Hoboken Manufacturers Railroad Micro-Layout

[DKS]

Structure countdown. The last of the principal structures for the HMR are in the works.

Here's a large tenement building comprised (once again) of six DPM Reed Books kit fronts bashed together.



Hoboken and Jersey City are littered with these buildings; this one in particular is just down the street from the Lipton Tea plant, home turf for the Hoboken Manufacturers Railroad.



Next up is a teensy little industry made from the backs of two Reed Books kits, sitting next to the reconfigured gas station (Walther's State Line Farm Supply).



The gas station is patterned after a real one in Hoboken.



And the little industry is vaguely reminiscent of Windsor Wax Co.



And lastly we have one more small industry to sit across from the warehouse: it's two DPM Otto's Parts sliced and diced to make one just slightly more industrial-ish, less downtown-ish building front.



Inspiration was drawn very loosely from this reference image taken a block or so from the Lipton plant:



Aside from little things like crossing shanties, the newsstand and such, all of the buildings are now accounted for and under way.

[rileytriggs]

Looking great, David! I'm really liking how you are interpreting the Hoboken vibe of early 20thC. I think it would be superb to include the elevated rail! This may have already been posted, but for more information on the railroad, viewers may be interested in the complete document where you found the map and photo on my blog. http://ponyrr.blogspot.com/p/blog-page.html It has some great information on industries served, rates charged, etc. on the HBS in the 1950s. The railroad could be bought for song then since the traffic had really thinned out after World War II. 

Did you know it was illegal to photograph in Hoboken for awhile because things had gotten so bad the mayor forbade it? Interesting story at the Hoboken Historical Museum online resources. The article is from U.S. Camera and is called 'Hoboken, The photographer's forbidden paradise' with photos from 1940-41ish. http://hoboken.pastperfect-online.com/32340cgi/mweb.exe?request=record;id=96BED15D-5D3B-4C69-AFDA-185344644150;type=201

You might also like this photo I recently posted of the US Testing building. It's a good example of a typical concrete frame industrial building with steel window infill. Must have been some great light in there.

I've got more stuff offline if there is anything in particular you are looking for.

Looking forward to seeing more of your progress.
Riley

[DKS]

OK, show of hands, how many of you saw this coming? (Chris will have a field day with this!) I woke up this morning in the middle of a dream about this layout. The design was rather different, and I realized I may have had a vision of something that was possibly better. So I ran over to my computer, fired up AnyRail, and tried to duplicate what I had in my head.

What I envisioned was another level to the layout. Right now it's two; in my dream it was three. Now, in the dream it was three full levels--which is impractical--but I realized that I could still raise part of the line by a small amount (say, just 3/4 inch) to add visual interest. The only way to do it, however, was to move the passing siding, because that stretch would now be on a grade. But eventually I realized this was to my advantage, for many reasons.



After I finalized the plan, I began to perceive the operational improvements. The switchback at the end of the ramp up is much longer, allowing me to pull a "full" train (4-5 cars, loco and possibly even a bobber) off the main, and push it back to the relocated runaround. The tail on the runaround is just long enough for a loco and one car, which is all I need. So, in addition to superior operation, the plan offers improved cosmetics to boot by eliminating that awkward stack of four parallel tracks.

The biggest downside... most of the buildings will need to be modified--some subtly, some radically, and a couple would go away--and I'd just finished the shells for all of them. On the bright side, however, I gained space for two more industries and a few other little buildings. Plus, the street-level trolley only crosses one track at 90 degrees. I was sweating having to do all of those crossings in the old design, even though they were dummies, although the reference image below made me wonder why I was so worried--and wonder how the trolleys stayed on the rails...



I still can't decide if this makes me certifiable or not--it probably does. But I've always contended that a good track design is one that can withstand revisions, and I've never been one to shy away from starting over (or nearly so) if it results in improvements.

Did you know it was illegal to photograph in Hoboken for awhile because things had gotten so bad the mayor forbade it? Interesting story at the Hoboken Historical Museum online resources. The article is from U.S. Camera and is called 'Hoboken, The photographer's forbidden paradise' with photos from 1940-41ish. http://hoboken.pastperfect-online.com/32340cgi/mweb.exe?request=record;id=96BED15D-5D3B-4C69-AFDA-185344644150;type=201

Riley, welcome to the Railwire. And thank you for the link to that article--it's fascinating and provides considerable visual food for thought.

[GaryHinshaw]

I like it a lot.  I'm not sure I follow how this adds a new level though -- didn't you have the el in the plan already?  Is the goldenrod track the street-level trolly?

Pictures like this make me glad you have chosen to model in colour.

[DKS]

I'm not sure I follow how this adds a new level though -- didn't you have the el in the plan already?  Is the goldenrod track the street-level trolly?

I was not counting the el as a "level" as it's really a prop. The inside curve between the two shanties will rise up slightly, so that the sidings for the soap and coffee factories are lower than the passing siding and remaining track--not by much, just enough to break up the dead flat terrain. And the goldenrod line is indeed the street level trolley.

EDIT: I've annotated the plan with elevations to clear up the confusion.



Also, one may wonder about all of the wasted time making the base and laying the track, only to tear it all apart and start over, but I spend far more time on any one structure than on the base and tracklaying combined. So it really only set me back about one evening.

[davefoxx]

I like the changes.  You know me; I've never been afraid to make changes to a track plan when the desire strikes.  The dividends usually pay off with more realism or better operations.  Keep it up!

DFF

[Chris333]

It was all a dream. I'm affriad to go to sleep now 

I think the embankment along 16th street will look nice.

[DKS]

One other little tweak... and nothing that's even visible. As I took stock of the track needed to make the changes, I found that I had a switch left over (because a left got swapped for a right). Having the spare inspired me to add an operational feature: staging. With the addition of one more switch, I can create a hidden passing siding, where I'll be able to swap two trains. Granted, everything is hidden so there will be a few functional challenges to address, but I don't see them as showstoppers. So now the hidden half of the outer loop looks like this:



Now I can have one train running laps while I switch the other. Then I can park the one on the loop, bring down the one I switched, bring up the other one, and have at it again. I'm psyched.

I can't imagine packing much more into 2 by 3 feet...

[davefoxx]

I was actually going to suggest hidden staging.  Although we have discussed our dislike for a lot of hidden track recently on another thread.  Here, it's not a lot, and you can easily provide access through the fascia.  It's either staging or a runaround, both of which add immensely to ops.

DFF

[garethashenden]

I can't imagine packing much more into 2 by 3 feet...

Add another cross over to the El, then get two trains. One starts at each end, the go to the middle and stop at the station, then go through the cross overs. Repeat. I'm sure that could be automated. Also, automate a tram going back and forth.

[davefoxx]

I can't imagine packing much more into 2 by 3 feet...

Challenge accepted:

[Noah Lane]

Haha. But you know that slotcar/railroad layout was probably pretty bad a$$ in its day!

[eric220]

I can't imagine packing much more into 2 by 3 feet...

Hey DKS, got a minute?   

[Dave V]

I can't imagine packing much more into 2 by 3 feet...

TWSS...

[DKS]

Hey DKS, got a minute?   

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