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The other day I drove down to Pinellas Park Fl to buy some scenery stuff for the Christmas layout. I purchased what I needed and then shortly after leaving I drove past the new location of H&R Trains and Toys Inc.  So, what the heck.  I stopped in to have a look around and as I was leaving I noticed their backdrops on display above and behind the checkout counter.  One in particular caught my eye. It was titled "Small Town" and made by Realistic Backgrounds.  What caught my eye was this.  It was a photograph of the town near Pittsburgh where I was born and raised and further, the house where we lived when I was born was included in the backdrop.  The store owner and I were photographed outside the store with me holding the poster and pointing to my old home. I don't intend to use it on the layout. I've already begun machining a frame for it to be placed on the wall in my study.

Posing with the owner

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  • Posing with the owner
Last edited by Rich Melvin
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Alfred E Neuman posted:

Amazing.  Is the house where you lived still standing?

What, me worry?

No, it was razed several years ago.  We actually moved from that house in 1952 to another house one street below and a few blocks south.  It still stands and was bought back by my sister in 1999.  She still lives there.  Unfortunately that home is not quite visible in the backdrop although a small portion of the street is.

Norm posted:

Pennsyterry,

Being a local guy,would you mind telling me where that photo was taken?  Which town?

Very interesting photo and story.

Norm

 

Hi Norm.  The town is Wilmerding Pa. just east of Pittsburgh in the Turtle Creek valley.  It can be called an old railroad town, being the home of Westinghouse Airbrake Company

I bought eight of these panels about twenty years ago in a So. California hobby shop for a panorama behind our family room layout. No idea of  scene location until a guest spotted the downtown skyline portion and said “that’s Pittsburgh!” I later turned an extra panel over and sure enough, it indicated Duquesne Quick Copy, Inc., Pittsburgh. Visitors invariably ask either “did you take those (don’t I wish)?, or “are those real locations.” 

Your panel is in the most prominent place, and it means a great deal more to me now that I’ve read of someone who actually lived there. Neat to know the precise house (lower right hand corner?). Hard to tell even with the computer screen fully enlarged.

OddIsHeRU posted:

I bought eight of these panels about twenty years ago in a So. California hobby shop for a panorama behind our family room layout. No idea of  scene location until a guest spotted the downtown skyline portion and said “that’s Pittsburgh!” I later turned an extra panel over and sure enough, it indicated Duquesne Quick Copy, Inc., Pittsburgh. Visitors invariably ask either “did you take those (don’t I wish)?, or “are those real locations.” 

Your panel is in the most prominent place, and it means a great deal more to me now that I’ve read of someone who actually lived there. Neat to know the precise house (lower right hand corner?). Hard to tell even with the computer screen fully enlarged.

Yeah it's on the lower right.  I took seven photos of the panel. Photo seven is attached

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  • wding7: My house was the lower row (Sprague Street) last house on the right
jim sutter posted:

I went to their website and brought up some pictures. They had one of Brownsville, Ohio. It reminded me of Brownsville PA. It showed two bridges over a body of water.  

Wow, I lived in Brownsville as well....once upon a time when coal mining/steel was still going strong.

Are you familiar with Brownsville?

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