The B&CC Water Towers are adapted from the 8930 gallon water tank located at the Colorado Central station of Beaver Brook. The following photographs from the Ted Kierscey collection were used as prototype material:
This prototype is adapted to the Blackhawk & Central City layout by shrinking the tank size slightly, modifying the joining of the wainscoting and deck (making the decking construction thicker and the top of the wainscoting thinner), removing the unidentified post from the first photograph, simplifying the roof, and placing the roof access door and ladder where it won't foul trackage and placing signage where it can be seen from the track. The resulting interpretation (documented in this set of plans) represents a 8260 gallon water tank used at various points along the line.
Since the prototype photographs show no doors for accessing the support truss or lower piping, the model posits that a section of wainscoting would be removed for access to the understructure and then nailed back into place when finished This process would eventually lead to gaps between the wainscoting sections as shown in the model.
Weathering starts from the proceedings of the American Railway Bridge and Building Association conventions. The common practice in the late 19th century was to paint structures either with red or white lead mixed with linseed oil - leading to a choice of red and white for the colors of the structure. Further, common practice was to repaint the tank when it was cleaned - this confirms the fact that all of the photographs of the prototype don't appear to show any weathering on the outside of the structure. However, since I wished to model a tank in between repaint jobs (so that the base coat would have a chance to fade due to the higher levels of UV in the mountains), it is necessary to add some weathering to the roof and sides of the structure. This was done by dry brushing Grimy Black over the structure, concentrating more on the side of the tank near the filler pipe outlet and on the parts of the roof that are starting to sag due to water seepage and snow weight. Lastly, given the presumed history of the Blackhawk & Central City, the metalwork would have been fabricated at the Blackhawk Foundry, leading to the choice of Neolube for weathering the metal parts as well as the selection of Grimy Black for painting parts fabricated from plastic.
Station signage size and lettering selection results from research into signage used along the Colorado Central during that time period. The typical lettering was 3" in height and painted on a 5' wide white field with a 1" red border. The signs conform to this practice.
Lastly, the wainscoting signs are based on research into period wanted posters and vaudeville bills. The sign design and sizes conform to typical signs used during this period.