After seeing Spankybird’s post on naming the town, I was interested to see if the naming of businesses after family members is common.
I have Josh’s Hobby Shop, Victoria’s Hallmark Store as well as Victoria’s Christmas store. I also have billboards for WJES after my daughter Jessica and Jessica’s Pizza. So far I have yet to name anything after me thought.
A friend of mine has just about every business named after his family members.
Marty,
All of The Rock’s businesses say Plasticville on them. Doesn’t sound too creative, right?[;)]
Plasticville is my contractor too along with a few others…after that they get personalized.
I always wanted to have a surplus store combined with an office supply store called, “Rank and File.”
I have been naming the businesses in my town with my kids initials (ex: LEJ Sawmill, LB Recyclers, EAB Oil) and mine and my wifes intials (MSB Pipe). I have also used our last name on 1 of them.
Here’s an idea for a whimsical industry. It would need three operating cars, an aquarium car, a cattle pen, and a barrel ramp. “Lox, Stock, and Barrel”, makers of fine kosher foods.[swg]
not only are many of my businesses named for family members, most of those have been customized with photos or trainsformation custom figures of the family members themselves.
I’m currently building the Second Amendment Gun Shop, named after an inside joke with a friend. It’ll integrate a few more inside jokes as well. A couple of other old inside jokes will also get buildings. I intend to name a few more businesses after relatives. I had a great-grandfather who was a tailor, and a great-great grandfather who owned a store. I’ll name some other businesses after real-world personal favorites.
So I suppose I’m chasing the variety pack.
I tried to go one step better: I built model’s of all of my family’s houses. I even built little street signs using their real address. I had 1:48 scale figures made representing each person and when positioned by their house it makes for a great display - modestly speaking and all [:I]
Sorry about pointing you to Tripod but that’s where I have the pictures hosted.:
Walt
I’ve seen your work…very impressive!
I name everything, even geological features, after ‘celebreties’ in the 3 rail hobby. I have "Wolf Cut’, Cowen Trestle, Vergun Mills, the town of Mattjack, et cetera. I will be adding the Armstrong Mountains, Ellison Junction, Lesser Yards (named after Pete and Joe Lesser of the famous hi-rail layout). Maybe even the “Barret Backshop”. Of course there will be a Weaver Bridge and an Atlas Pass.
Nothing for K-line yet; maybe we can add the Town of Klien.
Awhile back, there was a thread on the OGR forum using music as a theme for businesses. Things like Bob’s Premium Guns and Ammo (Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band) or L. Hevy-- Plumbing Supplies (Elton John) I don’t know if it’s still there but there were some really twisted minds at work producing good stuff.
Dale
I have re-lettered MTH out-of-the box buildings for family members and long-ago girl friends. HARRY’S FABULOUS FROSTINGS is the corner bakery, named for my dad, a life-long baker. GLORIA’S GLITTER AND GO is a boutique (for Gloria S., my high school sweetheart), SUSIE’S SERIOUS SNACKS is a neighborhood mini-restaurant (for Suzy W., a finicky eater who was no fun on a dinner date), and KAREN’S KOOKIE KASTLE (for Karen B., proud owner of a box of great cookie recipes from family and friends).
I’m kitbashing the Plasticville Hospital into a three-times-bigger building and re-lettering it as UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER for the “real” medical center where I work. When finished later this year, it will have three wings for patient care, labeled: CUTTEMUPP Center, STIKITTUUM Institute, and STICHEMUPP Tower. The ER entrance of the hosptial will be labeled the Saturday Night Knife and Gun Club.
Mike
Hi Rttrainfan,
You wouldn’t happen to be working at the Univerity Medical Center in Cleveland, OH would you [?], It sounds like it.
tom
".