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Lewis Woods
As part of our initiative to refresh the scenery after the 2020 break-in, Ray Pearson started rebuilding the area between Cementville and Hankinsville. His intention was to build a (National Park) Ranger Station and a service station. Playing off the "Ranger" theme, the backdrop city was named "Benning" and the area christened "Lewis Woods". When Ray passed in 2022, Member Morgan Davis set out to finish Ray's work, and in time for the NMRA meet in May. At the time of this writing, all that remained was installation of crossings on the NWR main.
One of the goals here was to reuse buildings salvaged from other parts of the layout. Many of the details are new.
Service Station
The Service Station came previously from West Marmon. Based on facilities from the 1950s and 60s, including one in the photo gallery at left. Ma's Place, the green building adjacent, came from Ratcliffe originally and is indicative of many old style general stores and roadside cafes. Campers from nearby can load up on bait and supplies.
The yellow telephone booth is a BRAWA product with a bulb. Eventually the bulb will burn out and need to be replaced, in which case we will replace it with a WS Nano LED. I used a Z Scale street light for the fuel pad area. The yellow truck is placed in honor of Ray who had a similar yellow Dodge. The truck is an RPS Ford with a 5th wheel hitch and a beacon
Lewis Woods R.A.
Just off the edge of civilization, in narrow northeastern extension of the Hoosier National Forest, is the Lewis Woods Recreation Area. A Small office looks over the turn off. sign in at the guard shack and enjoy a weekend of relaxation,
All of the signs are custom printed. The gate house was made from an Atlas crossing tower. I used salvaged WS wooden lights for the parking lot, a Nano LED for the gatehouse, and an overhead lamp for the door. I chose to not light the interior of the building as the office would likely not be lit after dark. The same logic would apply for the gatehouse as well, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity. There is a spotlight on the flag, which came from EBAY.
The beacon has been lit! Benning calls for Aid!
The beacon has been lit! Benning calls for Aid!