Another Crescent Solution

When inspiration strikes you've just got to run with it, especially when it potentially solves a problem that has long plagued me.  The problem?  What to do with that crescent of land along the street across from the business block on my layout.  Since the initial planning days it has been a set of residential homes, a gas station, a park with a horse-car on display and a bandstand, a gas station again, and now?  Now it just might become a streetcar depot.

Here's the latest plan:

Note: the scenic depictions in this plan are NOT to scale.  In particular, the crescent of land where the Streetcar Depot is indicated is in reality narrower than shown.  More about the plan in a minute.  First, the inspiration:

The image above comes from a long-defunct website about the Northern Electric interurban line and its depot in Woodland, California, near Sacramento.  Thanks to the Internet Archive the site is still accessible here.  I've long wanted to include some Spanish Colonial architecture on the layout as it helps set the locale and the era, central Florida in the 1920s.  Though 2000 miles distant, this structure contains elements I want to include; the arcade, the tile roof, the parapet ornamentations and most importantly the trolley inside the building.

I was never totally happy with the original stub-end streetcar line down the center of the street, ending abruptly at the intersection of Orange Avenue and some as-yet-unnamed street.  Some of the ideas for what to put in the crescent were in response to that discomfort.  I had pondered sending the track around the corner and down the alley to the site of an old barn, the former car barn for the horse-drawn car now turned into an automobile mechanic's shop.  That'd work, sure, and would fit nicely into the overall narrative of evolving transportation in the 20s, but as that area evolved that plan changed as well.  

For a brief moment I considered running the line all the way down that un-named street past the motorcycle cop indicated on the plan above with a second line extending past the mainline station but the thought of building six rail crossings - dummies even! - gave me shivers.  Terminating the line at the crescent made sense logistically as well as narratively as long as some sort of terminus was located there.  Before I had imagined selling trolley tickets from a storefront; a common practice even depicted on the cover of Middleton's tome, The Interurban Era.  However, this new structure makes the storytelling simpler and more direct.

Beyond the narrative role it brings more balance to the scene, visually.  Specifically the structure is taller and offers more mass than other options.  Once the track and paving are in place I suspect this effect will be felt more fully.  That's one of the reasons I decided to shift the street track closer to the crescent, to lend its mass to that shape.  The other is for ease of pole-planning, locating the trolley wire on one side of the street hanging from single-arm poles.  There's prototype precedent for this offset arrangement in Ybor City, Tampa, by the way. 

Enough chatter, here's the photocopied foam-core mock-up:

I've left the roof off, for now.  Walls are enough to determine the footprint and rough size overall.  The arcade is built from that kitmingler's darling, the Revell Engine House.  The station building itself is the Model Power (Pola) Station.  (No, really, that's what it's called, simply "Station".  Ugh.  Might as well throw "vintage" and "brick" on there too.  Technically correct but really useless descriptors.) 

Here are a couple more angles to locate the scene on the larger layout:

Note the Ensminger Building in the foreground.

You may have noticed that both of the donor structures are entirely brick.  Should I go ahead with this plan, I'd be trying something with this kitbash that I've wanted to try for some time now.  I'm going to stucco the walls, hiding unwanted windows in the process, leaving the brick detail exposed like window arches and the cornice detail.  This isn't so common in real life but I have seen a few examples out there and I think it will look great.  I could just build the whole thing from scratch but for now I'll keep the kitbash option in the forefront.  I'm really happy with this idea, far more than the other possibilities for this plot.  Up next, Ensminger progress. 

 

Geissel Got It

Recently my attention was directed once more to the Chester Valley Railroad of J. Harold Geissel. This was the “Layout of the Month” in the November 1939 Model Railroader. That original article wasn't the starting point this time around, rather, it was the article by editor Russ Larson exactly 30 years later in the November 1969 issue. “What makes an outstanding layout?” asks the title. The author answers in the text below:

“I feel the basic ingredients for a good layout are:

• A good track plan

• Authentic structures
• Attention to scenic detail
• Realistic operation, including the selection of rolling stock
  

The final product must be judged, at least partially, on how well the modeler blends these basic ingredients together. It also takes an intangible something extra. To create an outstanding layout you must, I believe, go beyond what is commonly done and develop something better in at least one of these basic layout qualities.”

Note he begins by describing what makes a “good” layout before leading the reader to the answer to his question, what makes that layout “outstanding”.  I appreciate his points and think they're not bad at all.  And yet...

I think he missed one crucial ingredient; the concept.

Oh yes, this is one of those contrary articles in which I espouse my fervent belief that the concept and the plan are distinctly different elements. What Larson missed is what Geissel explicitly stated in his article from August 1939. (The November “Layout of the Month” article shows the track plan which was reprinted in Larson's article while the August '39 article is by Geissel himself and includes photos, also reprinted in '69.) Quote:

“The Chester Valley is now in its third location as an operating layout. While the basic idea carries along without change, each layout has been different; the track plan has been simplified, curve radii have been increased, and real railroad practice has been followed more closely." p.386

Sorry Uncle Russ, but it all boils down to the "basic idea", i.e., the concept.  Geissel's article begins with a description of his rationale for choosing a short line - an idea that had remained with him since childhood.  Once a good concept takes root in your mind, grows, blooms and drops seed, it can be nigh impossible to dislodge, should that be desired (it most likely will not be).  How the concept is executed can change with income, location, skill, energy, etc. but a good idea - a good story - can call forth creativity for a lifetime, or at least until it has run its course and been successfully expressed.

Stand-ins Part 2

Behold, the Ocala Springs Chero-Cola bottling plant.

I decided to sneak in a quick palate cleansing project between the sidelined Drug Store and the beginning of the National Model Railroad Build Off 2024 diorama project.  I had already photocopied the walls from my Walthers Greatland Sugar Refinery as they seemed a good match for the brick style of the prototype Chero-Cola bottler in Ocala.  All I had to do was heat up the glue gun, pull out some foam core board and get building.

Glue stick for minor changes; 3M Super 77 adheres the paper to the foam core.

In truth I've never done a mock-up with a foam core base, but it really was easy and fun and as usual, quite instructive.  I discovered two major changes I'd need to make before cutting the actual plastic.  The first was choosing to reduce the height of the back wall by cutting away the top row of windows with the more decorative double window instead of the middle row of plain windows.  Otherwise these special windows would be hidden by the loading dock building.  No need to let them go to waste; I'd move them and the back double-door around the side.

Replacing the decorative double window row with a plain single row.

The second was moving a spare large door to the main large building along the spur side.  I had already reduced the loading building by one bay to fit the space on the layout.  I decided to include that big door on the main building in order to create a receiving door as well as a loading door.  Now switch crews can spot inbound carloads of bagged sugar or bottles at the main building and empty cars for shipping out finished soda at the other.

A car spotted at the receiving door.

This is as far as the structure will go now that March has arrived and work will soon begin on the NMRBO24 diorama.  But this is enough to tell me I really like this structure in this spot.  It has the right mass for the scene, visually anchoring the near-center of the layout area.  The building is large enough to be feasible as an industry capable of receiving carloads of supplies and shipping out a carload of soda.  This will be a fun kitbash when the time comes!

Stand-ins

The drug store project has led me down a path I hadn't intended to take just yet.  Well, two, actually, but one (LED lighting) is the subject of another post.  I put the under-construction drug store in place on the layout only to find its presence altering the way I perceived the rest of the scene.  That is, I'm really happy with how it looks, where it looks; a tall, ornate gem on a prominent corner where the detail can be appreciated.  But Strickland's Service Station suddenly didn't look right across the street.  The Purina building adjacent to the drug store didn't fit right either.  Hmm.  

Two things were at play.  I had grown accustomed to seeing the Purina building and Strickland's on their diorama.  That setting was more rural and both structures were in different orientations to their respective streets as well as having a bit more room to spread out, so to speak.  On the Pine Branch Park layout the orientation was different and the setting more urban.  Strickland's sat on a corner on the diorama and that suited its odd porch/drive-through design.  The Purina building was on a dirt lot, set back far from the road.  

The white demitasse cup stands-in for the bandstand. Note the trolley on the street.

It was an easy decision to replace Strickland's with a bandstand.  I had already found great photos of Winter Haven, Florida in which a city park, complete with bandstand, is bisected by the Atlantic Coast Line main, complete with station.  A block of storefront businesses stands nearby.  I can put the (Campbell) bandstand at one end and the old horse-car at the other.  Voila, a trolley park located along the Orange Avenue line.

On the left, pool hall, lunch counter, ice factory.  On the right?

But the Purina building...that's harder for me to imagine a replacement.  Both structures could easily find homes on future versions of the Ocali Creek.  But the problem remains; what to do about the current situation?  In order to help me parse out a solution I decided to bring in some old structures I've been storing from previous layouts and, well, lay them out as stand-ins.  That's what's shown in these pictures.  

The tan paper behind the Purina building is the instruction plan for a pipe yard.

Each structure has its own story and some will get dedicated blog posts, no doubt.  But even this hurried-together approach has shown me I want to push the scene into a more urban direction.  Sure, in many towns there was a feed mill right near downtown, so there's good precedent for keeping the Purina building as is.  But even pushed back from the street it just doesn't fit.  What this location needs is a rail served business with a storefront that faces the street(s), right on the sidewalk, preferably two stories tall.

I haven't forgotten my previous post on fitting in the Chero Cola bottling plant somewhere, so maybe this is the spot.  That was back in April of 2021.  My, how things have changed since then.  Things are likely to change again a few times before structures get mounted in place.  Stay tuned.

Pine Branch Park Redux

 ...or, back on track, again.

It is that time when I reflect on the accomplishments of the current year and look to the goals of the next.  However this moment, this time around, feels oddly familiar.  It occurred to me that I've been here before, in a way.  Let me explain.

Back in 2018 when I started building my current railroad I wrote the blog post, "Pine Branch Park" (click the link to read the post).  In that post I discussed the name itself and showed a revised plan laying out the track, street and structures, but the bulk of the remainder was devoted to a sort-of inspiration I found in a series of articles in Model Railroader back in 1991, "Just for Beginners".  

In that seminal series the MR staff and contributors built the Cripple Creek Central.  I was inspired not only by the railroad itself, but more so by the progressive, sequential way in which they constructed it.  So often these project railroads begin with that glamour shot of the finished road and the declaration that you too can build this!  But not the Cripple Creek.  No, this was an evolving, changing project, altered by the whims of its creators and guided by the shape of the thing itself as it grew.  

I like planning, but I also like that evolutionary approach.  The dioramas I've built over the last two years are proof of that.  So too the Pine Branch Park model railroad.  The layout is bound to change as new ideas come along and new ideas come along as the layout changes.  New vistas open up for possibilities unseen before that moment.

In 2018 I speculated that I could complete this railroad in two years.  Five years later and it looks much as it did in 2019 - bare soundboard with mostly ballasted track, well edged for a clean presentation, and some cork strips in place where the paved roads will go.  But I still believe it can be completed in two years.  Not as some deadline hanging over my head but as a matter of consequence from continual effort (fun) spent bringing that world to life.

We all know what came along in 2019 (yes, public acknowledgement didn't really come along until 2020 but the virus was called COVID-19 for a reason).  And personally that was a challenging time - a challenge which I met and overcame thanks to the support of my family.  The death of my father in 2020 followed by helping my mother move in 2021 and then again in 2022 now feels like a rapid succession of events in hindsight.  

But while the work on the layout stagnated, model making did not.  In fact, the first NMRBO diorama I built included structures which will soon find their homes on the Pine Branch Park layout.  Building those dioramas in the midst of a major transition was instructive.  It reminded me just how much I love building highly detailed scenes that tell a story.  

So that's what I'm going to do, and that's what this blog will focus on.  Reviewing this blog itself reminded me of the importance of one aspect of "blogging", that is, keeping a web log as an archive.  So if for no other reason than that I will keep sharing my progress though perhaps not as frequently.  I've kicked around the idea of making videos but my hobby time - as generous as it is - is still somewhat limited, and editing takes up far more time than the model making itself.

But I'm not complaining.  I'm caught in the middle between caring for teens and a parent with some health concerns, but I'm surrounded by a wonderful family.  I've got a long list of honey-do home improvements but we live in a neat old house in a nice community.  I don't make much but I do get paid to make music two or three times a month instead of being stuck in a miserable job.  Each challenge comes with a blessing.  

So too my hobbies.  I've been able to make good connections with like-minded folks around the miniature war-gaming community and while I haven't found any folks in my town with an interest in trains, that's okay.  I'm genuinely happy in the quiet moments of the morning sitting at my workbench building a model, or stealing time during the day to run a train.  And of course sharing my progress with you, dear readers.  Thank you for your continued support of this blog, and best wishes for your own hobby endeavors in the coming year.

The afternoon winter sun, low in the southwest sky, shines on Ocali Creek box car 1603.

Time to Think Again

It has been over a year since I wrote the post, Time to Think.  There I pondered what to do with the space I have been blessed with; a garage.  Since then I have determined that space is not so good for model trains.  In fact, it needs more work than I realized even though it isn't a bad space for a workshop and storage.  It will be a fine place to build Halloween props each year, work on home improvement projects or generally make a mess I wouldn't make in the house.  In fact, I built this year's NMRBO diorama in that space and the Pine Branch Park railroad has lived there since we moved in.

Can you find the diorama in this image?

But the trains can't live there much longer.  The winter was indeed cold and damp.  No leaks in the roof, but seepage from the concrete floor needs to be addressed eventually.  The summers have been hot and dry but thanks to our evening lows the mornings are pleasant and the garage can be used for a few hours.  If the weather is mild and the evening breeze picks up it is downright enjoyable with the garage door open (and a cold beverage!).  The spiders aren't too bad, nor the dust, and so far - knock on wood - no sign of rodents!  Still, it is a hostile environment for vintage craftsman structures and rolling stock!

So where will the trains go?  As I mentioned in my post "New Digs", this house has a second living room we call the den.  There I'll be sharing the space with my son's computer desk, a bookshelf with display cabinet, and a TV area.  The bookshelf was built last fall and just in the last month I installed new lighting.  My son's computer area is well established and he regularly plays VR games in that end of the room, wildly swinging his arms, working up a sweat!  The workbench has been moved to make room for the trains.

Percy enjoys his new bed atop a Helmer cabinet between my workbench and the sliding glass doors overlooking the back yard.  We both enjoy the natural light and the view.

 
All that remains before the trains come inside is to build some legs for the railroad.  In the garage, both this one and the last, it rested on metal shelving and that will remain in the garage.  In the den it will need legs with wheels; not that it will be rolled around that often, but it will be convenient for photo shoots and cleaning.  Beneath the benchwork will be space for rolling carts.  These will hold paints, supplies, tools, etc. that don't fit in the Ikea Helmer drawers at the workbench.

I'm also going to make some shelves to go over the workbench.  The lowest will include a section of cork board for tacking up instructions (or maybe a metal strip for magnets).  As I've used this smaller bench I have discovered the need to set large plan sheets and even smaller instruction pages...somewhere.  Now that the cat is sharing the space, there's really no good place to put pages of plans.  My desk lamp seen in the photo above will be relocated and strip lighting will be attached under the lowest shelf.  This will not only give me a few more inches on the work surface, but the shelf will provide a place to attach a camera looking straight down onto the bench, should I decide to shoot a video or two.

Hopefully all this will be accomplished in September because October will be for building new Halloween yard haunt props and that time will be here soon!  Feel free to leave comments or questions down below and thanks for reading!

2023 Diorama Update - Farmhouse Layout

Entering the final lap, not quite the final stretch, for this year's NMRBO diorama.  Track is down, painted and balasted.  Bridges are installed and the road has been paved.  All the landscape structure has been shaped, plastered and painted (though not yet in these photos).  Now comes the planning stage where smaller decisions are made.  This post is about just one such decision - where to place the chicken house.

In the first photo you can see the little red shed behind the main house, with a pale green wagon next to it.  Ditto the second photo, but I've rotated the shed and wagon 90 degrees counterclockwise.  Right now I'm leaning towards the second orientation.  But I've been cogitating over this one for a while.  I had thought about a barn in that space but it was too much competition with the main house.  The chicken house is just the right size but getting it placed has been more challenging than I first thought it would be.