Icehouse Construction

Bill - At the end of the winter season the interior of a prototype icehouse held blocks of ice stacked basically floor to near the eave-line, with only enough space remaining for employees to work along the top, moving ice cakes around for loading. As the seasons advanced more and more of the ice was sold off and shipped out, resulting in the top level of the ice lowering progressively. By autumn workers were moving ice cakes near the building's floor level.

Since the icehouse started out virtually filled solid with ice access was only necessary to the top layer, but as time progressed lower and lower access was needed. Thus, the very large, often divided, doors could be opened to whatever might be the current level of the ice within for handling. Likewise, the tall ladders placed to one side of each door allowed the workers to climb up and open only the appropriate door to reach the top of the ice layers. Incidentally, the "loading end" of the icehouse facing the pond, or river, also had a very high door. It was through this that an elevating conveyor could load the icehouse level by level. I know these facts because in his youth my father worked in one of these along the Hudson River, now nearly 100 years ago!

Below is an image on a Branchline icehouse I built to accompany my scratchbuilt Bordens creamery.

NYW&B

NY,O & W Icehouse

Model Icehouse.  http://users.rcn.com/jimdu4/MilkTrains/Ice_House.htm

Bernd

WOW ,thanks a bunch, had no

WOW ,thanks a bunch, had no idea

WOW!!

THAT's a model to set both location and era