A quick view of Westport...

And a couple of shots.

Looking good!

I especially like how the scene with the train in it puts the scenery in perspective.

Les

I forgot the rest...
Here's two more.

Roger,

I appreciate how you have kept your model railroad true to era. The train, the autos and trucks, the buildings and advertising, all compatible. No anachronisms.

This, in my opinion, goes further than anything else one can do to make a scene believable. It shows you put a lot of thought into it.

Les

Yes, I have put a lot of thought into it. Westport is mostly my memories. I went back this summer after many years of not seeing it and I am very grateful that I hadn't returned before. It has changed a lot and not for the better.

Roger,

I know what you mean. I checked out my old hometown on Google Earth. It was almost unrecognizable. I could only find my way around by using street names and numbers. It was really depressing.

Is that black over white car a Packard?

Les

No, it is an English Ford.

Oh, and another shot of the elevator.

It looks like your model railroad is bigger than I had imagined.

The mid-50's Packards had a dark-over-light two-tone scheme like the one on your English Ford. The body lines are very much alike.
Of course, the Packards were huge cars, but it is hard to tell on a model railroad.

This week, I added another era-setting feature on my model railroad, era-specific city transit buses. I don't know if Westport would have been large enough to support its own city bus line. Era-specific inter-city buses are also available.

My model railroad is set in about a six-year time frame in the early-mid 1960's. This was before the era of urban renewal. Only a very few old buildings have been modernized or repurposed. What old buildings that have not experienced constant maintenance have fallen into varying degrees of deterioration.

One thing that has helped me greatly is to study photos of the city I am modelling that were taken in that time period. Even if (as is usually the case) the photos are train pictures, I study the backgrounds closely. Model buildings that are suggestive of the actual buildings can then be located in their approximate positions.

Les

You say it is larger? Here is a couple of shots of the other side of the layout.





"My model railroad is set in about a six-year time frame in the early-mid 1960's. This was before the era of urban renewal. Only a very few old buildings have been modernized or repurposed. What old buildings that have not experienced constant maintenance have fallen into varying degrees of deterioration.

One thing that has helped me greatly is to study photos of the city I am modelling that were taken in that time period. Even if (as is usually the case) the photos are train pictures, I study the backgrounds closely. Model buildings that are suggestive of the actual buildings can then be located in their approximate positions."

Exactly. That is the best way to work in a period, even if it is generic.

Roger,

It is similar in many ways to my own. Located against the walls, three sides with the center open, and the main section being the center one. Your backdrops look like the ones I use, blue with painted clouds. I use Walthers background scenes glued on the backdrops to add a feeling of distance.

Did you use an open-grid or table-type benchwork? I used a series of 2x4 foot plywood-topped tables, with adjustable bolts on the bottom of the legs for levelling. The tables are held to each other with c-clamps.

The tables are topped with two layers of blue foam insulation. A previous railroad was topped with two layers of ceiling tile. The foam insulation is lighter and not subject to warping with humidity changes.

I like your use of shelves under the layout. That would work for me, too, if they were built as units that could be rolled out for access to the wiring.

Les

Desertdweller wrote:Roger,
Did you use an open-grid or table-type benchwork? I used a series of 2x4 foot plywood-topped tables, with adjustable bolts on the bottom of the legs for levelling. The tables are held to each other with c-clamps.

The tables are topped with two layers of blue foam insulation. A previous railroad was topped with two layers of ceiling tile. The foam insulation is lighter and not subject to warping with humidity changes.

I like your use of shelves under the layout. That would work for me, too, if they were built as units that could be rolled out for access to the wiring.

Les

I use a combination of open-grid and table-top. The original was table-top with much of the rest table-top with open-grid tying all of it together. It is on two levels. I do not use foam insulation on any of this. I do use ceiling tile on several spots, but mostly hard coating of scenery. This is an old layout dating back to the early 80s. I have just made change after change in it to keep it modern.

So, consider it a plywood base with some open-grid. The shelves support much of the layout.

Very nice layout! Westport definitely has that small-town look and feel to it. It was mentioned earlier in this thread about the period detailing and I agree. It is attention to the small details that make, or break, a scene.

I went back to Westport this year after an absence of many years. I'll stick with mine. The actual town of Westport has changed greatly over the years and not for the better.