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A Small Railroad ShantyHarold RussellSylvan Beach is located at the eastern tip of Oneida Lake atan entrance to the Erie Canal in central New York State northof Syracuse. With the exception of some of the older localresidents, few people today are aware that it was once theConey Island of the area. During the first part of the twentiethcentury this was the place to go for fun seekers from Albany,Scranton, Rochester and Buffalo. For them to get there the railroadswere only too eager to fulfill this need. The resort had asandy beach, shaded picnic grounds and rides such as a Ferriswheel, carousel and roller coaster. There were several hotelsthat featured variety shows. Both the New York Ontario andWestern and the Lehigh Valley railroads were nearby and eachran branches to serve the resort. Each built a large depot andeach had wyes to turn their trains. The Lehigh connected tothe O&W at Sylvan Junction and the small community of FishCreek on the O&W was south of this junction. Both railroadsconnected with the New York Central and the New York,Westshore and Buffalo's mainlines thirty miles to the south atOneida, NY.Today, with the exception of one small building depictedhere, little remains of the railroads and the once extensive recreationalfacilities.You will find this neat little shanty outside the Medina, NYRailroad Museum. Originally, it was thought to be of NYO&Wheritage but correspondence with Joe Bux, their historian, confirmedit was not. Marty Phelps curator of the museum believesit is Lehigh Valley and came from Fish Creek, NY. No matterwhere it is, it’s a small structure that needs to be modeled.I know from inspecting the building that it contained a toilet- basically a privy and no sink. The remaining space in thebuilding could have been for storage and/or a crew shelter duringinclement weather. The stack shown on the photographs isnew as evidenced by sheet metal parts found inside. The windowswere boarded up when I visited but an inside inspectionrevealed their dimensions. Noteworthy is the one high framethat contains a door with vertical boards, strap hinges and ahasp. Could this have been for the transfer of long materialsthat would not conveniently fit through a door?You can easily build your model from commercially availablebasswood or styrene siding and roofing stock. GrandtLine [www.grandtline.com/] has windows and doors that aregood approximations of the prototype’s. Note that the building’s‘main’ door is narrower than the toilet’s.This building will provide a neat little addition to yourmodel railroad. The prototype is painted dark green with lightergreen doors. The window trim appears to be a faded red.You can paint your model similarly or your railroad's standardstructure colors.To learn more read: When the Railroads Went to theBeach, by John Taibi and A. Bruce Tracy, Depot Square Publishing,Loveland, Ohio.(Drawings on pgs. 54 & 55)52 • O Scale Trains - July/Aug ’09The present west end of the shanty shows one large window. Note thecurvature of the roof. Some may claim that this is typical of Lehigh Valleyarchitecture.The south end of the existing building. The openings for the windows areapproximately the same size as found on the north side. The building istemporarily resting on wood blocks. A more permanent installation (andthe one your layout) should be a concrete foundation.The ceiling rafters extend out to support the roof's overhang. Note theirend detailing. This can be a minor modeling challenge but a detail that willmake a model distinctive.