I have a 5 foot long section of track that is about 6 inches away from a wall, i am perplexed what to do ,i would like to put some structures along that section, does any one make a row of factories or merchant shops i could put along this space? i would prefer not to have to buy individual buildings. This section of the layout has not been given any particular theme so i am wide open to suggestions any advice would be greatly appreciated. the overall width of this section is two foot wide X five foot long. Thanks Bear.
Walthers sells background building kits. Most are industrial buildings and apartments. Sizes are about 2 1/2" deep and 12" to 16" long.
1. Custom build your own using DPM modular pieces or Walthers pieces
http://woodlandscenics.woodlandscenics.com/show/category/HOModularSystem
http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/933-3723
2. Merchant's row:
http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/933-3028
http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/933-3029
http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/933-3064
Don - Specializing in layout DC->DCC conversions
Modeling C&O transition era and steel industries There's Nothing Like Big Steam!
DPM also makes module sections that you can put together in any arrangement that you desire. This area could be used to scratch build from wood such as Northeastern Lumber or sheets of styrene. Grandt Line makes a lot of different window and door castings.
Craig North Carolina
You could get a couple of larger buildings, like warehouses or older manufacturing buildings, and "unfold" them. Instead of assembling the 4 walls in a rectangle, put them together end to end along your wall.
That six-inch depth could be used for some added operational interest by adding a siding or two to serve "flat" industries against the wall. I think you'd end up liking that better than bringing the industries out to meet the main rail line.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Hi Bear
"Unfolding" a structure can produce good results. Used P2K's Moore and Company warehouse to create a background building 36" long by about 2" deep. The original kit can be built in several different configurations but the longest of these was only 16" wide. The kit walls are molded at 45 degrees so I butted them up to each other and then used styrene to reinforce the joint. The joints are almost invisible.
The Moore warehouse has been discontinued for some time and is no longer shown on the Walthers site, but you can do the same thing with virtually any kit. Some kits like City Classics are designed to allow you to build one kit on top of another so you can go as high as you want and as wide as you want. You can vary the depth of the building to suit your space. With 6" to work with you should be able to add spurs and still have lots of room. You could even build a building with enough depth to allow for a train door so the trains could be run right into the structure.
Sorry I can't post pictures right now - my computer swallowed a nasty bug and is in the shop to be cleaned out. If I get it back soon I will post some pics.
Dave
By the way, Walthers cleared the last of their Moore and Company kits out really cheap so if you find one don't pay too much.
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Have you considered using a printed backdrop or photo backdrop of buildings?
You could use paper buildings. Take a look at Clever Models http://www.clevermodels.net/ It is possible to make well detailed paper models at a fraction of the cost of wood or plastic kits.
I tried to sell my two cents worth, but no one would give me a plug nickel for it.
I don't have a leg to stand on.
I made this one with DPM modular sections.
It shows the same sort of thing that Dave was talking about a couple of posts up. The lower section covers a rail-served loading dock. Here is an earlier picture, during construction:
Because the big front window faces the front of the layout, I had the opportunity to add some detail to the interior. Mostly, it's just an old sepia-toned picture of a factory interior. I added a second-story catwalk to give the interior scene some depth. I also wasted a bunch of time building the inside of the loading dock, complete with guard rails, that can't be seen at all.
This is a Walthers background building kit, sold as "Arrowhead Ale Brewery:"
It comes pretty much as you see it - 3 walls and a roof, plus the loading dock. I added my own decals for the "Strumpet Brewery" and applied some details. I didn't want clear window glazing on this, but I didn't want to black the windows out, either. Instead, I used Canopy Cement to "glaze" the windows. This gives a clear, smooth finish to the window, but it is not flat, and the resulting lens effect makes it impossible to see a focused image through the window. This lets me put a light bulb inside, but you can't see the interior.
Give King Mill Enterprises a check. The have several lines of buiildings that are designed for back drops. I plan to use them when I get to that part of my layout.
Curt Webb
The Late Great Pennsylvania Railroad
http://s1082.photobucket.com/albums/j372/curtwbb/
hon30critter Hi Bear "Unfolding" a structure can produce good results. Used P2K's Moore and Company warehouse to create a background building 36" long by about 2" deep. The original kit can be built in several different configurations but the longest of these was only 16" wide. The kit walls are molded at 45 degrees so I butted them up to each other and then used styrene to reinforce the joint. The joints are almost invisible
"Unfolding" a structure can produce good results. Used P2K's Moore and Company warehouse to create a background building 36" long by about 2" deep. The original kit can be built in several different configurations but the longest of these was only 16" wide. The kit walls are molded at 45 degrees so I butted them up to each other and then used styrene to reinforce the joint. The joints are almost invisible
This is what I'm in the process of doing right now. I'm "unfolding" a Walther's Lakeville Warehousing building, and using some spare parts included with the kit, to create a low-relief (approximately 1 and 3/4 inch deep) structure that's 38 inches long and will have spots for four box cars.
The OP may also want to check out the "Bay Junction" series of layout construction articles beginning with the January 2011 MR, as well as the older series of articles (I forget the year/months - maybe sometime in 2008?) on the WSOR extension to the MR club layout. Both of these "project layouts" include a number of low-relief structures.
Thanks for all the great ideas, I am still very new at this hobby and all the help i get from this forum is fantastic. what a great bunch of fellow railroaders. thanks again
I second the recommendations for the King Mill or Clever Models. A friend of mine uses a couple of the King Mill "photo buildings" and the have great detail for background buildings. Clever Models had a diorama at the Amherst show of nothing but their paper buildings and it was quite impressive.
I used the "Yellow Box" kit American Chemical & Potash to make a background building.
It is a metal kit that I used CA to put together.
Bear - Here is a picture of my unfolded Moore and Company warehouse and also one of the box illustration for comparison. Sorry it took so long to post the picture.