A touch of the whimsical on the layout

[sparkingbolt]

On an old Tom & jerry cartoon, the two, while going at their usual antics, run and pause momentarily in front of a referigerator. The brand of the fridge in small letters typical of '50s appliances? Koldernell. I have four steel 40 ' reefers that I'd like to paint and letter Koldernell Seafood Express or something like that. (KOLX of course)

I also still plan a white metal mine for my layout. Dan

[vsmith]

QUOTE: Originally posted by CBQ_Guy

QUOTE: Originally posted by jay_c

Once again my curiosity gets the better of me.

Does anyone out there model whimsical, fantastic, improbable, or other "odd" things on the layout?

Yeah, all the narrow gauge guys! [B)]

Yee watch yeerself Laddie, deem be fightin' words![;)]




We have a pet boarding business here called, I kid you not...

"The Best Little Cathouse in Pasadena" [:D]

[vsmith]

QUOTE: Originally posted by flyingscot

Guess where these businesses came from, heh, heh, heh:
Gun Shop - BloodBath and Beyond
Pastry Shop - The French Confection
Investing service - IPO Friday's
Museum - Louvre: American Style
Family Restaurant - Texas Cheesecake Depository
Middle eastern restaurant - Two Guys from Kabul
Dog Obedience Schools - Eastside Ruff-Form School, Professor Von Bowser's Sanitarium For Dogs
Music shop - Suicide Notes and Tommy Toots
Girls school - Saint Sebastian's School for Wicked Girls
Repo man - Repo Depot
Outdoor Clothing Store - Malaria Zone
Gourmet Food store - Eatie Gourmet's
Toy Store - Valley of the Dolls
Roach Motel - The Ritz Carlton Hotel for Vagrants
Air conditioner store - It Blows
Boys' Clothing Store - Wee Monsieur
Joke/Novelty Shop: Yuckingham Palace
Jewelry store - The Family Jewels
Shop selling casserole dishes - Stoner's Pot Palace
Toy Store - J.R.R. Toykins

They are all store names used in "The Simpsons"

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by randybc2003

Check out some of the old structure articles by one of the old MRR staff (I can't rember his name off hand) - but they have a book with a lot of his work - Wallop Packing Co., etc.

That might be kitbasher-extraordinaire Art Curren. He often put some pretty unusual names on his structures, like Pladd Paint Co., Haffa Mine, Frenda Mine, Jenerick Metals, etc.

[randybc2003]

Check out some of the old structure articles by one of the old MRR staff (I can't rember his name off hand) - but they have a book with a lot of his work - Wallop Packing Co., etc.

Elephants working timber and pushing RR cars isn't too far off. India & SE Aisa has a lot of them, historically. Beeby & Clegg wrote of a circus train in Colorado that got stalled - until they improvised!

"Dewey, Cheatem, & Howe" was indeed the name of a burger joint in the town where I live.

A lot of layouts have double-takes in the business districts - "The Cave In" restraunt, done with a "rock" facade, Bates Boarding House & Hotell next to the church & cemetary, etc. Local names and references can also add a distinct whimsy.

Randy

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jay_c
[There was a guy in Milwaukee 20-30 years, maybe less, who lived just off the runway approach to Mitchel Int'l Airport. He had a sign on his roof (painted on the shingles, done in different colored shingles, or whatever) that said "Welcome to Cleveland". The city tried (unsuccessfully) to make him remove it. I have no idea if it's still there.

I love it! [:D]

[CBQ_Guy]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jay_c

Once again my curiosity gets the better of me.

Does anyone out there model whimsical, fantastic, improbable, or other "odd" things on the layout?

Yeah, all the narrow gauge guys! [B)]

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by andrechapelon
...About 5 miles from the Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington museum in Alna, ME, there's a farm with a rather unique name. Unfortunately, I can't give the full name lest I arouse the landlords to a mighty wrath. However, I can give you the first and last words. Cow ____ Corner. I kid you not.

There was a guy in Milwaukee 20-30 years, maybe less, who lived just off the runway approach to Mitchel Int'l Airport. He had a sign on his roof (painted on the shingles, done in different colored shingles, or whatever) that said "Welcome to Cleveland". The city tried (unsuccessfully) to make him remove it. I have no idea if it's still there.

There's a local tavern called "Night Court". Another is "The Doctor's Office". I've also seen "Dew Drop Inn", and "Duck Inn" (next to the CP/Amtrak Hiawatha line in Wadsworth, IL; there's a huge marsh/wetlands just across the tracks. In downtown Milwaukee is a little beanery called "My Office" (good burgers). And then there was "Nacho Mama's" a few blocks away.

[cbq9911a]

Good whimsical names are ones that sound like real ones, like:

Condemned Edison
Madonna Della Ferrostrada Church

I've also got some other ones:

Lawyers Can Service (Portable toilet service).
G. E. Neric and Company
W. Clinton & H. Rodham, Lawyers.
Gallerie Pret (Pretentious art gallery)
Cat House (Sells house cat stuff)
Bundy - Simpson Company (after two TV fathers, Al Bundy and Homer Simpson)

Two of my favorite whimsical touches are the blue directional signs pointing to real churches (in the proper direction) and the billboard advertising "X False Teeth - They Keep You Talkin", where X is a particularly loud mouthed local politician.

[Fergmiester]

Cape Breton, NS has two Lick a Chick Take Outs. Best chicken in town!

[andrechapelon]

QUOTE: Originally posted by wd45

If you're going to have a funeral home on your layout, you might consider the name of an actual funeral home that existed in the town near where I grew up; Butcher Funeral Home.
Mike

PS: This same town also had a drug store called Jolly Drugs!

Back in 1969, I saw a billboard for a local eatery in Santa Ana, CA, that said "Enjoy your wife, eat out more often".

Then there was the gas station with attached restaurant on US 50 just east of Placerville,CA, that advertised, "Eat here. Get Gas".

A few years ago, it was reported that some joker had added his own message on I-80 just east of Gold Run, CA. There was a "Chains Required" sign (it WAS winter after all)to which had been added a neatly lettered addendum: "Whips And Boots Optional".

Then there's the eastbound Santa Fe freight I saw back in 1961 in Cajon Pass at the Highway 138 crossing. About halfway into the consist, a covered hopper rolled by with a a neatly chalked "Who put sulfur in the potash?" on the right side. 43 years later, I still haven't the slightest idea who the culprit was.

About 5 miles from the Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington museum in Alna, ME, there's a farm with a rather unique name. Unfortunately, I can't give the full name lest I arouse the landlords to a mighty wrath. However, I can give you the first and last words. Cow ____ Corner. I kid you not.

Andre

[Anonymous]

Guess where these businesses came from, heh, heh, heh:
Gun Shop - BloodBath and Beyond
Pastry Shop - The French Confection
Investing service - IPO Friday's
Museum - Louvre: American Style
Family Restaurant - Texas Cheesecake Depository
Middle eastern restaurant - Two Guys from Kabul
Dog Obedience Schools - Eastside Ruff-Form School, Professor Von Bowser's Sanitarium For Dogs
Music shop - Suicide Notes and Tommy Toots
Girls school - Saint Sebastian's School for Wicked Girls
Repo man - Repo Depot
Outdoor Clothing Store - Malaria Zone
Gourmet Food store - Eatie Gourmet's
Toy Store - Valley of the Dolls
Roach Motel - The Ritz Carlton Hotel for Vagrants
Air conditioner store - It Blows
Boys' Clothing Store - Wee Monsieur
Joke/Novelty Shop: Yuckingham Palace
Jewelry store - The Family Jewels
Shop selling casserole dishes - Stoner's Pot Palace
Toy Store - J.R.R. Toykins

[krump]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Oklahoma Train Nut

my layout will contain a factory called ACME-proudly supplying wiley cyotey since 1942 ![(-D][(-D][(-D][(-D][(-D]

... and all these years I thought it was ACNE factory / supplies.[:D][:D][:D][^]

cheers

[wd45]

If you're going to have a funeral home on your layout, you might consider the name of an actual funeral home that existed in the town near where I grew up; Butcher Funeral Home.
Mike

PS: This same town also had a drug store called Jolly Drugs!

[Anonymous]

Right now I'm building a house on a hill with a visible basement... and I'll give it a full fledged Frankenstein laboratry.
(by the way, ACME has supplied Wil E. Coyote since '49)

[andrechapelon]

QUOTE: Originally posted by kbfcsme

QUOTE: Originally posted by andrechapelon



Phartz and Howe Baked Beans

This was an actual boxcar kit way back when. I think it was a Red Ball kit or something else of that general era. Orange wood sided car with black lettering. Phartz & Howe Baked Beans, the beans heard round the world!!!.
I saw my 1st one 14 years ago, have only seen 1 other one since, tucked away in private collections. One of these days I'm gonna find one at a train show or sale, and will probably pay through the nose for it!

Yeah, I know. That's where I got the name. Unfortunately, I didn't buy one when I had the chance. OTOH, I DO have one of those Walther's JAILBOX's ("Next crime any line") from the 70's. Still in kit form. Maybe I should eBay it as this rare collector's item like so many of those Mantua/Tyco Pacifics and Mikes I see in various stages of deterioration.

Good Lord, the amount of junk that gets passed off as "vintage" this or "rare" that.

Andre

[Anonymous]

my layout will contain a factory called ACME-proudly supplying wiley cyotey since 1942 ![(-D][(-D][(-D][(-D][(-D]

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by andrechapelon



Phartz and Howe Baked Beans

This was an actual boxcar kit way back when. I think it was a Red Ball kit or something else of that general era. Orange wood sided car with black lettering. Phartz & Howe Baked Beans, the beans heard round the world!!!.
I saw my 1st one 14 years ago, have only seen 1 other one since, tucked away in private collections. One of these days I'm gonna find one at a train show or sale, and will probably pay through the nose for it!

[fec153]

An "N" scale club in Miami had a lake scene with beach and nude bathers.
Phil

[Anonymous]

Hi all
Nothing wrong with a touch of whimsy at all just make sure it is in proportion to the reat of the layout so it doesn't look out of wack with anything else.
My favorites would have to be a canoe towing a much larger boat with a pirate skipper
very well done and looked natural with the rest of the layout(didn't stick out like a sore thumb) and Doctor Who's tardis this aocasionaly drew attention to its self by the light starting to flash and the wierd noise then and only then did you notice that that was what it was including a couple of home made Daleks
regards John

[krump]

a local septic company that we have used, has the following slogan...

"our Royal Flush beats your Full House, ANYDAY"

- in my office (youth probation/ corrections) I have subtly posted on the corner of the bulletin board one of those black and orange lettered lawn signs that reads "Please Keep Off Grass" (sometimes the youth or parents notice it and chuckle - makes the purchase worthwhile)
the same idea could be modelled on your layout as a typical sign in the new turf lawn of the detox centre...

[Anonymous]

A real business (and slogan):
Ace Radiator in 'Waukegan, IL: A great place to take a leak.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by andrechapelon
[br
Actually, I personally know of two Curl Up And Dye hair salons that actually exist. One's in Monterey, CA, and the other in Belmont Corners, ME.

Andre

He's not lying, folks.

Monterey: 884 Abrego St
Scarborough, ME: 15 Landmark Rd.
Morrill, ME: 377B August Rd

Thanks, sbc.com!

[andrechapelon]

John Armstrong comes up with some good whimsical names for the layouts he designs. Two of my favorites are Conemaul Power Co. and DesMaigne Yard.

Here are some more ideas:

Industries/businesses:

Wharpt and Knottid Lumber Co.
Phartz and Howe Baked Beans
Sparks & Smoak Electric Co. ("Let us get into your shorts")
Dung and Bradstreet Septic Systems ("We're number 1 in the number 2 business")
Pasteur Pastries ("Imagine yourself in a meadow with one of our muffins")
Robin Peter Mortgage Broker ("Need to pay Paul? Try Robin Peter")
Royal, Payne and Howe Tax Consultants
Combatte-Bootz Shoe Company ("Your mother wears Combatte-Bootz. So should you")

Place names:

Ore Chasm
Sunova Beach
Uppda Creek
Holdemat Bay
Jaylehouse Rock
Parshall Bridge

Andre

[andrechapelon]

QUOTE: Originally posted by kbfcsme

A few odd building signs, the Curl Up & Dye hair salon (from the Blues Brothers Movie), the Marian-Haste Family Planning clinic, Century Iron Products(our erections last a long time) to name a few. [:D]
My Walthers Grain Mill complex has an employee entrance door, about 5 stories up, Emplyoees have to go up 1 ladder, across a roof, and up another to get to the timeclock!!!! [:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D]

Actually, I personally know of two Curl Up And Dye hair salons that actually exist. One's in Monterey, CA, and the other in Belmont Corners, ME.

Andre

[Anonymous]

I just came up with some possibilities:

Froedtert Excavating and Fill Co.

Froedtert Coffee - It's always just ground this morning!

Griese Oil Co. (with a nod to the old Dolphins' QB)
Butkus Employment Agency (you can have a lot of fun with that name!)
Dr. Yang Kim - Dentist - also heard of a Dr. Payne. Honest!
Yoakum Oxen & Livestock (for the 1870-1910 period rural layout)
Weil & Diehl
Digham & Graves - mortuary services
Irons & Boehm Construction

We could play at this all day. I have to save this. I might use a few of these...

[Anonymous]

A few odd building signs, the Curl Up & Dye hair salon (from the Blues Brothers Movie), the Marian-Haste Family Planning clinic, Century Iron Products(our erections last a long time) to name a few. [:D]
My Walthers Grain Mill complex has an employee entrance door, about 5 stories up, Emplyoees have to go up 1 ladder, across a roof, and up another to get to the timeclock!!!! [:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D]

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by lupo

Thanks Jay_c !

Wow that are a good link! now I can harass you a piece more easily with nonsense! thanks!

mind you this is what that babelfish.altavista.com made of my dutch text. I think it is not quite what I ment sooooooo [:P] Use with care [swg][(-D][swg][(-D]
this is going to get very funny !

Yep. Babelfish is an EXTREMELY simplistic translator. It does a reasonable job, but doesn't handle idioms or complex sentences very well, and its choice of synonyms is not always appropriate. For lupo's post, I think it should have translated the word for "piece" as "bit", but didn't. I wouldn't rely on babelfish, but it usually does a good enough job that if you don't know the language, you can at least get the general drift of the text.

[lupo]

Thanks Jay_c !

Wow that are a good link! now I can harass you a piece more easily with nonsense! thanks!

mind you this is what that babelfish.altavista.com made of my dutch text. I think it is not quite what I ment sooooooo [:P] Use with care [swg][(-D][swg][(-D]
this is going to get very funny !