Canton, Highlandtown and Fells Point - Compact layout

[sizemore]

That elevation up the street looks so hawt! Very Canton-ese? -ish?

The S.

[wm3798]

Teased out a few details at the team track.

Lee

[wm3798]

It's been a few eons... but I thought I'd share that my little menswear shop is going to be featured in the upcoming N Scale rag.  Be sure to get yours before the ink's dry!

Other than that, not much new to report.

Lee

[davefoxx]

It's been a few eons... but I thought I'd share that my little menswear shop is going to be featured in the upcoming N Scale rag.  Be sure to get yours before the ink's dry!

Other than that, not much new to report.

Lee

Congratulations, Lee!  I look forward to seeing that article.

DFF

[wm3798]

I found this interesting pencil can at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC, our Nation's Capital, a couple weeks ago.  I'm waiting to get my "real" camera back so I can photograph it properly, but it looks like it might clean up pretty nicely to represent a cast-iron front building, a technology that was pioneered in Baltimore. 



The cast-on fire escapes are a bit clunky, but I think I can trim out the offending bits and replace them with Plastruct stairways to make it look a little finer.



The cost?  $20.  About half the price of a Walther's Built Up.  Sure, I'll have a little bit of work in it, but the results should be pretty cool.

Lee

[Philip H]

Neat find. Can't wait to see how this turns out.

[wm3798]

Me too!  I figure I can easily separate the facades from the pencil can, and build something decent behind them, but I'm wondering how I might install lighted interiors without making a complete mess of the thing...

Lee

[sirenwerks]

You could always just put fading plywood in the window openings.  I remember buildings like those on the other side of the JFK on Gay Street a long time before MBK moved to Timonium.

[wm3798]

I'm going for 1965ish... Still businesses on the street... not so much plywood.

[wm3798]

Finally got around to unwrapping the iron fronts...  Thought I'd see how I liked using it for its intended purpose...



Nah...

The Cast Iron Front building was invented in Baltimore, and evolved out of a need to construct ever taller buildings at ever lower expense, while still maintaining the reasonably high degree of architectural detail popular in east coast cities around the turn of the 20th Century.  Uniform parts could be cast in a foundry, then shipped in bulk to the building site, and then assembled by craftsman quickly and efficiently.  And while it seems counter-intuitive, the cast iron facades were much lighter weight than the stone commonly used previously, so it was easier and safer to work with.

Since I’m modeling the streets of East Baltimore on my Canton, Highlandtown and Fells Point layout, I could definitely use some examples of this uniquely hometown design. 

Here's a little analysis:


There are two issues with the facades that I’ll need to work out.  First, the left building features a pretty clunky cast on fire escape.  While it makes for a very interesting feature on a pencil can, it lacks the detail necessary to be a decent scale model, even by my somewhat flexible standards.  The second problem is that the windows are all cast in solid white plastic, so my desire to have lighted interiors will have to be matched by my ability to overcome this obstacle.



I suppose some fancy schmancy Gold Medal fire escapes would be a suitable replacement, but I don't have a big budget for this project, and I do have a bunch of Plastruct stairs and railings in stock, so I'll probably be relying on black paint and weathering to maximize the effect of the replacements.


Once separated from the pencil can, the white plastic is thick, but translucent when back lit with a bright LED flashlight.  I'll have to take into consideration whether it will be worth the effort to mask off a couple of windows when I paint it to get a glow from the interior.



The two buildings are both 23’6” wide, filling up a respectable 47’ block.  The structure on the left is 70’ tall, and the one with the arched windows rises 72’6” from the sidewalk.  The first floor commercial space looks to be about a ceiling height of 14’ on both sides, with upper levels with 12’ ceilings on the left, and a hair more on the right, maybe 12’4.”  Both very typical and practical dimensions.  Both are five stories tall, so they’d look good on a primary commercial street alongside some of the taller DPM kits I’ve got.

The DPM buildings appear a bit short in comparison, since they use a more compact 9’ ceiling height on the upper levels, but they’re also reflective of the less “modern” brick construction which had more constraints on how much the builder could get away with.  Still, once detailed, they will blend in nicely, especially if I located them on a street where there’s a slight incline to help mask the height difference.

So that's what we're starting with, stay tuned for further "developments" on this real estate project!

Lee

[Philip H]

My initial thought was to take these to a band saw to separate the fronts from the backs . . . but you'd have to support the fronts and be able to saw in a starting line; which may be hard to do from the front only especially with the fire escape.  But if you intend to sod off the backs, so to speak, then perhaps you can set a rip fence fro the backs and saw away.

[wm3798]

The back is already off... it was held on with 9 pins.



I'm going to try sanding the backs of the windows to at least thin the plastic a bit.  I won't have to do all of them, just the ones I want lit.

My plan for the fire escapes is to leave the decks in place, and trim off the railings and stairways, replacing them with Plastruct.  If I run across of surplus boxcar walkboards, I may trim the decks off, too.

Lee

[Philip H]

i'm fairly certain that if you tell us how many roof walks you want (non skid metal issue instead of wood) TRW's Collective can accommodate you from the parts bin.

[davefoxx]

I know I had two N Scale Athearn 50' C&O cars that the etched metal running boards came loose.  I can't recall if I trashed the running boards, though.  If I have them, they're yours.  I owe you.  I'll check tonight.

DFF

[160pennsy]

The DPM buildings appear a bit short in comparison, since they use a more compact 9’ ceiling height on the upper levels, but they’re also reflective of the less “modern” brick construction which had more constraints on how much the builder could get away with.  Still, once detailed, they will blend in nicely, especially if I located them on a street where there’s a slight incline to help mask the height difference.



Lee

IMHO... Instead of trying to mask the differences, you need to cut (band saw/razor saw), sand, bench grind or dremel off those clunky front steps & bases to bring the overall height down. The pencil holder false fronts should more closely match the DPM building heights and with their bases gone, the upper floors would lower and be in better alignment with the surrounding structures.