For over a century, the gas works was a fixture of American cities and towns. Long before natural gas and electricity were common, these facilities generated "coal gas" to power street lamps, home appliances and industrial machinery. The gas was actually a byproduct, made by baking coal to produce coke. Running night and day, a variety of fascinating machinery and structures were needed, along with plenty of rail service and now modeling these facilities is easy, with a brand-new collection of HO Scale Cornerstone Series kits from Walthers. Typical of buildings found at gas works everywhere, each has been engineered for easy assembly and to fit almost any layout. Decal signs and complete instructions are included too. To bake coal at the high temperatures required to produce gas, a special structure known as a retort was used. This consisted of several huge vertical ovens built side-by-side. While designs varied to meet the needs
