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What would you have liked to have modeled on your layout, maybe should have, but actually couldn't have modeled?

And what kept you from modeling it?

For me, it was the entire world of the steel mills of my youth during the 50's & 60's in the Pittsburgh area.

FrankM

Last edited by Moonson
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I was a swimming instructor and life guard at Logana Plunge in Logan, Utah when I was in high school. Huge indoor pool with glass all the way along both long sides.  I can fit a scaled down (about12" x 18" or 20") LP in my planned space, but I can't find a picture of it before it was torn down and  new pool put in.  I guess I could try to fake it from my memory.  No one around would know nor remember back over 60 years ago.

Got a black and white picture of the sign out on the highway pointing to it.  Might just make that and put a roof back in the trees.

If you asked me that question personally I would answer, nothing, I have modelled everything I have wanted over the last 40 years and still going with ideas. Of course most of the last 40 years now only exist in photos just never had the space to keep every single thing I have built some I managed to sell or give away the rest ended in the trash bin. Brian Scace ex editor of OST a good friend of mine once asked me do I regret not keeping or changing anything I replied nope, I never look back I have gone on to better things, just a few days ago I scrapped a scratch built crane on the layout (highline) because I never liked it and have now almost finished a new one which I think fits in better. My only fear or concern with my modelling career is age (I'm 76)  can I keep going for another 10 years to finish what I want to do. I am slowing up and have noticed I take longer to do things. Age is strange I find the hiking I do in the bush has never been better but the workshop work is getting harder almost like my brain is telling my body physically your OK but mentally your not ! Sorry for the long answer. Roo.

The high point of my childhood was the 1964-65 New Your World's Fair. I can't describe how big a deal it was for me at the time. I had this beautiful Hermann Bollmann rendering of the Fair on my wall (I have it still).

My dream has always been to model the fair as per this map (complete with the LIRR station and yard). As a kid, I lacked the skill, and I probably still do. However, now that we have SLA printers, I am reconsidering the project. It would still be an immense effort, but made quite a bit easier by the fact that CAD models of many of the structures are already available.  (There is a vibrant community of Worlds Fair enthusiasts, and there have been several "Back to the Fair" projects working toward the dream of a Virtual Reality model of the entire fair. Wouldn't that be something?)

Last edited by Avanti

Pete.

The longer you leave it the harder it gets!

I have a photo somewhere I think it came from China of a model city built to scale for something they were designing for the future it's huge I can't post it here for copyright reasons but if I find the link I will post that you might get some ideas from it. Roo.

If I had more space, modeling skills, time and money, I would model The Put (Putnam Division of the NY Central).

It would include 2 ballparks in The Bronx: Yankee Stadium and the Polo Grounds. It would have Pocantico Hills train station (beautiful Victorian style train station near the Rockefeller Estate), dairy farms in Northern Westchester County and Lionel Postwar operating milk cars and platforms, a train station in Yorktown Heights (where I live), and an iron ore mine (Tilly mines) in Brewster, NY with lots of Postwar operating ore dump cars. The scenery would include the Bronx River and Saw Mill River, beautiful rolling hills, and the Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Valhalla, NY where Babe Ruth has his final resting place.

I think The Put could be an excellent model railroad for a train club. It would be great to make the model railroad historically accurate, especially since it no longer exists.

Arnold

 

Modeling in an historically accurate way is very appealing to me. RPI (Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute) has done an HO model railroad with historically accurate structures and details in the Albany and Troy, NY area. I believe they are relocating that model railroad on the RPI campus, and plan to re-open it to the public in the foreseeable future.

Great topic, Frank.

Arnold

Avanti posted:

The high point of my childhood was the 1964-65 New Your World's Fair. I can't describe how big a deal it was for me at the time. I had this beautiful Hermann Bollmann rendering of the Fair on my wall (I have it still).

My dream has always been to model the fair as per this map (complete with the LIRR station and yard). As a kid, I lacked the skill, and I probably still do. However, now that we have SLA printers, I am reconsidering the project. It would still be an immense effort, but made quite a bit easier by the fact that CAD models of many of the structures are already available.  (There is a vibrant community of Worlds Fair enthusiasts, and there have been several "Back to the Fair" projects working toward the dream of a Virtual Reality model of the entire fair. Wouldn't that be something?)

That would be amazing, Pete. I spent quite a few days/nights at the Fair as a kid and it was amazing. But I did look on line and found that the Fair covered 646 acres - at 1/48th scale you would still need 13 acres!!! But I’d love to see some of the individual buildings/structures... the Unisphere, Hall of Science, the US pavilion, the Vatican pavilion (you’d have to include an O-scale copy of Michelangelo’s Pietà), the Port Authority, New York State... several of those still exist.

Does anyone know of a model train layout featuring both Yankee Stadium and the Polo Grounds?

Since I already have a Yankee Stadium of sorts, I could try to make a Polo Grounds of sorts, across from Yankee Stadium. 

Yankee Stadium:

20190831_053217

Site of future Polo Grounds:20190520_171417

Should I start revving up the bulldozers? LOL

It's so much fun to dream. Arnold

Attachments

Images (2)
  • 20190831_053217
  • 20190520_171417

Hmm...let's see.

Back in the '80s, when I was heavily into HO, I considered (3) different projects, none of which I followed through on:

1. A large scale circus scene

2. A Disneyland-type display

3. Since I was born in Waterbury CT, I thought it might be cool to do a scene of the heavily industrialized downtown area. I picked my Dad's brain and was able to come up with a diagram of what he remembered. Seems there was a big roundhouse, etc in the mix; having the internet back then would have been a big help! Nothing ever came of it, though...

Mark in Oregon

Last edited by Strummer

Maybe I would have gone O'scale two-rail. I went 3-rail due to electrical convenience, but have been striving to make a realistic railroad which would have been enhanced with engines with scale flanges and diesels without swinging pilots. I had the room for the large curves. But once I invested thousands in Ross tracks, there was no going back. I wouldn't have hand laid track since that's simply too involved for me, but more realism would have been nice. I wouldn't want anything bigger. My pike is as big as I can handle.

I just want to take a moment to thank Frank for starting this topic. It has inspired me to begin making my layout more like my dream layout.

Ideally, I would change my layout to be an historically accurate O Gauge model of the Putnam Division of the NY Central, also known as The Put. That is a lofty goal for me. Although I do not know whether I will achieve that goal, I am confident I can make my layout have more features in common with The Put. Arnold

Forty Rod posted:

I was a swimming instructor and life guard at Logana Plunge in Logan, Utah when I was in high school. Huge indoor pool with glass all the way along both long sides.  I can fit a scaled down (about12" x 18" or 20") LP in my planned space, but I can't find a picture of it before it was torn down and  new pool put in.  I guess I could try to fake it from my memory.  No one around would know nor remember back over 60 years ago.

Got a black and white picture of the sign out on the highway pointing to it.  Might just make that and put a roof back in the trees.

Tom - If you've not already done so, check with the local historical society for Logan Plunge and/or the local newspaper.  They may have some photos of that pool archived.  It's worth a try. 

Moonson posted:

What would you have liked to have modeled on your layout, maybe should have, but actually couldn't have modeled?

And what kept you from modeling it?

For me, it was the entire world of the steel mills of my youth during the 50's & 60's in the Pittsburgh area.

FrankM

Hi Frank,

I just wanted to note that the steel mills/Hulett loaders in Cleveland had the same fascination.  There was the Clark Avenue bridge which went east to west over three mills, each with their own railroads.  The bridge is long gone as are all but two blast furnaces.

I did try to build part of the Republic Steel Railroad (River Terminal) on an 8x8 board in 027 with little success.  Lots of imagination for a kid.

Lou N

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