best part of it is it's realism. Well, there are no surprises here, it is wood after all.

Rail loading dock of the E.Z. Street Mfg. Co. The E. Z. Street Manufacturing Company building was supposedly built around the turn of the century and was built to make money; not to look pretty. It's now 60 years later and it's looking a little run down now but, look at the character it has gained.

The loading dock roof was made from styrene sheet and dimensional stock. Photocopy paper was cut into strips and glued to the roof to represent tar paper. I used thin piano wire to represent its metal supports. The sign was made on my computer (CorelDraw!). It has a basswood surround and some Campbell lamp shades soldered to brass stalks for lighting.

I think that it was probably this building with it's high basswood content that triggered my interest in large scale narrow gauge railroads (On3).

A view of Prescott

This scene pushed my 20 year old SLR camera to its limits! Just love that billboard kit from Wales Junction eh? A Canadian National SW1200 (complete with its winterized hood and spark arresters) and a GP-9 pull a random collection of mixed freight cars slowly through the small town of Prescott. Behind the locos is the "Canadian Hotel", a scratch built Evergreen structure (including, believe it or not, the windows). The shanty is the inevitable #702 Shanty kit from Atlas but with a Campbell shingle roof, Juneco smoke jack and a North Eastern bass wood deck. I go to great lengths not to build kits as they were intended. For some reason, I put my airbrush away for this model - the shanty is 100% hand painted with Polly 'S', Tamyia and Testors flat paints. Different right?

The figures are all by Prieser which appear to be having a bit of a dispute! I think the guy standing nearest the pile of ties with his arms in the air is loosing the argument.

Photograph of B. Crish Co I built this small structure from a variety of materials from various sources. They seem to come out better that way.

The brick walls are pieces of DPM series 301 modular components with a square styrene rod foundation and a card stock roof covered with Campbell shingles. The upper wall and billboard were built from 2x6 and 4x4 North Eastern scale lumber. The junk around the building is a combination of products from Juneco and Woodland Scenics. A quick dab of white glue and a sprinkle of Woodland Scenics turf resulted in some fairly convincing creepers growing on the side of the building. A short 30 minute session with CorelDraw! resulted with the apparently painted-on building sign. The name is an anagram of mine... That lovely colour "Globe" sign on the structure was from Wales Junction. Those guys produce really great products.

On the right is another gas station under construction. Its design is somewhat similar to the Lion gas station in downtown Madawaska Falls.

Side view of B. Crish Co Generally, I was really pleased with this building. I was particulary impressed with the way the bright orange brickwork toned down with the light wash of diluted acrylic paint, the painting of individual bricks with Polly-S paints and of course, the weathering chalks.

Here's a side view of the B. Crish and Co. that shows the side windows. One is bricked up because of the stove pipe and the other is a regular window. I expect you can recognize the DPM series 301 wall components.

Click on this link to visit the next stop on our guided tour of the Prescott and Madawaska.

I would interested in exchanging a few ideas with you. Feel free to e-mail me at: .

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All photographs © copyright 1998 - 2003, Chris Butler - All Rights Reserved
Last updated: April 2003.