If you're modeling a small town where the sidewalk ordinance came after the major buildings were constructed, it makes sense to use the original bases, trimmed to form an even curb line, filled in with 'later' additions.
OTOH, a town big enough to have street trackage probably had building codes before most present-day structures went up. Such places tend to have very consistent sidewalk construction. Unless all the bases are approximately the same, they should be removed in favor of 'code' sidewalks.
Either way, the curb should be a separate concrete casting, and totally consistent.
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
tomikawaTT wrote:If you're modeling a small town where the sidewalk ordinance came after the major buildings were constructed, it makes sense to use the original bases, trimmed to form an even curb line, filled in with 'later' additions.
Many small towns have sidewalks like that. In Waynesburg, PA (about an hour's drive south of Pittsburgh), the sidewalks were built/replaced at different times. Most are concrete, but asphalt is sometimes used, and they're not all at the same heights. One block, along the main street, has a glass block design sunk into the concrete! Many of the corners were fitted with wheelchair ramps in the mid-to-late 1990s.
Also keep in mind, that curbs aren't always the same height either. This is true when a building gets knocked down, and there was a driveway. Sometimes, the 'lowered' curb is left in place, even though the driveway/building is no longer there.
If you're being really modern and your town has a bus service would it have "easy access" facilities as we do in the UK? Around me they did this twice - at the same time - they installed built-up kerbs AND got "kneel down" buses... for the same routes! There's clever! Guess what? The two aren't compatible So the new buses have to stop clear of the raised sidewalks...
I don't know about the US but here the wheelchair ramps have "tactile paving". the slabs have a distinct nobbly pattern... which the wheels pass between....
More cheerfully... I like to see building fronts not conforming too closely to a single straight line. As has been said a lot depends on city ordinances... but variation is the spice of life.
I would be interested to know how you've set out your street running... what track, what paving and all the rest
My street running section consists of two tracks. One is a branch line which services a cannery at the end of the main street in town. One or two cars are brought in for picking up canned produce for retail. The other is actually a reversing loop that I put in to reverse my engines and passenger cars. It's actually a very sharp loop but the passenger cars are restricted to 8 mph when making the loop. I covered the street running area with foam board to transition from the roadbed to street level. I then used thin styrene (used both styrene sheets and even cheaper I used "FOR SALE" plastic signs) to cover the ties outside and between the rails along with wood sticks close to the depth of popsicle sticks underneath the styrene to make it level with the covered ties. All this was glued down and adjustments were made to make sure clearance was available for the rails. I filled in the gaps with lightweight spackle and will draw in one lane each way with the rail in the middle of the main street, just enough for one lane and curb parking. The roads will be concrete since I'm modeling around 60's to 70's era. My structures with bases, I just don't like that some have a couple of feet of walking space while others have a lot (of sidewalk).
Thanks for the answer
From what you say I would go one of two ways.
1. remove all bases and make your own sidewalk to the width that looks right to you with a common back line and a common front line - what you might call "city ordinance conformity". This sidewalk is likely to be pretty homogenous in appearance and materials.
2. decide on a general back line for the sidewalk and either a constant front line or a general one... then reduce all over sized bases within this dimension - except where you decide a building will be set back by all or part of the excess amount - then infill between the bits of sidewalk that you have. this is more likely to look like "old town" where things got done before ordinances... like the tracks that got laid straight down the street... when people thought being able to get straight on the passeneger trains was more important than segregating "risks". Before ordinances people thought that the sensible thing to do was to not get in the way of a train or park on the tracks...
If one (or two) buildings have a base you particularly like but that isn't wide enough just use them and extend the sidewalk out in front of them with "repair" material.
I don't know what they do in the US but here any sidewalk can have all sorts of repairs in it where utility companies have ripped up the surface and put something back somehow. there's laws and standards but you wouldn't believe the mess that sidewalks get left in. then there's damage that happens when trucks ride up or park on the sidewalk.
I recall (some years ago) a semi making a turn at a T junction that it was too big for went up on the pavement, fell through into a cellar or coal hole below and the cab corner (it was a cabover) smashed straight through the shop front. "OOPS"!