Walthers Merchant row

[Anonymous]

First off, this is my first post on this forum, i have been reading around for a while it seems quite a few of you are pretty knowledgable about stuff.

I am planning on building a shortline railroad set some time between 1945-1955, i am wondering if the merchant row building by walthers would fit in in this time frame, or not.
thanks for any help
-joey

[DSchmitt]

Yes it will.

[AntonioFP45]

Hello NattyJoe, and a hearty WELCOME to you!! [:D][:)]

Yes, these buildings will definetly fit into your time period. Don't forget to check out the buildings kits offered by DPM. A lot of the Walther's and DPM kits will fit in most HO or N scale layouts with "era themes" from the 1930's up to today's time period. You have to do your research. Look in MRR issues where you see modelers that model your favorite time period. Check out there scenery technicques to achieve that time period look. A lot of the old style stores used Gold or Silver colored window lettering. Doctors, lawyers, dentists, plumbing shops and Nickel and dime stores almost always had these types of window and door lettering in a variety of letter fonts. These are available on decal sheets at very reasonable prices!

Sometimes it's a simple matter of obtaining the street lamps, vehicles, billboard signs, and road appearance of the era. For example after World War II, most crossing gates were wooden, Wig-Wags were still around, red and gray brick streets were common, and people dressed more conservatively.

One of my favorite TV shows that you could look at and pick up scenery ideas is the old "Adventures of Superman". I enjoy looking at the backgrounds which often shows life in the 50s.
[;)][:P]
Hope this helps! God Bless!

[Anonymous]

i started playing with trains when i was in my mom stomach, untill i was about 14, now im 16 and have decided to just start all over agian. I used to model my own little made up branchline using a Norfolk Southern engine and a bunch of boxcars that had beer signs on it, hahaha, i also had a big fleet of southern heavy weight passenger cars, but ruined them accidently by trying to make my lay out look like it snowed using a can of spray paint. i have never done any "rea" senery and most of my buildings have been cardboard boxes, do to money reasons because my parents wont invest a lot of their money into it. But this summer im trying to get a job to pay for insurance (i wrecked their truck, lucly to be alive, but theyre dropping me from their insurance) so with a job im gonna have to pay for insurance, car payment, going out with my girlfriend, and i think i will have $50 a month left over for what ever i want, so i plan on using that for some real buildings, seeing what i can salvage from my old layout.

well enough rantling, i guess i should really start reaserching, i have a broken leg and wont be back in school till next year cuz my moms scared i will break it aigan, so that gives me plenty of time to look up train stuff.

thanks for the fast answer, i wasnt expecting it so fast.

[Anonymous]

Sounds like you've had a rough year -

FYI - I believe the Merchant's Row series of building by Walthers, and originally done (in some kind of plaster or resin by Magnuson (back when you couldn't see your feet yet) are based on prototypes that were in Los Gatos, CA. These buildings were a couple of streets over from the South Pacific Coast Railroad (Southern Pacific) depot.

The SPC was orig.3 foot n.g. until 1906 when it was standard gauged . The South Pacific Coast ran from Oakland to Santa Cruz, CA along the east side of San Francisco Bay and then thru San Jose and over the Santa Cruz mountains through the redwoods to Santa Cruz on the Pacific coast north of Monterey. Los Gatos, an incredibly beautiful town, is located on the east side of the mountains next to San Jose.

When I lived in the Bay Area approx 25 years ago, the area that the 'Merchant's Row' prototypes were located was a favorite haunt of mine, esp. "Mountain Charlie's", a good restaurant with a very good bar and great bluegrass music several times a week. It was located on the second floor in the 'Merchant's Row II' block of buildings. And then there was this girl named Sue, that. . .

I said "was located", because it is my understanding that most, if not all of those buildings were very badly damaged and raized following a California earthquake a number of years ago.

Reason I went thru all of the aforementioned was to show you how you can enliven a scene, whether it's a model of your home, your Dad's place of work, your school or town's city hall, or your favorite model shop. In this case, it was a place and time full of wonderful memories, and there will always be a spot of prime real estate for Merchant's Row II on my layout because of that. . .

Hope the rest of this year takes a turn for the better for you.

[Anonymous]

Thank you Bill.

i know exactly what you mean about modeling a certain scene, theres one of those im wanting to do, which is a company my parents have delivering furniture to texas, and in a good week they probably get enough furniture to fill at least 1 boxcar, which isnt that bad.

ive decided not to model the 1940s era, most because my LHS doesnt have much of anything from that era, and my parents are big on ordering stuff over the internet/mailorder.

[Anonymous]

That shouldn't stop you from modeling any era since your LHS can order you anything from their distributors, and if you should choose to order over the internet/mail order there are some very reputable vendors out there. Starting out modeling structures is an interesting way to approach the hobby and a good one. As long as the building isn't too modern, you could conceivably incorporate it into any era you eventually model. Just change the details at that time with different signs, lettering styles, lighting, and so on. If you can get ahold of some pictures of a particular urban scene that were taken at different times over a span of years, and notice the changes and what didn't change. Be aware that there are quite a few foreign prototype structures masquerading as US buildings w/ American sounding names. Many of them would be more 'at home' in the Black Forest in Germany.

Suggest you decide on an era and a region first, for you'll be glad you did later on. The hit- and- miss approach to acquiring model railroad stuff- any era, any protototype, any kind of motive power, any kind of terrain, etc. gets old real fast as you start to explore the complexity and the ins and outs of prototype operation, and understand railroad history and development.

If you want to replicate realistic operations of a railroad in miniature, think thru this phase thoroughly first, because inappropriate equipment can absolutely ruin any attempt at realism. I'm assuming that you being on the Model Railroader Forum and not Toy trains, means you're more serious about a realistic model railroading and not just watching pretty trains go around in circles.

If you can, get a copy of Walthers catalog, or search their website : www.walthers.com Walthers is the distributor that most LHSs get their stock from. A bit of advice, most of the prices in there are grossly inflated and can be had for much less if you shop around, especially on the internet. Then, armed with this info, I'd approach your LHS to see if they will work with you on the pricing.

Not sure which internet/discount mail order companies to deal with ? - just ask on the Forum - you'll get plenty of solid advice. (I've had consistent & wonderful service from Trainworld in NY- they advertise in MR every month and have been around for years.)

Again, good luck.

[Anonymous]

ive been looking on the trainworld website and i think if i do order from some one, they would be the one.

But ive firmly decided on the early 90s, i can still get a nice steam locomotive down the road, hopefully one of those nice new Bachmann Spetrum ten wheelers[:D] and use a couple old coaches for excursion service

BUt in general it seems that steam locos are more expensive compared to disiel (its late and i cant remember how to spell that[:I])

and if i do model this era, and in a location similar to the short line in my town, i wouldnt have to go far to get the info and pcitures, etc that i would need for the model building, as i would need for some thing that is on another coast and 50 years back, tho the internet is a wonder.


Id have to say that my LHS doesnt order from walthers, when i was there he had only 2 cars from walthers, he mostly specializes in O scale, when i can go to the LHS more often i will look into having him order me some stuff.

i dont ever plan to order stuff directly from walthers tho, cuz as you said, their prices on their website are extremly high compared to other places, such as trainworld. also i believe standard hobby supply would be another good place to order from. im starting to work on a track plan soon, just a simple 4 X 8 with maybe a little add on for an engine terminal on the side.

The one thing i dont want is "prototype operation" becuase I DO NOT want to fill out weigh bills and paper work, people talk about how fun it is to "operate" then they say its not "operations" if you dont do the paper work, im a sophmore in highschool, i dont want to do a lot of extra work for some thing thats supposed to be a leisure activity, i just want simpled, running the train in an oval, stopping, excahnge a box car from the sidding that goes to the warehouse, with a flat car or some thing that would be used by that place.

[Jetrock]

Waybill operation can be as simple as you let it be. Go ahead and just stop and set out & pick up cars, that's fun too. I do quite a bit of that, as my layout is still under construction and so I don't yet have a waybill system in place.

At some point you might decide you want something a little more challenging, in which case waybill operation will always be there. Some of the more interesting operation schemes I have seen are based entirely on pre-done cards--rather than having to fill out paperwork, you just draw a few car cards and destination cards from a deck, clip the destination card to the car card, the make up the train from the cars you drew and deliver them to the appropriate destinations. Stick the cards back in the deck and start again.

Think of it as something like a card game--like Magic: The Gathering or Pokemon, etcetera. That's what it is, really. True, it's not AS realistic as filling out waybills by hand--let those who would quibble about such things do so on their own layout, and leave yours (and mine) alone!

As to using the Merchant's Row models for 1940's/50's or even modern layouts--Heck, I can think of quite a few places in the city where I live that would be very accurately modeled by the Merchant's Row buildings, even today in 2004! Such a kit would be ideal for a 40's/50's layout--it's just a matter of changing signs. For a Forties layout, business like watchmakers, barbershops, greasy-spoon coffee shops, or greengrocers would be appropriate. For a modern block, use the same building but label them as a cellular phone/pager dealership, a hairstylist, a convenience store and a Starbuck's!

One thing you might consider, if you're interested in modeling early diesels or late steam in the transition era, is modeling your hometown in the past--that is what I'm doing. I suppose it helps if there are/were railroads where you live, but local history organizations and libraries can often provide mounds of information for such research, and history teachers LOVE that stuff if you're hunting for ways to earn extra credit from your hobby.

[Anonymous]

The 'Merchanr Row' buildings from Walthers would be appropriate from the early 1900s up to present day (except in Los Gatos, CA because they came tumbling down sorta after a bad quake a number of years ago). Also, buildings from DPM, City Classics, IHC (some), and Smalltown USA would be appropriate for the same time span. Like 'Jetrock said, the type of business located in a paricular building may have changed but the building is still there, either restored (sometimes over done in brighter colors, etc.), maintained, but drab looking, poorly maintained, or close to condemnation. Consider indicating a building that has been demolished in between two other buildings, with eveidence that, at on time, a building was attached to the side(s) of adjacent buildings.

As far as operations are concerned, consider what "Jetrock" said - he gave you good advice. Leave the door open for incorporating the paperwork of operations after you tire of just running trains in circles. If you select an interesting trackplan, it should lend itself to changes-such as incorporating 'operations' if you later decide to. . .

Select an operations orientated track plan for your layout - in town switching layouts w/ complex city trackage in between buildings are good candidates that can even be incorporated into a larger layout someday when your railroad expands beyond your town's limits. You should be still able to incorporate a continuous loop in such a track plan - consider hiding a portion of it behind taller structures, obscured by trees, and/or deep cuts, or even by a partial divider or backdrop. There is an excellent layout in Kalmbach's "Great Model Railroads 2004" on pgs 34-39 that should give you some great ideas.

Look at some of John Armstrong's smaller track plans. You might consider taking a portion of your modeling budget and purchase one of his trackplanning books. My favorite of his publications is "Creative Layout Design", and although it features more large layouts than smaller ones, the principles of good design are stressed and applicable to any size layout.

As far as motive power, do a bit of research and select engines that were used during the era you are modeling. Small switching engines, esp diesels like GE 44 tonners, Alco S1 thru S4s, EMD SW 900, 1200s, etc. are good because you won't have to turn them like you would steam engines, unless you don't mind running an 0-6-0 or 0-6-0T backwards, which the railroads always did if needed. If you go for steam, make sure it has operating couplers at both ends, or you won't be able to switch with it. Good buys on Proto 1000 and 2000, Spectrum, Atlas, and Athearn are always available from Standard Hobby, Trainworld and others. Look for their closeouts and you'll save a lot of money.

Remember small engines, and 36foot and 40 foot freight cars make a layout look larger ! For a passenger train, consider a single car gas electric - Walthers has a good one (a 60' EMC powered unit) I got mine for $21.99 from Trainworld on a close out. It lists for $59.95. You can always add an inexpensive shorty coach as a trailer behind the gas electric. Again, a short train will seem more in keeping w/ a smaller layout.

And do yourself a favor, install Kadees on everything even if it came w/ another brand of knuckle couplers. You will never regret that decision. Don't even think you'll need the expense of DCC at this time; you can always convert later if you expand your layout.

Again, good luck to you.

BILL

[Anonymous]

Ya, as a matter of fact, I have the original Magnuson Models Iss's of these same kits. They looked great then and they look great now, so go for it. You can even mix the two with other deep relief kits and they'll look great.