The most common freight carried by the DAR were apples, in barrels - millions of them every year - so I have been searching for an accurate and affordable HO apple barrel. I thought I'd share my results:
Nova Scotian apple barrels were 29" log x 17.25" at the head according to the book "Fruit Harvesting, Storing and Marketing" by F.A. Waugh published in 1901:
http://books.google.com/books?id=cjpmQU ... navlinks_s
(Ottawa was apparently pushing to enforce a smaller size but Nova Scotian growers were "a law unto themselves"!)
Most HO barrels are considerably larger than this but I finally found a good match:
Selley Finishing Touches Walthers # 675-152 Flour Barrels
These model barrels are 29" long and 19" wide at the head in HO scale inches.
They are good castings with the right number of hoops - also good value: $4.50 for a dozen.
Let me know if anyone else has found some good HO barrels. I have several warehouse, truck and orchard scenes in the works so I will be needing lots of barrels!
The book listed above is also a great primer on basic apple shipping and storing and has a good description the features of a typical Nova Scotian apple warehouse.
Cheers,
Dan