1950's diner

I built this from a Plasticville kit. I shortened it one window, added roof details, added a foundation, steps and railings. Paint and signs finished outside.....a scratchbuilt interior finished it off......

I love AMC Dave's diner. In many sections of Pennsylvania....mostly the northwestern section, many eateries such as these are spelled "d i n o r".....dunno why.

I'm pretty sure bar mills (barmillsmodels..com) has a kit called Sweaty Betty's.
they also had one attached to a building but that may not be in o scale. tom yorke made a great kit awhile back but it sounds like it would be too "other side of the tracks" for your needs. it's out of production at this point unless you see it on ebay. Model Tech Studios might have something. if those options don't work, do what dave and Frank53 did by using a plasticville diner. you can easily spray paint the pieces "chrome" or metallic silver, add a few details and if you don't weather it much, you'll end up with a relatively new looking 50's era diner.

jerrman

This is one I would pick. It is from Department 56 in their Christmas in the City Collection.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Modified K-line diner.

 

 

 

Which was modified from the modification done to ................

 

 

...........the original K-line diner that was modified from..............

 

 

..........the original Marx Diner.

 

 

 

This is the Department 56 "Shelly's Diner"

 

Here's a pic of the phone Joe's talking about:

 

It makes a great looking diner.

I have one also. Just remove all the phone cords from the handset (the roof) and base. Plug in the power wallwart and you can press a "test" button on the back of the unit to play the song. The interior is very highly detailed and easily visible through the windows. Remove the "roof" to show your friends a better view of the detail inside.

For a diner that's ready to go this one is hard to beat!

Here's a link to a video of the diner in action.

Mark

Department 56 also made a "Mickeys Diner". I changed the name to suit my layout. This Diner is the closest to O Scale of the various Dept. 56 Diners.

 

If you go to web sight www.mylittletown.com and select "shop", on Page 1 there is an O scale "Denny's Classic Diner" @ $39.99. And on Page 3 there is an O scale "White Castle" diner @ $44.99. These are both ceramic buildings with complete interiors.

 

There are other O scale items as well. The sight is worth checking out. I have several of these, and am very happy with their detail.

 

Paul Goodness

 

This one started out as a Plasicville diner as well. However, it may not meet your definition of "up scale"!

jackson

 

 

TheBigCrabCake:

 

Boy, do I remember the Haven Brothers truck parked a short distance from City hall.

Wow! That Phone Diner is fantastic, so I just one on eBay. Mark, thanks for sharing the video.

 

Haven Brothers really was a big deal. When the downtown area meant something with the movie theaters and department stores, Haven Brother was always there for a quick bite to eat.

 

I have been away for many years, so I have no idea what the status is today.