Model Railroading > Design Question for everyone

I am building a shelf layout at about shoulder height. It is meant to represent the B&O thru Morgantown WV and is similar to the Glass factory article of Eric Hannsmann in Model Railroad Planning 2001. I am trying to make it historically accurate (within reason). I have a question for everyone as I am deciding what to do about a problem.

The problem is that there is a section of the shelf where there were glass factories on both sides of the tracks in real life. I have placed mock ups of these factories and I don't like them because with the factories in place on the aisle side, you no longer can see the track or structures behind it. It is like the trains are running thru a canyon. Further, these factories are considerably larger than the space alotted so that the aisle side would be a big blank wall. Historically accurate, but would look incredibly stupid and ridiculous.

My question is: Is there a better way to represent aisle side industries that gives the impression of a large structure without blocking the view of the rest of the railroad, I have thought about modeling the interior of 1/3 of a glass factory so that you could see the track thru the windows but that would not be easy. Alternatively, I could just model the loading docks for the factories or using modeler's licence and just move the factories across the tracks to the backdrop side and put something small and low on the aisle side.

Any thoughts, drawings or pictures on how you solved this problem would be appreciated. Thanks - Nevin

How about a plexiglass cut out to represent the outline the glassworks? The building could then be represented and you could still see the trains. I would outline the windows and doors in black and this could be a way of being "accurate" and practical at the same time.

I like your idea of using a partially built aisle-side building as a see thru. If you can build enough of the building to make it obvious that it's a real building, it will work.

It will give you an interior scene to decorate to the nth degree, allow the train to do a bit of cat-and-mouse with the viewers and add variety. Personally, I think it adds a lot of interest when the train goes out of view for a short period. Seeing it thru winndows sounds like a great idea.

I can think of four different alternatives:

One: Do as suggested by the earlier posts: build see through buildings (walls?) on the aisle side where required. This has been done sucessfully in 1:48 but I don't know about smaller scales.

Two: Build the deck a lot lower--about 34" so that you will be looking down onto the trains btw the buildings. Try a mock-up on this, it might not be as bad as you think. This is common with street car and interurban modelers. If you plan on sitting down most of the time, this wouldn't be a bad alternative either.

Three: Build it as a double-deck layout and have that section of the layout with the aisle side buildings on the lower level. However, there are two potential problems with this. You must have a way to get trains btw levels and you may have a problem looking over buildings with the upper deck in the way.

You could build the upper level narrower than the lower level. Speaking from experience, helixes aren't that difficult to build or unreliable but take up a lot of space and shorten the length of trains. If your trains are short you might build an elevator or if you use a car float you could move the float btw levels physically. Of course, this alternative is a lot of work just to be able to see btw the buildings!

Four: Keep it as a single level/shoulder height layout and omit the buildings on the aisle side.

I suggest you try some mockups and see what you are comfortable with. I know of one gentleman that is modeling a prototype situation with a freighthouse on the aisle side. When I asked him about this at a clinic he held, he was very defensive about it!

Unfortunatley, there almost always are comprimises made in layout design and something may have to go. I find a good quality in layout design is to sometimes realize that something just won't work out. You may have to keep the best componets of the plan and move on.

Build the Fascia to include "compressed-length" trackside walls with loading docks between them and the tracks, where required. Cut windows and loading door spaces into the "Buildings" and paint the fascia (and the building-shapes) Matt black or Dark(ish) green. Detail the windows so that they resemble factory windows, and perhaps make roller shutter or sliding doors so that they can be opened or closed to change your view of what is beyond. You have basically built scenic flats on the operating side of the track, and are looking out of the buildings at the trackage behind them. Try mocking it up with some heavy card (TV Cartons?)in full size and see if it gives the result you are trying for, at minimal cost. Hope it helps
Shortliner (Jack)

Another alternative for you: I would angle the track through the area that the glass factory is located in toward the area the operator(you) would be running the layout from at the time the train passes through that section. This is of course based on guesswork, not knowing how the track, tablework, etc. is layed out.
This and a combination of a see-through interior on the aisle-side building would be a killer combination. Detailing the interior right away is not mandatory, work on it as you get inspiration or as research leads you to make it look like something that fits in your mind as a glass factory. When all is said and done, it's how you see it that's important.

TCSmith

Thanks to everyone for the advice. I think that I am going to build 1/2 buildings with interiors so that you can look thru the windows and loading docks and see the track. Most of these look like DPM modular styles anyway so I may laminate the glass between brick outside and brick inside layers, put in floors and add lots of detail. Fortunately, there are plenty of pictures of the interiors of the glass factories (much more than the outsides). One of the glass factories is now a specialty mall so I can get a feel for how it looked from that. - Nevin

We'd like to see pictures when you get moving on it, progress and such and completion.
I can envision this coming out way beyond cool.



TCSmith