Interlude ... while I was spray painting, Chef Chuck Wagon was off dreaming about provisioning his diner. To that end, he ordered an American Heritage Charles Chips delivery truck. Some of you of "a certain age" from Pennsylvania or other parts of the U.S. East Coast may remember Charles Chips deliveries. Yummy potato chips, pretzels, or cookies made in Lancaster, PA would be delivered to your door in these really nifty large tins:
As a kid, whenever my family would visit our great aunts near Harrisburg, PA, we'd look forward to the Charles Chips delivery. And, the chips were even better than waiting for the delivery. Apparently, Chef has some fond memories as well. He's ready ("primed?") to unload a tin or two:
Uh-oh! Someone should have warned Chef that when you "order a Charles Chips truck" you aren't actually ordering a truck load of Charles Chips. Poor Chef is overcome with disappointment:
To revive Chef, the Tomlinson Run Railroad's art department will manufacture the appearance of a truckload of Charles Chips tins. And since appearances are everything, hopefully, Chef will be satisfied (betcha can't each just one):
But seriously, I found a small (i.e., medium diameter) plastic drinking straw in my collection that is the perfect circumference for creating scale Charles Chips tins. However, cutting the straw without crushing/splitting/splintering the ends may be problematic. So for now, I will try and create a miniaturized mock-up of the back of the truck as it would appear when the door is open. Unfortunately, one of the model's Phillips screws is impossible to remove, so I'll have to fit the cardboard mock-up in through the rear door. Not ideal but it'll do. When I get to it that is ...
Tomlinson Run Railroad
P.S. -- You can buy Charles Chips again but Amazon posters complained they don't taste the same.
