Hoboken Manufacturers Railroad Micro-Layout

[VonRyan]

Although I like the idea of doing a B&W layout, and I know you could certainly pull it off, I know that ultimately you'll end up nitpicking something you wished you would have done better and the layout may end up being scrapped before it's time.

That being said... Although I'd love to see how you would pull it off, I'd much rather see you just pull off doing a gritty 3-days-after-the-snowstorm layout.

[DKS]

...I'd much rather see you just pull off doing a gritty 3-days-after-the-snowstorm layout.

Well, regardless of my approach, that's my ultimate goal. Although I will confess I'm leaning away from the monochrome gimmick a bit, particularly with Ian's "Furlowing" remark... kind of a sobering slap to the face, in a way...

[Chris333]

VS.

[Baronjutter]

I'd go colour and just photograph it black and white if you ever wanted that look, but that's just me.

[DKS]

I was researching structures using Bing Maps, but it's sometimes difficult to correlate specific buildings with the HBR, since the railroad has been all but eradicated. So, I superimposed a map of the railroad over satellite images, and as I did this, I noticed something quite unexpected: my little fantasy layout is actually more like the HBR than I'd thought. I color-coded the areas of the railroad that correspond (rather loosely) with the track plan. The most startling coincidence is that the siding which serves the soap factory is at the end of a switchback connected to a runaround (yellow lines), which is pretty much replicated on the layout, including the soap factory. The crisscrossing sidings that serve a tall skinny industry on the layout (green) have counterparts in real life that likewise serve a tall skinny industry. And the south end of the HBR yard has multiple parallel tracks that bend sharply (blue). Admittedly, I'm stretching things to make a case for the layout as having any real prototype fidelity, but I did find these likenesses intriguing, to say the least, and makes me feel a little better about the layout.

[packers#1]

Woa, must be a glitch in the matrix encoding

Seriously though, that's pretty neat; it kind of reminds me of how Sam Posey remarked in his book that he had been building the Colorado Midland all along; I suppose tight spaces will be tight spaces, regardless of what scale they be

[chicken45]

You can always monochrome a diorama or something.

[Ian MacMillan]

Well, regardless of my approach, that's my ultimate goal. Although I will confess I'm leaning away from the monochrome gimmick a bit, particularly with Ian's "Furlowing" remark... kind of a sobering slap to the face, in a way...

Sorry. You can give me the Douche Bag of the Year Award.

[DKS]

Sorry. You can give me the Douche Bag of the Year Award.

No need for apology--it was an honest and useful remark, and I was not offended. It was a perspective I'd not considered, and given my feelings about Furlow, it made me reconsider.

[GimpLizard]

I cannot possibly model even a fraction of the real Maxwell House plant--it would be considerably larger than my whole layout. So, I am freelancing a structure that has a similar feel, and instead of trying to pass it off as the real deal, I'm renaming it. I'm not "replacing" anything. Bear in mind, this layout is very far removed from being representative of anything real; it's meant merely to be evocative of the locale, nothing more.

Should have figured you'd have a logical reason. Someday I'll catch on. (Just don't expect it to happen anytime soon. )

[DKS]

As I progress with more structures, I also progress with concepts. And I've realized that, up to now, I've been treating this layout as more of a novelty than a layout. With the help of Railwire member observations, as well as my little revelation about the track plan, I've started taking the layout a little more seriously. Consequently I've made a few revisions (Chris will especially enjoy playing "spot the differences"). I've firmed up the design of the el, and added a station stop. I also buried more of the outer loop, both to reduce the roundy-round effect it creates, and also give me a little more real estate for more structures--it helps reinforce the congestion that characterizes the area, a quality that dominates the majority of reference images I've collected. And to add still more congestion, I plotted out a street-level trolley route, which jogs from 16th Street to Grand Avenue--right in the thick of it.



A few of the many reference images that have been inspiring much of these revisions include--















But one image has caught my attention more than almost any I've seen in the recent past, and may one day give rise to a new, much more "proto" layout...



Well, it's colder than a flippin' witch's tit outside--perfect excuse to get back to the workbench to bash more structures...

[Scottl]

So winning.  If your inspiration emerges when you are locked up by the weather, just think what will happen when you are in the woods at your new house.

[Scottl]

That trolly line will create quite a tricky bit of trackwork where it crosses the turnout.  Will they be functional crossings or just props (which would simplify the task).

Loving how this layout has evolved.   My initial reaction was that it looked like half was cut off the right side based on the upper level spurs, but now the vision is very clear.   It will be a great platform for getting the feel of that era and urban landscape.

[DKS]

Will they be functional crossings or just props...

Props.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

You're sick.

I like it!

And I'm definitely a fan of "more proto" and "better operations".

Next thing you know, you'll be installing car card pockets around the outside of it.

Switches make expensive scenery.