i am trying to design a small town to fit in a return loop on my layout.my layout is set in the mountains of west virginia the space for the town is approx 4 ft x 5 feet. i was wondering if any one could help with some input with what sort of structures i would need. i know i need houses but as for anything else i dont know. i dont want to over do it and detract from the small town feel. i have a small service area for the helpers based there as it is at the foot of the grade but it is on the other side of the tracks. as i live on the wrong side of the planet i am not sure how dense such a town would be and what sort of buisnesses would exist.. can anyone help.
Dan
Dan,
Your best bet is going to be to work from photos. Consider a Google image search under West Virginia coal towns or something like that. You probably do want to keep it understated though. Maybe two or three Design Preservation Models one or two story brick retail structures, an understated gas station, and several Rix Maxwell Avenue houses painted white.
Lance
Visit Miami's Downtown Spur at www.lancemindheim.com
As stated above, photos are a great resource, but you can use your own home town as a guide. Things end up where they are for a reason. Most isolated towns had / have a general store or a small supermarket. Maybe a gas station, maybe not; it depends on the era. If the town was planned, as most in the US were to a greater or lesser degree, most streets will be laid out in a grid pattern. Moodus and East Haddam, CT, were laid out by geography. Moodus grew up around a line of textile mills along the Moodus River, hence the main street followed the contour of the river. East Haddam grew around a boat yard and ferry landing, so it radiates out in spokes from that central area. As long as your "history" has a logical explanation, whatever works on your layout is fine.
Just try to avoid structures with no access other than the railroad.... that almost never happens (even the employees will generally drive to work).
Connecticut Valley Railroad A Branch of the New York, New Haven, and Hartford
"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right." -- Henry Ford
We could help more if we kew the era you ae modelling.
73
Bruce in the Peg
I grew up in a small town {Inc 1787}, and now live in a different small town.
depending on the era here is a basic idea of businesses located in a small town: reserve a section for "downtown businesses" such as a general store, autoparts store, home decorating shop, a drug store, an arts store of some kind, a grocery store of some type, clothing store{s}, the Chamber of Commerce, a dental office, A doctor's office, a book store, a gas station somewhere, a motel or hotel, some kind of restaurants. These and more can be found in the "business section". The business section can be separate from living areas, or both can be on the same street. Near by on the Main street or Front street {if a river is close} would be most likely larger victorian style houses of what would have been built for the wealthier of the 1800's and early 1900's. on the outskirts you may find some tract style houses built.
For a more modern look, you can have the same type businesses in more modern buildings.
The big thing will come down to: what do you want to scratch build, or what kits you can find available with which to build your small town and the time frame and the area in which you are trying to model. REmember that old buildings can still have a life today.
I don't know where you live but drive out to small towns near where you are and see how the towns are laid out, there has to be some small towns within a good 2-3 hour away from any major city you may be located in to look at and see. SOme may even still have the wooden store building fronts that would have been there since early to mid 1800's OR the fascinating brickwork {look up at teh buildings} noted for those times. Most small towns in teh east will have a historic district on the Historic District Registry.
Hope this helps.
-G .
Just my thoughts, ideas, opinions and experiences. Others may vary.
HO and N Scale.
After long and careful thought, they have convinced me. I have come to the conclusion that they are right. The aliens did it.
The buildings to use for your town has been already suggested. The location of those buildings is what will make or break your town. Towns (businesses) were located on the flats where possible. Most were close by or near the railroad tracks. Homes and houses were put where ever and most were on the sides of the hills.
Since you are modeling West Virginia, I would see if I could hide the loop of track under a steep hill or shallow mountain. Put the towns businesses on the flat near the tracks and work in the other buildings up the hill.
To do this in a realistic manner, I would build the hill with foam first and get the basic contour set. Then come back and try thinking like someone who wants to build a town here. What would be located here, and over there. Carve out a road up the hill and then dig in for some house sites etc. Some would be supported with cribbing or frame bracing where they hung over the hill side. Heavy foliage should be used on the hill around the road and houses and other buildings. The town proper would have some trees but would be mostly clear.
Elmer.
The above is my opinion, from an active and experienced Model Railroader in N scale and HO since 1961.
(Modeling Freelance, Eastern US, HO scale, in 1962, with NCE DCC for locomotive control and a stand alone LocoNet for block detection and signals.) http://waynes-trains.com/ at home, and N scale at the Club.
Good questions and suggestions.
A couple of additions: Try not to run your streets parallel or perpendicular to the layout edges Also, most business districts did not have many houses. There can be some older houses that have been surrounded by later village expansion, they may or may not be well kept. Homes near the tracks tend to be the low rent district, with larger, fancier homes further away. If your town has tenements they are sometimes close to the tracks or large industries. Older towns will have company or mill housing, a number of houses built on the same basic design next to each other, lining a street or block. Every town is a little different (thank goodness).
Good luck,
I'd suggest checking out the layout blogs on Mark Peterson's (Spookshow) website.
While all of his layouts are N-scale, several feature a "down-town" that would be appropriate for a small town or village.
http://www.visi.com/~spookshow/layouts.html
my best advice is go visit Howard Zane's Piermont Division layout photos at the link below, don't ask me how he did it but he crammed the entire state of West Virginia in his 2800 square foot basement. Seriously his layout is the premiere example of modeling West Virginia coal country you may get some answers to your question if not at least some inspiration hope this helps
http://www.zanestrains.com/photogallery.htm
if it helps i am modelling the mid to late 1980's.