Truckstops

[alrose]

I'm building a truckstop in HO scale for my railroad. Can someone tell me where I can find photos or plans of truckstops on the net please.

[Anonymous]

I have seen this thread in another section of the forums, You may try Terra Server. But if you see one truck stop more than likely there are variations by size from small friendly diners with one or two trucks to park up to mega stops like the T/A at Walcott IA off I-80 which is a city that is capapble of parking 1200 trucks.

[CBQ_Guy]

Here is one site which might be of interest to you:

http://www.flyingj.com/

[Anonymous]

How big of a truck stop are you going to build?

[DTomajko]

Most truckstops are really nothing more than large parking lots. The more ellaborate facilities might have a diner / hospitalty building, a fuel island, a weigh scale, a motel, and possibly a truck wash. The biggest truckstops offer everything from dentists to chapels and everything imaginable. The simplest truckstop would be a diner, a fuel island , and a garage. Also keep in mind that many modern truckstops also cater to auto customers too, so you could visit a local place to get ideas. Keep in mind the old saying that it isn't the food that brings the drivers in , it's the ability to get a very large tractor-trailer into & out of the parking lot. Of course it is only a joke as I can personally attest to the quality of food offerings in some places. The Travel Channel also had a program describing the ten best truckstops in the world, there might be some ideas for you.Stay safe and good luck.

[Anonymous]

"Ability to get a large tractor trailer..." I am laying on the floor laughing. I remember being hungry at times time to eat and getting creative for parking a semi.

There was one Mcdonalds in Ohio that was pretty good. No it is not a truckstop but one just off the interstate. We would park near it until the "No-parking" signs started to sprout. First there was 3 signs. We would park beyond it and walk. 5 months later both sides of the 2 lane road had "No parking" for maybe 200 yards to and from the mcdonalds. Finally the limitations of terrain put a stop to our little game of getting a spot.

In PA there was a diner maybe room with 10 cars near Lancaster. One of the best breakfasts you could get for that area. The only clue due to the very large hedgegrows that hides it from view is the heavy truck braking rubber on the road. You would look for that and slip it into the lot early in the morning. I think we had 6 trucks in there once.

Dont worry about super perfect parking areas for trucks either. I remember hauling out of Nogales AZ and there was a triple 6 stop on the interstate towards Adam's Mountain that one had nothing but dirt for us to park on and years of heavy trucks struggeling left really HUGE holes that will break your rig if you are not careful.

BTW, that one stop had everything. Even a post office.

Good Luck!

[Anonymous]

i am sitting in a ruckstop right now[:D]

here are some aireal photos of a few truckstops
http://terraserver.microsoft.com/image.aspx?t=1&s=10&x=2243&y=18847&z=11&w=1
this is one of the big ones in Ontario, Califoria. the entrance is on the bottom right. the long kinda T shaped building in the middle is the fuel islands/travel store/shops. the long part heading north/south is the fuel islands. the building in the bottom left contains the store, restaurant, arcade, showers, and fast food joints.


if you pan west from that photo, you can see the truckstop right next door. it is set up a bit differently. i think the east truckstop was a TA and the west truckstop was a Phillips 76 at the tme this photo was taken. they are both TA's now.

what kind of truckstop are you wanting to set up? just a little mom and pop joint with a few parking spots, or something big like one of those?

http://terraserver.microsoft.com/image.aspx?t=1&s=10&x=1704&y=19415&z=13&w=1

this shot is of the Flying J truckstop in Albuquerque NM. it is not quite as big as the Ontario truckstops. the fuel islands are at the bottom left. the store/restaurant is in the middle, and the car fuel pumps are at the bottom middle.


a nice easy truckstop to do would be a Pilot or a Loves truck stop www.loves.com www.pilotcorp.com they are usually pretty small and they dont have a shop or a restaurant. here is an aireal photo of the loves in Galluo NM.

http://terraserver.microsoft.com/image.aspx?t=1&s=10&x=3482&y=19656&z=12&w=1

the loves is the one on the right. the one on the left is another TA.


as for generic truckstop details. the shop is usually 1 or 2 pull through truck bays, either made out of concrete block or metal siding. there are usually from 4 10 10 fuel pumps for the 18 wheelers, with a pump on each side so you can fill both tanks at the same time. the store and restaurant area can be any generic building made out of brick or metal or just about anything. sometimes there is a truck wash nearby. it is built basically the same as the shops. they they almost always have a set of gas pumps for cars.

here are a couple of shots of the truck stop i am in right now.

the fuel pumps:


the shops:


if you need any more help, i can try and get you more pictures.