Scratchbuilding Ideas

[jbu50]

Greetings all railroaders. One of my absolute favorite parts of model railroading is scratchbuilding structures. If I have a few plans and some pictures I can scratchbuild most anything. Driving around my city (Jacksonville, FL) I get loads of ideas on buildings to build. I just completed one of an old 1940's style gas station complete with arched doorways and stucco walls. Problem is I find very few scratchbuilding projects in the pages of MR. Is there another source out there that anyone knows of that features loads of scratchbuilding ideas?

Thanks

John

[dehusman]

Railroad Line Forums has several threads of nothing but pictures of buildings that cry out to be modeled.  If you are looking for plans, good luck, the magzines do maybe one or two building plans a year.  Best bet is to go to the magazine index on the Trains.com site and search for building plans.

[0-6-0]

Hello a good place for photo and plans is the library of congress. www.loc.gov  I have found some plans and photos for a old barn/garage for my junk yard. Hope this helps Frank

[dstarr]

 Rail Model Craftsman has more "how-to-build-it" articles than MR does.  Old MR's from the 1980's and back have more plans and construction stuff and are often available at train shows for $1 an issue.

 

[loathar]

I remember MR used to have a bunch of plans in the olden days. Now they are few and far between.

[wedudler]

 This structure is scratch build. Here's my How To. I've got the idea from RMC.

 

And this station I've build in 1985 following pictures I've made. 

 

Wolfgang

[jbu50]

Very, very nice Wolfgang! I use styrene mostly. Have not had good luck with wood. That Naumburg station is fantastic.

Guess I'm going to have to check out RMC. I think I subscribed many years ago but didn't see much in it that interested me. 

John

[jbu50]

Thanks David

 Looks like I'm going to have to check out RMC

John

[on30francisco]

 In addition to RMC and older issues of MR, check out the Narrow Gauge and Shortline Gazette. They have plans for structures and other railroad related projects that are usable in any gauge or scale.

[camaro]

You might check Lance Mindheim's "Voodoo & Palmettos" Miami based layout.  Lance has two Florida layouts; East Rail and the Downtown Spur. Both are prototypical warehouse district switching layouts and he is scratchbuilding all the structures from photographs that were taken by him and associates. 

www.lancemindheim.com

Larry

[steinjr]

jbu50

Problem is I find very few scratchbuilding projects in the pages of MR. Is there another source out there that anyone knows of that features loads of scratchbuilding ideas?

 

 Tons of places. A few net resources: 

 http://maps.live.com - Only seems to work well with Internet Explorer, but has something called "Bird's Eye View" that allow you to see building from above at an angle, and rotate to see things from the north, east, south and west.

 Couple of reasonably modelgenic places I have stumbled upon before:
   - Sandra Street, Franklin Park, IL : http://tinyurl.com/bjvbqg
   - 1st Avenue and 51st Street, Brooklyn, NY: http://tinyurl.com/cnje4a
   - Alvin, Texas: http://tinyurl.com/5ztqrh 

 

http://maps.google.com has a nice function called "street view" (I think), which allows you to walk down some streets and look in various directions.

 Here is e.g. a side view of the University of Wisconsin's coal heating plant, viewed from Dayton Street http://tinyurl.com/c7wfqm

 

 The Library of Congress HABS/HAER (Historical American Building Survey/Historical American Engineering Records) at http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/collections/habs_haer/ has a nice collection of  photos and drawings of various buildings that can be used as a source for model railroading scratchbuilding projects.

 Site seems to maybe be down right now (?), probably will be up again in a while. Browse by type of industry, browse by location or search.

 Other places I have happened up with historical photos that provide scratchbuilding ideas:

 

  Minnesota Historical Society, Visual Resources: http://collections.mnhs.org/visualresources/

  Here are direct links to photos of a few of the modelgenic industries I have found there:
Beet Sugar Factory: http://collections.mnhs.org/visualresources/image.cfm?imageid=16217
Tractor Factory: http://collections.mnhs.org/visualresources/image.cfm?imageid=197294
Roofing plant: http://collections.mnhs.org/visualresources/image.cfm?imageid=76841
Boiler and Manufacturing plant: http://collections.mnhs.org/visualresources/image.cfm?imageid=144070
Bottling Plant: http://collections.mnhs.org/visualresources/image.cfm?imageid=75696
Wood conversion plant: http://collections.mnhs.org/visualresources/image.cfm?imageid=174278
Granite Finishing plant: http://collections.mnhs.org/visualresources/image.cfm?imageid=73923
Rilco Plant, Albert Lea, MN: http://collections.mnhs.org/visualresources/image.cfm?imageid=173383
Redi-Mix Plant, Willmar, MN: http://collections.mnhs.org/visualresources/image.cfm?imageid=150974
Mr Richards Plant, Savage, MN: http://collections.mnhs.org/visualresources/image.cfm?imageid=151238
Turkey Plant, Melrose, MN: http://collections.mnhs.org/visualresources/image.cfm?imageid=151400
Power Plant, Austin, MN: http://collections.mnhs.org/visualresources/image.cfm?imageid=151507
Alfalfa Plant, Luverne, MN: http://collections.mnhs.org/visualresources/image.cfm?imageid=152018
Seed Corn Plant: http://collections.mnhs.org/visualresources/image.cfm?imageid=152704
Chicken Canning Plant: http://collections.mnhs.org/visualresources/image.cfm?imageid=152998
Boat Manufacturing Plant: http://collections.mnhs.org/visualresources/image.cfm?imageid=153986
Fertilizer Plant: http://collections.mnhs.org/visualresources/image.cfm?imageid=154518
  

 Virginia Tech, N&W Pictures: http://imagebase.lib.vt.edu/browse.php?folio_ID=/trans/nss

 One example:
 - Oil and Waste House, Crewe, Va: http://spec.lib.vt.edu/imagebase/norfolksouthern/full/nw1080.jpg
 

 With any of these sources (and many, many more available on the net and in libraries) you can do measurements on the pictures and estimate sizes from the size of doors, windows, people and cars nearby.

Smile,
Stein

 

 

[reklein]

Check the Kalmbach publication list they have a book called" Lineside industries" I think and a couple others too. that are pretty good. The plans are in different scales but a little playin around with a copier should have you cuttin parts out fairly quickly. Don't pass up cardstock as a building material either. BILL

[jbu50]

My apologies for not getting back to everyone sooner. I was out of pocket all weekend. Thanks to everyone who submitted suggestions and ideas about scratchbuilding projects. They are all appreciated..and I have lots of look through.

Happy Railroading

John

[jwhitten]

wedudler

And this station I've build in 1985 following pictures I've made. 

 

Wolfgang

 

 

That is an amazing coincidence-- do you realize that building you're holding in your hand looks just like the one in the background???

 What are the odds of that...

John

[steinjr]

jbu50

Problem is I find very few scratchbuilding projects in the pages of MR. Is there another source out there that anyone knows of that features loads of scratchbuilding ideas?

 

 Just a quick added note. I just remembered that I had the book below and checked amazon.com - you can still buy this Model Railroader Handbook (both new and used):

 http://www.amazon.com/Trackside-Structures-Build-Railroad-Handbook/dp/0890242194/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1237587466&sr=8-1

 It has quite a few plans for various buildings, and also discusses quite a bit about scratchbuilding techniques. The buildings may or may not work for you, but the techniques look good.

 Another scratchbuild was a Miami inspired warehouse German modeler Kurt (cnw1961) showed over at "the gauge": http://www.the-gauge.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=169 - look through the first 4-5 pages to see the process from photo to scratchbuilt building - very impressive!

 Smile,
 Stein