You want to see cities check out MR issue featuring Rod Stewart's layout. Like the Franklin & South Manchester structures are the scenery. If space constraints aren't an issue then the cost factor must be. As far as space goes think about how much room you need to make a city scen look believable as opposed to a rural setting. A lone grain elevator and a few out buildings can make for a ver believale scene in a relatively small area. Take that same size area and fill it with buildings and you'll have a scene that looks liek a city that ran out of money during construction. I've seen some really nice city scene on large club layouts in my o/p you simly just need the realestate to make them look good.
The Franklin and South Manchester is a layout that sets a very high standard of detail and realism that puts it in a category all by itself. Most modelers are happy just to model the small towns and villages that trains would run through. Remember its model rail roading and not movie sets. Cost and time to achieve a believable city scene is more than some would want to apply to the project. I myself am happier just to model an industrial scene and a small village that had a branch line that ran down the middle of main street than something like Penn station or Chicago union station with a 100 miles of track in 1 square mile of real estate.
Pete
I pray every day I break even, Cause I can really use the money!
I started with nothing and still have most of it left!
I have to agree with Nick that the cost of recreating it all pretty much rules it out. It does for me, anyway. I painted my city.
Mike
Modelling the UK in 00, and New England - MEC, B&M, D&H and Guilford - in H0
Money is a big factor. It takes far more dollars to fill an urban square foot, then a rural one. Time is also a factor. Constructing the buildings, roads, and sidewalks, and adding the appropriate detailing, can take much longer then building a rural scene.
Nick
Take a Ride on the Reading with the: Reading Company Technical & Historical Society http://www.readingrailroad.org/
wjstix Although people did have parts of their layouts dedicated to urban railroading, I think it wasn't until George Sellios came along that people really started to realize what could be done in that area. As far as why more people don't do it, I guess it's different for different people. People living in crowded urban areas maybe want to have their layout be a "getaway" to a more rural, scenic area...and maybe people living in rural areas feel more comfortable modelling that, compared to modelling "the big city"?? Cost could be a factor, plaster and such for hills and valleys are cheaper than dozens of structure kits.
Although people did have parts of their layouts dedicated to urban railroading, I think it wasn't until George Sellios came along that people really started to realize what could be done in that area. As far as why more people don't do it, I guess it's different for different people. People living in crowded urban areas maybe want to have their layout be a "getaway" to a more rural, scenic area...and maybe people living in rural areas feel more comfortable modelling that, compared to modelling "the big city"??
Cost could be a factor, plaster and such for hills and valleys are cheaper than dozens of structure kits.
I think it has more to do with the fact that railroads in uban areas tend to be hidden away and so can't and won't often be seen. That isn't the case in wide open areas and so they are more popular.
I am working on a layout that runs right three of the Boroughs of the City of New York (Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx). While there are places the rail libes can be seen, they are few and far between primarily because real estate is expensive and railroads are considered noisy, dirty and ugly. So, in an effort to hide their presence they are often located underground, in cuts with no views available or behind fences and buildings that offer no viewing access. People are often unaware of that trains run just a few feet away frm where they live or ahop as there are no signs and the sounds made by the trains are rarely heard.
Of course, in the post 9/11/01 wrold we live in, hiding such things in the urban area is probably not such a bad thing, but it is still not something that is easily modeled unless one has lots of photos and/or is able to get to places where you can take pictures.
Irv
I'm in the design phase of a layout that has Centralia, IL and Effingham, IL at each end. Not exactly urban railroading but Centralia was a rail hub served by the Illinois Central, CB&Q, Southern and Missouri and Illinois (MOPAC). The downtown area where the IC had a large depot and freight house, the CB&Q had a depot and freight house and the M&I had a freight house had many multi story buildings on the east side of the tracks. The IC freight house and several industries are located in this area. So far I haven't noticed a shortage of kits and I think the downtown area won't be especially difficult to recreate with all of the modulars available these days. The hard part for me has been finding photos from 1955 of everything I intend on recreating.
I cannot help but wonder why there are so many mountain, or plains motifs for many, I mean most, layouts? After joining this forum I visited all of the clubs under the resources menu selection. I really enjoy looking at the work of others and was really hoping be inspired.
On the other hand there are very few towns, never mind cities, that are the heart of a layout. Are they too hard? Do they take up to much space, either horizontally or vertically? Maybe there are not enough kit buildings, and/or detail parts available?
I have seen just a few in MR and can't remember in the other publication. The ones I can remember were spectacular, taking up many cubic feet because of the height of the buildings.
Maybe I have answered my own question by just asking it... The ones that stick out are the efforts of either a museum or rock star. Most of us, including myself, do not have the money or the time to invest. Mostly the money.
I personally have a small layout and want it to look like the period of 1965 to 1975. The area is in south eastern Virginia. That would be Norfolk, Portsmouth and Suffolk. Not New York City size towns but bigger than most of the city scenes I have seen. Three and four story buildings in the downtown city center.
Web site links welcome as are your thoughts?
Bob
Photobucket Albums:NPBL - 2008 The BeginningNPBL - 2009 Phase INPBL - 2010 Downtown