1930s Chicago - what would you expect to see

[jon grant]

Hmm, jon grant, did you ask this question a number of months before on this forum (or another forum, or some magazine even)?

Yes and no. I made the decision to add the option of an earlier era (1930s) a few months ago after a couple of exhibitions last October. I discovered I was taking so many locos and freight cars to shows that many of them were not even getting to run on the layout, and some that did were creating anomalies (B&M blue/black boxcar running in same train as a billboard reefer)

I therefore decided to split my collection into 2 distinct eras and only take half of them to one show, running the layout in the 1930s, and taking the other half to the next show and running the layout in the 1950s, thus using much more of my stock over 2 shows.

To get an idea of building and exhibiting a layout in the UK, read John Wright's article in the latest Model Railroad Planner - John is also 1/3 of my operating crew for Sweethome 

 

Is this an ongoing process, as I thought you had finished with the backdate when (and wherever you posted the images)?

 

It is very much an ongoing process. If you look closely at the photos posted earlier, you'll see many of the same road vehicles in each photo. That's because I don't have nearly enough at the moment. I also have a load of freight cars to build before I exhibit the layout in March. At the moment I have more than enough soundchipped steam locos, billboard reefers and tank cars but am far from having a balanced fleet.

Thankfully the generic nature of the buildings on the layout lends itself to multiple eras as in the accompanying photos, so backdating to the 1930s should hopefully involve changing only the billboards, road vehicles, signs - nothing major. NB I intend the 1930s and 1950s signs and billboards to be interchangeable.

1930s

 

1950s

 

 

1970s-80s

 

 

1990s

 

Thanks to everyone for all the suggestions so far. I am making a list and will be crossing off each one as I do them.

 

Jon

[jon grant]

... and snow ... don't forget the snow.  (I was there during the blizzard of '66).

 

Did that with my British 1917-1918 layout 

 

Jon

 

[The Old Man]

-  The El (elevated train) circled downtown which gave the area the name "the loop".  Most folks took the El to commute.

- 

A common misconception, there was a streetcar that originally made the loop circuit, hence the name.

[jon grant]

I do hope the fellow that opened this subject puts a couple of "dog or beef" places on his layout. 

Done.

 

And of course, don't forget that neighborhood tavern!

 

Done. The Blue Note Lounge and Nelsons

 

Jon

[orsonroy]

And of course, don't forget that neighborhood tavern!

Done. The Blue Note Lounge and Nelsons

Hi Jon,

There's one period snafu in the above picture: the garbagemen's orange coveralls. Safety orange is a pretty modern thing (late 1960s, at least), and wouldn't be seen in a 1930s or 1950s scene. Repaint them with either white (yes, white) or jeancloth blue (dark indigo) dungarees. The hard hats have to go too (reshape them as some sort of nondescript "cap")

Hmm...I'll have to dig around in Cushman to see what color Chicago fire hydrants were back then too; you can't assume red (yellow was as common, and still is on places)

[jon grant]

One other aspect.  There aren't any manhole covers in the street.  I don't know you want us to get that picky, but they are a very common feature of American streets.

The vehicles were covering them up. here's a view of the bare street showing manhole cover (another under the bridge) and drains.

 

Not enough arms on the telephone and power poles

I'm working on it, starting with the power lines.

 

Jon

[mobilman44]

Old Man,

  I was addressing the "40s", which at that time did have the elevated circling the downtown, and future generations called it "the loop" based upon that - as it still existed for those generations.  In any case, I think the folks get the point! 

Mobilman44

[jon grant]

Lots and lots of black Ford old Model-T and new Model-A trucks & automobiles.  A few remaining horse drawn ice, milk, trash, and probably mail wagons.

Done

 

 

 

 Jon

 

[mobilman44]

Hi,

Chicago fire hydrants were red, at least back to the '20s.  The Chicago fire (1877???) was a significant impetus in getting fire safety established in the city.  Of course it is possible that some hydrants were a different color, but from my earliest memories (1950) and my older relatives, it looks like they were around for some time.

ENJOY,

Mobilman44

[jon grant]

Hi,

Chicago fire hydrants were red, at least back to the '20s.  Mobilman44

 

Thanks for the information. I now have a fire engine to add to the layout, although finding the driver is proving difficult

 

 Jon

[gmcrail]

Chicago is like the Mecca of railroads, everywhere!! You would have streetcars (Chicago Surface Lines) the elevated, the North Shore, the South Shore, IC electric, CA&E, C&NW, UP, NKP, Wabash, the underground freight tunnels, C&EI, IHB, Belt Railway of Chicago, NYC, I prolly cant remember more lines offhand.

All true, but you've left out most of the major ones:  AT&SF, CB&Q, PRR, B&O, MILW, CGW, Monon, Chicago & Alton, IC, and more.  The UP came in on C&NW tracks.  The GN came in via CB&Q trackage, I believe.  I don't think the Southern made it that far north, and of course the strictly East Coast RRs like the Seaboard, the ACL, the New Haven, etc. were about the only others who didn't make it to Chicago, though they might have had sleepers routed through other roads...   

Chicago was and is a great city, and a railfan's dream location!

 

[Fazby]

One more vehicle for the streets:  an ice truck - the thing that brought ice to all the ice boxes.

 

 

[cnw1995]

I work in Chicago's Loop and there is a surprising amount of 'infrastructure' still around from the era you're modeling. Beautiful, evocative work, by the way. Let me know if you'd like me to look up anything.

[lvanhen]

One more vehicle for the streets:  an ice truck - the thing that brought ice to all the ice boxes.

 

 

As a small kid in Brooklyn (NYC), I remember ice being delivered from a horse & wagon!!  Fresh vegtables and the knife/scissor sharpener also!  The knife/scissor sharpener would be really neat to model - either as horse drawn or early motorized - I don't ever recall seeing one in model form.  My

(edit) I also remember the chain-drive Mac trucks - probably for coal & other heavy "stuff"

[jecorbett]

My first thought when I read this was to reference the movie The Sting but I see someone already suggested that. I didn't even think of The Untouchables but that is another excellent choice. There is one nice scene in The Sting which shows a back alley loading dock with embedded tracks in the pavement. My first thought when I saw the movie was it would make and excellent MR scene. One of the scenes looks like it might have been enhanced with special effects but that's good material anyway. 

Generally both movies captured the feel of that era. The producers have done a lot of that research for you. There aren't many color photos from that era so movies is probably the best source for color scenes. I'm sure there are nitpickers who could point out things in those two movies that didn't belong but the average person wouldn't notice them.

[Don Gibson]

I REMEMBER  brick buildings, elevated RR-right-of-ways, soot (from RR's), black snow, old delivery trucks, Billboards, and mounted policemen, as I grew up there.

The 'Loop' was a fomation of elevated trains circling the downtown business district.

[chutton01]

Hmm, since this thread has popped up again, in sync with this RestaurantThread, do you have either a White Castle or a White Tower outlet on you layout to give your model 1930s folk a taste of proto-fast food?