I am slowly working on a postwar layout closely as possible representing something you would have seen in the 50's in a typical home. Trying to stay reasonably true to the products avaliable in that era. What factories were available other than the plastiville "Bachman" factory? For that time. Shane
A pessimist sees a dark tunnel
An optimist sees the light at the end of the tunnel
A realist sees a frieght train
An engineer sees three idiots standing on the tracks stairing blankly in space
If its O gauge, check out Menards pre-built and lighted structures. Many of them will fit in the 50's period that your model railroad is set in.
Marx:
https://www.marxwildwest.com/little%20people.html. Scroll down for pics. There were many color variations and the kit was carried foreward by K-Line and then K-Line by Lionel.
Becky
Same me, different spelling!
You might also try the Korber factory, modeled after the one on Lionel's showroom layout in the 50's.
Here's a couple of sources for O scale factory buildings.
http://www.walthers.com/products/layout/structures/industrial/scale/o-scale
http://www.hobbylinc.com/0-scale-model-railroad-buildings
Bear in mind, unless it was built brand new from the ground up in the 50's a factory or industrial complex would look exactly the same post-war as it did pre-war. When product lines changed only the production machinery changed, the building exteriors underwent very little modification, if at all. Maybe the corporate logo signs or billboards (maybe) or the addition of a TV or modern communications antennas. Think of the industrial Northeast or Midwest for example, what we call (sadly) the "Rust Belt" now for examples.
Check ebay: marx tin toys for ideas.
Some of the chain stores, like Michael's and Kohl's, offer undecorated tin buildings, that have great retro appeal.
Here's a tin building from Ashland (sold at Michael's). They call it a "ranch house", but I painted and detailed it to be a Bolt & Forge. An orange C7 bulb inside gives the hint that some metal work is being performed inside. The bubbling water tower is an old Colber offering, that I painted to match the mill.
Skyline made O scale building kits from the 1930s to the the 1950s. the made a factory building kit. There are many photos of layouts that used this factory building inSkyline kits several different issues of Lionels "Model Builder" magazine. Model Builder Nov. 1946 issue has photos of a layout that the Skyline factory building is shown on pages 26 and 27. Model Builder Dec. 1946 pages 20 and 21. Model Builder March 1947 page 17. Model Builder Oct. 1947 pages 20 and 21. skyline kits were very popular and they made several different buildings. I myself have 4 Skyline factory buildings (3 assembled and one kit).
Was korber models around in the 1950's? I saw a kit that might work once cut in half (space issue) , but I dont want to cut up a genuine 1950's model. unless it is still produced today version. I am trying to stay true to what was avaliable in the 1950's for a layout. I will also look at skyline mentioned above for options
oscar99 Skyline made O scale building kits from the 1930s to the the 1950s. the made a factory building kit. There are many photos of layouts that used this factory building inSkyline kits several different issues of Lionels "Model Builder" magazine. Model Builder Nov. 1946 issue has photos of a layout that the Skyline factory building is shown on pages 26 and 27. Model Builder Dec. 1946 pages 20 and 21. Model Builder March 1947 page 17. Model Builder Oct. 1947 pages 20 and 21. skyline kits were very popular and they made several different buildings. I myself have 4 Skyline factory buildings (3 assembled and one kit
Skyline made O scale building kits from the 1930s to the the 1950s. the made a factory building kit. There are many photos of layouts that used this factory building inSkyline kits several different issues of Lionels "Model Builder" magazine. Model Builder Nov. 1946 issue has photos of a layout that the Skyline factory building is shown on pages 26 and 27. Model Builder Dec. 1946 pages 20 and 21. Model Builder March 1947 page 17. Model Builder Oct. 1947 pages 20 and 21. skyline kits were very popular and they made several different buildings. I myself have 4 Skyline factory buildings (3 assembled and one kit
I recall Skyline when I was a boy. They made some very nice model kits assembled from cardboard, balsa wood and cellophne . They were scale size or nearly scale. They were realistic looking, inexpensive and easy to assemble with white glue
Today there are several companies that offer O scale buildings that are pre-assembled. Menards, Woodland scenics, and Atlas being three of them. Great time savers but there are still some diehard scratchbuilders in the hobby as myself.
There is a website that has all of the old Model Building magazines in PDF form you can read on line. This was Lionels in house magazine for all the model railroaders out there, be them in O, OO or HO scale. It has plans for factories you can scratch build(which was much more common place back then), along with kits from Skyline ect. The site is called Trainlife. Mikie
Silly NT's, I have Asperger's Syndrome
That's an interresting resource! I guess I know what I'll be doing for awhile! Thanks for the info!
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.
Get the Classic Toy Trains newsletter delivered to your inbox twice a month