I lived in depots when I was growing up. You're right about the plumbing --
just a sink with hand pump in the kitchen. I don't remember, but I suppose
we had a bucket under the sink. Two-holer across the siding in back. You
need rain barrels (wood barrels painted the same purplish red as the depot).
You need a coal-house close to the depot (also same paint), where the coal
for the stoves and coal oil for the lamps were stored (small building about
9' x 12'). Also a wood pile next to the coal-house. (Those were the good
old days). You also need some stacks of ties around the section house. On
the Burlington, in Nebraska where I lived, one of the most common items
around a depot was grain doors...There were always grains doors stacked up,
especially around the grain elevator, which was never far away. At a small
station stop, you were usually next to the water tank, which often had a
windmill next to it.
Don't be misled about the general condition and appearance of things around
an operating depot. Many modelers make the mistake of making things look
like old relics, about ready to collapse. They are deceived by the
appearance of some of the old stuff that is still standing but has lacked
maintenance for years. Those old structures were once kept "shipshape" --
well maintained and painted. However, after a good paint job, air brush a
little grimy back here and there. There was always plenty of smoke and suit
around those depots.
Dale Reeves
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