Mystery Sternwheeler By Keith Black - 1:120 Scale - 1870's Mosquito Fleet Work Boat

[Keith Black]

 

On 10/25/2025 at 3:18 PM, Canute said:

Maybe it was an elevated viewing station/crow's nest. The mast wasn't usable, but elevation was needed to see over whatever was being barged around. Railroad tugs had higher wheelhouses to see over the multiple floats they moved around various harbors.

 Ken, I think the legs would be too wobbly (1) and short on head room (3) plus the pilothouse its self is three decks high. 

 

On 10/25/2025 at 3:22 PM, wefalck said:

Could this mystery object be just a water tank to supply hand-wash basins and perhaps a toilet ? 

 Eberhard, awfully small for a water tank and the spindly legs wouldn't support a lot of weight. 

 

8 hours ago, BANYAN said:

n my proposal for a 'cool safe' I mentioned seeing these on some Murray River (Victoria/NSW, Australia) paddle steamers.  Here are two photos of PS Adelaide I took some years back with a cool safe on the roof of her fore cabin structure.  I also found one on the 'net' in a BLOG about Murray River paddle steamers (but failed to not the blog - sorry), and a close-up of a cool safe that was advertised on a local auction site. I hope these are useful Keith. As I mentioned in a PM to Keith, I have seen these in a more ovalised/rounded shape also but cannot find a photo.

 

One 'fly in the ointment' though, note the shape and colour of the navigation light pole on the wheelhouse roof. Maybe a potential candidate also (although a little smaller and less symmetrical in shape than you show).

 Pat, I think you're spot on. I believe it's a cool safe, cold safe, cold box, food box, or whatever you want to call that item. I've always referred to them as a cold box and will do so henceforth. 

 

 Ken, Eberhard, and Pat, thank you so very much for posting. 

 

 

 The reasons why I think this is a cold box...

 

 Item 1. Thin legs that support the cold box elevated off the pilothouse roof for air circulation. 

 

 Item 2. I think that is a latch. 

 

 Item 3. Appears to be a nozzle. I think this is for occasionally spraying water into the cold box to help keep food items cool. 

 

 Item 4. Water pipe leading to the item 3 nozzle coming from the boiler deck, the same deck the galley is located on. The cook would have been the one in charge of controlling when and how much water was applied to the cold box.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[wefalck]

Would the smoke-stack a single tube or would it have sleeve? If it was a single tube, there would be a lot radiation towards the 'cool box' ... Somewhere towards the rear of the boat would seem more logical from a thermal point of view.

 

[Keith Black]

21 minutes ago, wefalck said:

Would the smoke-stack a single tube or would it have sleeve? If it was a single tube, there would be a lot radiation towards the 'cool box' ... Somewhere towards the rear of the boat would seem more logical from a thermal point of view.

 Eberhard, there is a ladder that leads up to the cold box between between the pilothouse and the stack. I think the distance between the PH and the stack is greater than it appears because of the image angle.