Alexandria Slave Jail Model

Earlier this year Alexandria's new Freedom House Museum hired me to build a model of the slave jail that was located at the corner on Duke and Payne Street. This slave jail, also called a slave pen, was used by various slave dealers for about 25 years. When the Union Army occupied Alexandria, they took over the facility forever ending its use as a slave pen. In a touch of bittersweet irony, they used it as a jail for some Confederate prisoners, as well as misbehaving Union soldiers.  For a full history of the facility,  please see this link.

A period photo after the Union made extensive
changes to the building

This was a challenging model to build both for technical and emotional reasons. 

The Union Army made many changes to the building during the time of the civil war. They also took several pictures of the buildings. The museum wanted the model to depict the time when it was used as a slave dealer. But we had almost no photos from that era. Luckily we did have an extensive archeological study of the building done by Benjamin Skolnik, of the Office of Historic Alexandria. We also had the results of an historical architectural history study by Susan Pommerer of the Smith Group. They did an extensive review of many existing records. They also did a detailed measurement of the existing structure. Included in the study was a laser scan of the building, but that did not provide much direct useful information to me as the model builder. More valuable were the isometric and elevation views that Susan provided to me.

Even with those excellent resources, there were many details that we were not sure about, particularly in the backyard. We hope this model is an accurate representation of the building as it stood just before the Union Army ended slave dealing in Alexandria for good.

The model will be on display in the museum later this year.

The Flood of July 8th, 2019 - The end of PoLA and the Aquia Line?

Flooding near King Street Metro stop
about a mile from my house

While we were enjoying beautiful weather in Utah last week, my hometown got hit with a torrential rain storm on July 8th.  Reports say up to 5 inches of rain fell in one hour.

We had about an inch of water in our basement as our sump pump could not keep up with the inflow. This is sad because about 3 weeks ago, I had a new sump pump installed with battery back-up and it was working well.

Now our basement is mostly dried out, but there is water in the space between the Allure laminate planks that I installed in 2011 and the concrete slab. The water left a thin layer of clay silt on the floor and baseboards that is proving difficult to clean.

My insurance company says they will cover some of the repairs. So tomorrow work crews are going to remove the laminate flooring and assess what else has to be done. Hopefully we do not have to remove the Aquia Line. It has relatively few legs that hold it up, so it will be easier to work around.

Unfortunately, PoLA will probably have to be removed as there are a lot more legs to deal with.

The unresolved question is what to put on the floor when the remediation is done. I'm leaning toward ceramic tile, as that seems to be better able to withstand occasional flooding.

Clay silt in the tile bathroom

If you are keeping score, this is the sixth water incident we have had in the basement. All have been from different failure mechanisms.


Some video of the flood waters from the WaPo at various locations in Northern Virginia.

Lyceum Exhibit on Alexandria in WWI

Overview of part of the exhibit where the sub chaser is displayed

The Lyceum has opened it's exhibit on Alexandria in WWI. My mom and I stopped by today to get a look at it. The exhibit has an interesting array of artifacts. While I am proud that the sub chaser model I built is prominently displayed, the exhibit that I find the most amazing is R. Fawcet's chest. He was the first citizen from Alexandria to die on the war in an flight training accident in Illinois. The military shipped his belongings home in a footlocker just as he had left them. The Fawcett family kept the chest for 100 years and left it unopened for 80. It was quite moving to see the man's uniforms, texts and personal effects largely untouched 100 years later. Alas, I didn't take a picture of the footlocker.

Mom poses by the sub chaser model

Mom really enjoyed seeing the civil war replica costumes
used in filming PBS's TV show "Mercy Street"

The WWI weapons are on loan from the NRA Museum.

Aquia Landing Concept Sketch

For those of you that don't recall, here is a early artist concept I drew for Aquia Landing on my layout back in November 2010. The key is to have easy access to the tracks on the wharf. That is why the tracks on the right side of the wharf are so close to the aisle.

I am following this early concept fairly closely, though the benchwork is more a
rounded rectangle that the oval end shown in the sketch.

I am currently laying track in Aquia Landing. I tried ballasting some of the track before spiking the rail. But I think I prefer to do the ballasting after the rail is in. Seems like it will be easier to change things that way if I find I need to make adjustments.  Film at 11.

















On Sunday, I took my mom for a visit to the Lyceum to see the Alexandria Waterfront Diorama on display. She enjoyed the visit.  The diorama has a single primary light directly above and slightly to the rear. That makes the front of the buildings in shadow. It looks good in person, but the back lighting makes taking a photo difficult.

Lyceum Diorama Now on Display

The Lyceum has finished the display case for the diorama I built for them. It is now on display in their exhibit hall. You can find it on the right as you enter the front door.

Below is a video overview of the diorama and its construction.

Overall view of the Alexandria waterfront diorama

This is an overall view of the diorama. The Virginia Locomotive and Car Works is on the far left. A coal wharf with canal boat is in the center, and the Pioneer Mills flour mill and grain elevator is on the right.   I used Photoshop to extend extreme sections  of the backdrop to cover the full width of the diorama in this low angle view.

Seeing this view makes me want to try it again in O scale.

A busy week

Finished Pioneer Mills Diorama

The past week was a busy time highlighted by my 60th birthday.

Veiled Nun, G. Croff

It started off with a evening visit to The National Gallery of Art. It's always fun to take time to visit the museums on Washington, DC mall.

The galleries in the East Building were mostly closed, though the atrium was open. I did note a trio of onlookers discussing Smith's "Die."  The "Die' is a 6-ft steel cube that the artist subcontracted to a local shop for fabrication. Once assembled, its rusty surface was hand rubbed with oil.   I feigned interest in the piece to listen to what the admirers said.  I was rewarded with a stream of  modern art babble worthy of Beetlejuice's Otho.

The Lackawanna Valley by George Innes

I could only take so much of that, so I wandered over to the west building. There I came across, and was especially impressed by, this bust of a veiled nun. The sculptor (I believe it was Guiseppe Croff) captured the gossamer veil in stone. Amazing.  But it wasn't rubbed in oil.

I always enjoy seeing the impressionists, but this time I seemed to gravitate to the 19th century landscapes. There even was a nice train painting, George Innes, "The Lackawanna Valley." I took another look at Winslow Homer's work. He is one of my favorite artists.

Bugeye schooner before restoration at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum

On Wednesday, I took a road trip with my mom to celebrate my birthday. We went to the Delmarva peninsula to see the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum,  St Michaels, MD.  Special thanks to the museum staff, especially Paula, for the guided tour of the museum.  St Michaels is a charming town. I used to enjoy riding my bike there, but had not visited in nearly 20 years.

Charming home in St Michaels

Delmarva HO layout

Then we stopped at the Delmarva Model Railroad Club to see their layout.  While in Delmar, DE I spotted a NS engine idling.Later that evening I presented a talk to the club members and wives on the railroads of the civil war. They seemed to enjoy the talk and we had fun meeting the members and seeing their layout.Special thanks to John Huntzinger for inviting me.

Scott and the blast furnace

On the weekend I finished up the Alexandria Waterfront diorama in between two rounds of golf and 5 birdies.  I started taking the final photographs of the diorama before I deliver it later next week.

On Saturday, Scott Wahl stopped by to examine some of my steel mill models. Scott is a member of NV NTRAK. He is working on a home layout based partly on modules. Scott ended up buying the N scale blast furnace, coke works and some steel mill cars from me. I was very pleased to find an enthusiastic modeler that will put these models to good use. I am looking forward to seeing what he comes up with in his layout.


On Sunday, Nancy Griswold,  one AW's friends from law school,  toured the layout with my mom. Nancy made a home made sourdough bread and mom made a pear tart to wrap up the birthday celebration. I was interested in seeing Nancy's reaction to the layout as she is an accomplished artist.  She had some good comments, especially with regard to the detail on the layout.

Progress on the Alexandria waterfront diorama

This weekend I poured two layers of two-part resin "water" on the diorama. This is always a stress filled event because if you get the resin mixture wrong, you risk ruining the model. I am happy to report that it worked as planned. The resin is curing and is ready for the final placement of the boats and last layer of acrylic gel to create waves.

While the resin was curing I made several details including a box car under construction, wheel sets along side the loco works, the coal wharf crane, and 4 tipper wagons for the coal yard. One wagon has a mule pulling it, while the others are in reserve.

The canal boat is typical of the type used on the C&O canal. They were 90 feet long and 14 feet wide. They could carry over 100 tons of coal. The coal crane on the wharf is based on photos of similar devices on the US Government coal wharf taken during the ACW.

Lots more detail to go, but the project is almost done.

Another view of Pioneer Mills

I was looking at the J.B. Clough collection of photos at the Huntington Digital Library. I came across a link to this image. I have a copy of this image that I got from a trip to the National Archives. In my version, the background is hard to see clearly.

My copy from NARA

Close up of the Huntington copy with some Photoshop processing to
enhance the background

In the Huntington copy, a clearer and wider view of the background can be seen. One can see the south and south east facades of the Pioneer Mills. Alas, the resolution is insufficient to provide any good details except that the wharves near the mill were chock full of sailing vessels. The US Army used the Pioneer Mills and the former loco works as storage houses. They must have also utilized the wharves for unloading ships.




It also appears the the barrel to the left of the leftmost tiller operator is smoking. That seems odd to me.

It's always fun to find new detail in these images.

Entering the home stretch

All the major pieces of the diorama are complete except for the canal coal boat.

I added the first coat of scenery and gave the water surface a second coat of gloss polyurethane.
Next step is to make the barge. Then I will add figures, barrels, wagons and assorted details. The final step will be to pour the two part resin water.

Matt and Jeff McGuirk

We also had visitors today from Richmond. Mike Garber, Mike Pulaski and Joshua Blay stopped by to check on the various projects. I was the third layout stop for them today as they first visited Marty McGuirk and then Paul Dolkos.

Speaking of Marty, last weekend he and two of this sons stopped by to visit the layout.

Mike Garber, Mike Pulaski and Josua Blay all with throttles inter hands. Look like a logjam at Falmouth

Locomotive Works and Wharves

  I made lots of progress on the diorama since the last post.

I finished the locomotive works structure. It is glued to the scenery base and is awaiting final details.

A look at the front of the loco works before
 installing in position

Next I made a large number of lumber stacks in various sizes. I laser cut the wood parts in layers and the assembled them to create the look of lumber that has not been stacked with machine precision.

I also made two smaller sheds that flank each side of Pioneer mills. One is brick and the other has wood siding.  Installing the brick shed made me realize that the backdrop on that side needed some adjustments. I scaled down the some of the backdrop buildings in Photoshop. Then I cut away the part of the backdrop that had to be redone and added the new artwork. The replacement worked very well. 

Loco works glued in place.

Painting the water bottom

At long last, I was ready to cut the terrain base and shape it. I cut the foam with a knife and then used a Surform rasp to shape it. Then I gave the surface a coat of Durhams Water Putty to fill in cracks. Once that was set I painted the base ground cover and the water surface. I also gave the water surface a coat of polyurethane clear gloss to seal the surface and any cracks for the planned two part resin pour. I still need to add the bulkheads along the waterfront.

Wharves are taking shape

This angle view will not be possible when the diorama is installed in the final position at the Lyceum.

The view up Duke Street. This is the view children will have when viewing the diorama. The stick coming from
the mill to the ship is a mock-up of the marine leg.I have not made it yet.

Wood Yard at Pioneer Mills

I have just about finished all the structures for the Pioneer Mills diorama. The last structures are the wharves and small two sheds that were adjacent to the mill. There are only two images that show this area and neither one shows the entire area. The first shows the rear walls of a wood shed and part of a low brick wall to the south of the mill building.





This next shot shows the area much later in the 1880s. It is cited in the Alexandria City study on page 22 of the Robinson Terminal Redevelopment document here.  Their caption says, "Backyard of Pioneer Mills, n.d. This circa 1880 photograph shows the houses at 310-306 South Union Street (on the left), James Green’s wood yard (center), the rear of the coopers shop with the kitchen addition removed, and a portion of the brick sheds (on right) southeast of the Pioneer Mills’ main building. (Photographer Unknown, Alexandria Library, Special Collections Branch)." It is not clear to me which building had the brick wall with the vertical slots.


The center house on the far left may be the only building in this image still
standing. Here is the current Google Street View of that house on the south side of Wolfe Street.


Alas, this is not a lot of information on which to base a model. So I plan to add small wooden and brick sheds south of the mill. Their designs will be based on other period buildings. The rest of the area will be open for wood and coal storage.

Smith and Perkins Locomotive and Car Works

I am working on laying out the Virginia Locomotive and Car Works (VL&CW), also known as Smith and Perkins. The Railroad Gazette article in the link below gives a description of some of the engines that they produced.

Railroad Gazette article on Smith and Perkins Engines


There is sufficient information  in that article to build a model of a one of their locomotives. However, at this time I am focused more on their physical plant that existed in Alexandria in 1855.  And herein lies the problem. The information I have is incomplete and has discrepancies that are hard to reconcile.

Professor Caroline Quenzel, a librarian and professor of Mary Washington College of the UVA system, wrote in 1954 a detailed description of the factory in an article in the Virginia Historical Society Journal. She based her article largely on period era information reported in the Alexandria Gazette. She writes,

Locomotive manufacturing on the scale carried on by Smith and Perkins could not be confined to cramped quarters. In 1854 their locomotive plant on Wolfe Street covered 51,500 square feet of ground and fronted 177 feet on the Potomac River. The principal machine shop was a three-story building 130 x 35 feet. On the first floor were three tracks for setting up engines. 

The same floor housed the tool shop with its facing and other lathes, drilling machines, bolt cutting machines, a slotting machine, and large planer and boring machine for ''turning" car wheels.
The second floor contained the office, drafting room, and an 81 x 35
machine shop. The third floor was used for another machine shop and as a pattern loft. The "fitting up and finishing shop" on the site of the old foundry was 81 x 60 feet. Two locomotive engines could be "fitted up" at one time upon its tracks. 

The 100 x 36-foot blacksmith shop had 15 fires and one of "Nasmytherspowerful steam" hammers. The boiler shop was 100 x 40, and the four-track car shop 150 x 40. The plant had circular and upright saws, tools for punching and shearing iron, and the equipment required for planing, mortising, and tenoning wood. The 100 x 60-foot foundry on Wilkes Street held two furnaces for melting pig iron and a 27-horsepower engine for driving the fan. In 1854 it produced two and a half to four tons of castings daily, but it was capable of a maximum production of &om ten to twelve tons.

The plant consumed annually 1 ,200 tons of Cumberland coal, 250 tons of anthracite, 900 to 1 ,200 tons of pig iron, and 650 tons of bar and boiler iron. It employed approximately 225 workers. The general superintendent was Thomas Denmead, who had been superintendent of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad shops at Martinsburg. 

This description implies a facility with five structures with a sixth on Wilkes Street, one block away.  They are:

1. Principal machine shop  - 130 by 35 feet  3 story with three tracks for erecting engines.
2. Fitting up and finishing shop - 81 by 60 feet with two tracks. 
3. Blacksmith Shop - 100 by 36 with 15 fires and a Nasmyther steam hammer.
4. Boiler shop - 100 by 40 feet.
5. Car Shop - 150 by 40 with four tracks.



A Nasmyther Hammer in 1856

6. Foundry - 100 by 60 feet  with two furnaces on Wilkes Street.

Bird's Eye View during the War

Close up of the Quarter Master's map

I have not found any good drawings of the VL&CW facility in 1855. The two drawings I do have date from the Civil War, from 3-8 years after the works closed down. These are the  Bird's Eye View and the Quartermaster map.  It is interesting that the Bird's Eye View and the QM map do somewhat agree in depicting the buildings on Wolfe Street. 

The QM map gives dimensions of the buildings that they used in the war. It shows three interconnected buildings and  a few smaller buildings used for Contraband quarters. Note that the QM map does not show buildings that Army did not use during the war. 

So it is possible there were other structures present that the draftsman left out. More importantly, the QM map shows one railroad siding, while the Bird's Eye shows none. Quentzal describes three buildings with tracks for erecting cars and locos. 

The early 19th century drawing of the Harlan and Hollingsworth works gives some  clues. Note how the car works building on the right shows two tracks entering the end of a long wooden building. But,  note that a single siding runs parallel to the machine shop and no tracks enter the shop. Workers are using push carts and wooden wagons to move boilers and other objects around. Some people are working in the open air on boiler parts.

The second view showing  Schenectady Locomotive Works depicts similar activity. I suspect it wasn't until locomotives became too heavy to move around on carts and trolleys that the factories started building the engines directly on the rails. 

Harlan and Hollingsworth works in the mid 19th century

I assume that similar construction procedures were used at Virginia Locomotive and Car Works. I think that the erecting tracks were not connected to the railroad directly. Once the engines were assembled, they used carts to move the finished products to the departure tracks. 

There is a photo of the foundry on Wilkes Street as the building survived until late in the 20th century. 

The attached drawing shows my best guess at mapping the buildings described in Quentzel's article to the QM map using a lot of educated guess work. Everything is drawn to scale. The large yellow box shows an area of 51,500 square feet if one side of the box is 177 feet.

 There was no way to reasonably connect tracks to the Old Foundry to the siding shown on the QM map without 30 ft or less radius curves (see curve A). That would equate to a 2.26 inch radius in N scale. That is impossibly tight. So I suspect the erecting tracks were not directly connected to the Wolfe Street Siding. 

I replicated the car works from H&H to the VL&CW facility. I made it a separate building as there was no way the five buildings Quentzel describes would fit in the outline of the buildings on the QM map.

I have a photo of a large blacksmith shop in Washington DC. It is a wood building. If such a building was in Alexandria, it is possible it did not survive for ten years after closing.

Blacksmith shop in Washington DC during the Civil War.

If anyone has any additional information, I would love to see it.