As for choices of structures that we will develop in the future, I look for buildings that are historic in nature, have a bit of a local or regional story to tell, are architecturally interesting to model but not so complicated so as to add too much development or building time, can possibly be altered either horizontally or vertically to create lower or taller and/or longer configurations without undo redesign using AuoCAD or a table saw, and could possibly be placed on more than one region's train table.
Cases in point:
1. The prototypical UP Trackside Warehouse was two stories with a loading dock. It has been developed on to five stories with the railroad level loading dock, or with delivery truck level loading dock or plain windows. A canopy over the loading dock looks nice and goose neck lamps above each door trick it out.
2. Cameron Apartments was originally a five story townhouse building element that was constructed outside of Washington, DC. We have designed the core building to eight stories and have built a two stage piece at thirteen stories. It also has the flexibility for windows or no windows on the sides, your call as to whether it stands alone, or is on the right or left end of a block with a parting wall on the other side.
3. The Paterson Silk Mill project is two like-designed buildings that still stand in Paterson, NJ and have similarly designed brothers and sisters in many old industrial towns. Either a blessing or our little nightmare because of the seemingly near infinite number of configurations we can build.
4. D.F. Stauffer Building of York, PA. We have finished it without the lettering, as two buildings and configured with some of our other elevation pieces. Plus I like animal crackers. A shadowbox is owned by the family historian.
5. The Pickwick Hotel of Kansas City is now being built out with your hotel name corner sign if requested.
6. Cameron Station in Kansas City. Because it honors the originator of rail commerce in Kansas City, was designed at five stories, was built at ten stories and looks really good as a seven story custom order.
7. And now the Winchester Park Building in Springfield because it is (was) a classic looking late 1800's building, is the building where the game of baseball was invented, and was later built out by the YMCA to run the entire block with like-designed sections of the original three section design. Plus we could make it taller if asked.
8. Last is the new Paterson Mill- Art Factory building. It is just plain big and was in my camera since my first day of buildings-to-model hunting in Paterson. The S Scale version could easily be used to force perspective on an O Scale layout. Plus it is home to a great repurposing project and the owner provided historical documentation drawings so that we could develop the model accurately.
There are lots of others that I have in mind. What building would you like to see?
