When last you guys left me my layout looked like this.
Two things happened. You guys talked me into making a false front in front of staging and I ran into a guy who live here then. In making the change, I was able to put Buchanan’s back on the side of the street it belonged. Now the only track work that does not exist on the prototype is the crossover in the sliding section that I need to complete a runaround. I also added the front end ramp that dog thought should be there, and was confirmed by the old guy who lived here. I may yet loose the engine house. Although it was in the 1938 photo, it is not shown on the 1950 Sanborn map nor did the old guy think it was there.
The end unloading ramp numbered 15 would have probably been used for farm machinery for industry 17, and maybe construction equipment such dump tracks for the local construction equipment dealer (not modeled). THe side unloading ramp, also numbered 15 could have been used for unloading automobiles for the local car dealers (not modeled).
The engine house, number 13 probably should be replaced with an industry
If passenger service has been discontinued, the passenger station, number 10 and the express office, number 8 would have been converted to other uses. The Old Dog would sugest selling the passenger station to a beer distributor to provide an excuse to run beer reefers. The Produce and Fruit Company, number 18 would provide a home fruit reefers such as PFE. The Wholesale Grocery could handle meat and poultry giving you a home for the packing house reefers.
You consider replacing the houses on 9th Street and Railroad Avenue with commerial store fronts to provide a better view block.
The Dog would be temped to narrow industry 20 and replace the tow houses behind it with a fuel oil dealer.
Providing an overhead crane and hopper unloading pit some where on the team tracks cound add interest.
Where you do model houses, the Dog would suggest using six flat buildings with back porches for addition interest.
Part of my playing around at this is to research and re-build old Indiana. There are already a lot of Industries for the space (and more just off the layout that have to be sorted and spotted. This is not to say that more wouldn’t be better. I just don’t want to trade accuracy to gain slightly more ops.
I have the team tracks for beer reefers. You’ll get your Bear Wiz beer reefers.
Actually the station became a restaurant. But I am going to keep service for a while.
I thought really hard about bringing the Indiana Brewery 5 blocks closer and spotting it there, but in the end, I stuck to the prototype. I’ll plant some large trees in the empty lot.
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The Dog would be temped to narrow industry 20 and replace the tow houses behind it with a fuel oil dealer.
Providing an overhead crane and hopper unloading pit some where on the team tracks cound add interest.
Mr Mouse: You are only going to be able to spot 1 car at Buchanan’s (5), if anything. Everything on that spur must fit on the tail of the switch while the points are thrown from R to N. Based on the map, the real one was about 125 ft long (which would be a switcher and two cars) or 17 inches in HO.
Maybe you could move the switch to the far right of the sliding section, toward the middle of the spur?
Or reverse that switch serving the Grocery to the opposite direction.
Either that or remove that switch entirely. If you did this then you will need to put a switch and tie the Grocery spur’s right end into the center “Main” Just in front of the coal dock.
Shuffling one car at a time until you get 2-3 or 4 cars switched into the Grocery is going to be a hassle. So. Make it easy on yourself and have that spur straight through.
Clearly the prototype had enough room for two cars and I have room for one car plus the engine. To make matters worse if you look at my post on the General Board you’ll see that Buchanan’s is th the railroads biggest customers and that every day, 5 cars need to be spotted there.
I really want to keep to the prototype as much as possible, but I may have to find a solution to that area–even if it is just to get one more car space on the switchback. Another thing that adds to the problem is that the building farthest to the left on Stewart’s Hardware is the one that receives the building supplies. If I flip the switch right where it is, I have to spot the car in an impossible location–on the switch.
Awright. I’ll let it go. I dont want to generate ill will over personal preference of switching cuts of cars instead of digging one by one to a major dock.
Let us know what you do with it ok?
Overall I have nothing other than to say “Well done” on your planning.
Just wanted to let you know that I am taking your suggestion seriously. It bothered me from the first time I saw it on the Sanford. But it has been that way since at least 1903 which is my earliest map. And the acutal size of Buchanans is double what I have represented. I’m jut going to model the front half. Anyway, there must have been a lot of traffic in and out of that place–all using that small switchback. Right now my inclination is to move the crossover onto that track into the sliding section and make is so I can cut 3-4 cars at a time.
The Old Dog thinks that some of the above posters have a point.
The cross over for the spur serving Stewart’s Hardware and Buchanon Wholesale Grocery neds to be moved to the left towards Compers Alley. If you look at the map, the points of the turnout are in the middle of the alley. That would give you maybe a hundred or hundred and twenty feet. Since that would put the turn out on the joint between the tables, you might need to move it further left. As it is, the tail of the switch back is going to be a pain in the butt.
Just looking at the maps, it looks like there are some very interesting structures along 9th street. The “Community Center” is an old YMCA, one section has a swiming pool on one floor and a gym on the second. That could make for some interesting interior detailing. The house besides the church is attached to a “private hospital”, that sounds interesting. Then there are some interesting shaped houses along the street that might be challenging to model.
Only about a third of the structures on the map are still there because the whole are was flattended to make the new county courthouse and support structures… The YMCA is now the Free Library and Jimmy Stewart Museum but is still standing. The Clearfield Coal is the courthouse annex and is a spectacular building. Some the houses and shops along ninth may be the original, but the shops have been modernized. Buchanon’s and Stewart’s Hardware are both gone. Lauderdale’s Produce is still standing, but I doubt very much it is in it’s original form. The 1950 insurnace maps say it is a steel structure (like, I assume, an open platform) and the building there is brick.
I plan on finding pictures and rebuilding it as close to 1950 as I can.
In some cases you will probably need to fill in with generic Victorian structures.
But look at 34 S 9th Street. It looks like it has a turrent on one corner,several bay windows, and a wrap around porch. Plus there is an office on the same lot.
The structure at 24 S 9th also looks interesting, especially with the attached hospital.
The church itself has an interesting shape plus an attached house.
Then is the structure at 32 N 9th with bay windows, a porch, plus two attached apartments.
They almost make the Old Dog want to get some strip wood and start cutting. Turrents, bay windows, porches, dormers, and who knows what else.
Actually it says it has a steel truss roof - it could be brick-walled. That’s the trouble with the microfilmed maps: They are B&W when the originals used color to define the general construction type.
Yellow was wood frame, red was brick, gray was all-metal, brown was fireproof, and blue was concrete or stone.
Mr. Mouse, would you hate me a whole lots if I were to stick my hand into the mix at this point and offer a suggestion? Especially if it involves a (…wait for it…) double-slip switch? [:-,]
You have essentially decided to move that one turnout left about 50 scale feet…or more. If you were to do that, but convert the one “below” it to a DS, you could remove the one on the lowest track, and get some real storage room if you had a need for it. I am talking about Railway Ave, where it is lettered.
I don’t know if that does anything for you plan or ops, but it came to me in one of my flashes of intuition. Not that they have a great track record on these threads, but…well…
Dog, all those houses are still standing. One is a law office. When my camera is fixed, I’'ll take some photos for you.
The church, believe it or not has it’s basement dedicated to the Central Indiana Model Railroad association, and is home to quite a few of my structures.
I’m trying to keep things as close to prototype as I can. My first consession was the crossover in the traverser. The second was moving the crossover to the siding onto the traverser.
I promise I’ll put a couple double slips in Train City. Really, I will.
Have you checked the city zoning office or an older, established insurance agency? Both might have originals. I believe either Carnegie Library in Pittsburgh or the Penn State library has originals for PA in their holdings.
Thanks. Neither Universtiy is close, but there is a university in town. The main thing I need is pictures. Right now, the footprints are enough, but to do the buildings justice, I need photos.
Start at 1940 in old newspaper archives for that town and work forward. There has to be sufficient photos in the life of those times to reconstruct the place.
