Can anyone help me out with some pics, or links on how to do a alley,it’s right next (behind) my yard, and i thought it would be a good idea. After several attempts, it still keeps ending up looking like a main road.
Thanks in advance [:D]
Seems like Model Railroader had a spread about making a alley recently?..Cox 47
Could you tell me which issue that would be please, Thank you
don’t know if this will help…
alley charactoristics: much narrower than a street, almost always made of concrete, not as smooth as a street, lots of cracks, no curbs, since there are no storm sewers they are sloped to the middle to creae a waterway to take water to the end & the sewers of intersecting street, lots of debris…garbage cans etc
For an ‘urban’, working alley (meaning not a funky retail area/mall), you’re gonna have no storefronts or anything more than maybe a side entrance type entry (to an office), else the side or rear of the building abut it - that’s kinda what Model Railroad had in it’s August, 2007 article, basically the back/rear of several buildings lined a narrow ‘asphalt’ drive, which led to a backyard gate (and paralleled the adjacent railroad tracks)
A few things that differentiate an alley from a main road:
- Narrow, and no sidewalks.
- Fences are practical, not pretty - and not all the same type (tall board fences interspersed with cyclone fencing, with and without barbed wire on top…)
- Pavement is thin, irregular and patched. No striping. Mudpuddles and weeds along edges. Some patches are obviously covering utility (gas, water and sewer) trenches.
- Trash containers (and trash) all along the length, both sides.
- Buildings don’t have their ‘pretty’ sides facing an alley. Lots of fire escapes on anything over two stories, plain construction, cheap paint. Not many windows.
- Commercial buildings may have loading docks, will have delivery doors.
I’m sure others will have things to add to this list.
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
In addition to what others have said, if you are modeling a smaller town there is a good chance the alley might be gravel or uneven brick/cobblestone.
would there be street lights or would the lights be on the buildings?
Rick, depending on the time frame you’re modelling, lighting in an alley would be optional.
There wouldn’t be any lights in the fifties or sixties. You might see an occasional dusk to dawn light in the seventies, that a property owner would have had installed, but no municipal lighting.
If the alley is adjacent to a rail yard, there might be lights on high poles to illuminate the rail yard, eliminating the need of the property owners to install security lightling of their own.
Ok after some whirlwind relocation here is what i have done so far, does it look ok, kinda weird having the buildings facing the wrong way, but i guess with some scenicing it will change things
the passenger car is going to be a future yard eating place with the public welcome of course
Maybe a really narrow one with dumpsters, fire escapes, ect.
I dunno, in NY/NJ those houses would have small backyards (maybe mostly driveway or patio), and then big honkin’ fences between them and the yard/access road (probably wood in the 1940s/1950s, then chainlink, and nowadays probably PVC panel fences - indeed, the house may have a privacy fence on it’s lot line, and a chainlink from the RR on the other side of the property line - yep two fences side by side, very common) - but probably no alleys. The industrial buildings would just have the parking/trailer lots, not really alleys either.
Alleys in suburban/industrial areas between two industrial/commercial properties often are narrow, weed, trash & tree filled lots (since no-one takes care of it) with chain-link gates blocking access - good way to get trees & ‘greenery’ into an otherwise barren model landscape.
Wider alleys, well, they usually become access roads with loading docks & dumpsters lining the way as mentioned above - of course, really old & historic alleys become ‘tourist trap’ pedestrian malls, with faux classic storefront and giftshops & eateries and all that - however, not likely to be found in the US pre-1970s.
I had an extra 3/4 of an inch or so between Woolworths and Suzanne’s House of Beef, so I decided to put in a small alley, on the left edge of this shot:
I didn’t do anything special here. The garbage cans are the only detail. It’s just a narrow space between 2 buildings. There are no doors from either building. There isn’t enough space for a fire escape, although I think they’re a great detail. (I’ve got both Tichy and Walthers fire escapes on my layout.) These are commercial, rather than residential buildings. If they were residential, it would be appropriate to hang clotheslines with laundry between the buildings. I did deliberately place a street light on the curb in front of the alley, so that incidental light would fall on it and improve its look for night running.
Don’t forget the alley cats.
Nice job Mr B! In a more urban setting - NYC anyway - there would be a vagrant or two hanging out, or maybe “relieving” in there!! Don’t forget trash on the ground![:O]
Rick, now that I’ve seen your real estate, here are a few observations based on your photos:
- Your buildings denote a clear dividing line between zonings - commercial-industrial from the first semi away, then multi-unit residential-commercial, then single family residential. The road treatment for the alley along the edge of the right-of-way should reflect that: wide concrete where the 18-wheelers are (part of which would be city alley, the rest paved back yard of the commercial buildings,) narrower ‘patchwork quilt’ asphalt behind the residential buildings.
- The residential buildings would have back yards, separated from the alley by high fences with gates. The gates would almost always have trash cans adjacent. The yards could be anything from garden club wonderland to unlicensed dump.
- The commercial buildings would almost certainly have commercial-grade trash disposal facilities - dumpster-compactors attached to the buildings themselves.
- As long as your scene is, it should be split by streets perpendicular to the tracks, probably at the zone dividing lines. The usual block length in an older part of town (which is what your buildings suggest) would be about 100 yards (subject to compression.)
- The zoning authority would probably refuse a variance to the diner in its present location. Try to find it a home in the industrial-commercial district.
Some of the more entertaining TV here is live coverage of zoning discussions involving the Planning Commission, people who want variances and people who object. Getting a variance approved in the real world is only slightly less difficult than brushing the teeth of an unrestrained alligator. Granted that you are, simultaneously, Mayor, Council, zoning board, homeowner and developer, buildings of various types should be grouped, not mixed with wild abandon. With the exception of the proposed diner, you’ve done a good job of that.
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