# Favorite Buildings on Your Layout?



## Lee Willis (Jan 1, 2014)

I am deep in a project "re-developing" a new section to my layout's town, but I am also looking down the road: toward removing all the buildings in the older part of my downtown, adding more " 'Streets tricks" and animation, and perhaps a few newer and better buildings. I will be keeping many of my buildings, but want some new (including a bus station, for sure). 

SO I thought I would share my favorite buildings - I will definitely keep these three. HOPEFULLY SOME FOLKS CAN POST PICTURES OF THEIR FAVORITE/BEST BUILDINGS, which might provide some ideas for me to use when I start planning my rebuild.

*77 Sunset Strip and Dino's Lodge.* These are scratch built - wooden blocks and Evergreen plastic overlaid, etc. they are compressed slightly but as accurate as I could make them representing the real buildings used as the outside set for the TV series. They were, by the way, not just a movie set, but real buildings: Dean Martin owned and was often at the restaurant and one of his best customers was John Wayne. 








*San Beattadaise Cathedral* was made from Pegasus Gothic Building kits - it took most of the pieces from four kits. when I rebuild I will add lighting, which will be easy, and stained glass windows, which will be hard.










*Cohen's Corner Hobby.* Perhaps the best accessory Lionel has ever made: working models of model trains! How can you not love this. One of the few completely unmodified store-bought buildings on my layout.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I love the San Beattadaise Cathedral, with stained glass and lights, that should be one impressive building!


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## rkenney (Aug 10, 2013)

Barn circa: 1931









House circa: 1936









Chicken coop circa: 1931









from packing crates by Grandpa Kroeger.


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## Lee Willis (Jan 1, 2014)

Wow, chickens in the chicken coop. How cool!


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## josef (Jun 20, 2015)

gunrunnerjohn said:


> I love the San Beattadaise Cathedral, with stained glass and lights, that should be one impressive building!


When I first seen this on Lee's layout, I was thinking were's Quasimdo and either Gina or Veranda Turbine.
Agree, very impressive.


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## Wood (Jun 9, 2015)

I have had the opportunity to see Lee's layout and Dino's Lodge is hands down my favorite. It isn't just a structure, there is a story unfolding in front of you. Very attractively built and interestingly populated. 

For me my two favorite structures are shown below. The first is a bowling alley. It was my first kit and is part of my life story because I have owned several centers over the years. This one is in Westerly, RI. My two sons have taken it over and they keep the story alive.

The second is a GGD coaling tower which I modified and built a couple of years ago. I love the way it came out and it gives lots of height to my layout.

Enjoy....


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## Lee Willis (Jan 1, 2014)

Wow, Wood, the bowling alley is nice, particularly since, perhaps slightly compressed, it is a model of your entertainment center! The coaling tower is awesome. Like you say ti provides some height, also it interacts with the locomotives and all, which is seriously interesting, too. 

On both, there is a lot of details added - people, vehicles, etc., which not only makes it look good, etc., but is a lot of fun. I love adding those features and, if not telling a story, at least making it all fit to some on-going activity there.


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## MtRR75 (Nov 27, 2013)

Wood, As a botanist, I like the greenhouse next to the bowling alley. That is something you don't see every day.


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## Wood (Jun 9, 2015)

MtRR75 said:


> Wood, As a botanist, I like the greenhouse next to the bowling alley. That is something you don't see every day.


Thank you, My Brother is a farmer in Maine and has acres of greenhouses. It was a way to recognize him on my layout. It also provides veggies for the Farmer's market next to the greenhouse. I have all of these little vignettes which I am the only one who understands the relationship, but who else am I doing this for anyway..... HAHA


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## Lee Willis (Jan 1, 2014)

Wood said:


> . . . who else am I doing this for anyway.....



there goes a true model railroader!


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## MtRR75 (Nov 27, 2013)

Wood said:


> Thank you, My Brother is a farmer in Maine and has acres of greenhouses. It was a way to recognize him on my layout. It also provides veggies for the Farmer's market next to the greenhouse. I have all of these little vignettes which I am the only one who understands the relationship, but who else am I doing this for anyway..... HAHA


I saw the farmer's market -- and got that part. Of course I did not know about the family connection. But I did live in Maine for a year. One of my co-workers there complained that he got a hard freeze every month during one particular summer -- had to replant his tomatoes 3 times - and never got much yield. I can see why greenhouses are useful there.

My little vignette involves box cars. My layout is based on 1920s Appalachia, and most of my rolling stock is from the railroads that ran through Appalachia in the 1920s. I have lived in four states in my life. In each case there was a railroad line in my town or a short distance away within the county. Mixed in with my rolling stock are four box cars -- one from each of the railroads that ran through those four towns in the 1920s.


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## cole226 (Feb 8, 2013)

here are some of my buildings. the logger cabins and water tower are total scratch. others ameritowne and steam era classics kits. nothing special but i thought they were ok .:smokin: downtown buildings all have finished interiors and led lights.


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## cole226 (Feb 8, 2013)

one more. looks better in person.


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## Patrick1544 (Apr 27, 2013)

I like the covered shed
you made behind the coaling tower delivery track.


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## Wood (Jun 9, 2015)

Randy, Your buildings look great. Nice weathering and detail. I like the coffins in the bottom of the below picture. The detail really makes a layout!!


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## Lee Willis (Jan 1, 2014)

Wow, this is a great thread. So MANY really nice buildings. I'm getting lots of ideas. 



And I like the coffins, too. Nice touch that.


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## BFI66 (Feb 7, 2013)

-Pete


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## Wood (Jun 9, 2015)

Very nice Pete. I particularly like the open space created by the ball field, grass, trees and water on your layout. Sometimes, myself included, we stack so much stuff on the table and it loses the quality of open space.


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## BFI66 (Feb 7, 2013)

Wood said:


> Very nice Pete. I particularly like the open space created by the ball field and grass on your layout. Sometimes, myself included, we stack so much stuff on the table and it loses the quality of open space.


Thanks Wood.....the ball field actually folds up and becomes a door to optimize space


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## Lee Willis (Jan 1, 2014)

BFI66 said:


> Thanks Wood.....the ball field actually folds up and becomes a door to optimize space
> [/IMG][/URL]


Wow. Now THAT is very cool idea. I'm looking at the photo, and I think I see how and all, but if you have pictures sometimes, I'd really like to see now its done. Such a great idea.


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## Wood (Jun 9, 2015)

> Wow. Now THAT is very cool idea. I'm looking at the photo, and I think I see how and all, but if you have pictures sometimes, I'd really like to see now its done. Such a great idea.


I'm with Lee on this one. I did not pick that out on the first picture. That is impressive and it appears you have more layout hidden underneath. Maybe you have shown this before in this forum. If so post a link to the display because I would also like to see some kind of overview pictures of your layout and how you did all of this. Thanks.


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## BFI66 (Feb 7, 2013)

Lee Willis said:


> Wow. Now THAT is very cool idea. I'm looking at the photo, and I think I see how and all, but if you have pictures sometimes, I'd really like to see now its done. Such a great idea.


Thank you, Wood and I never showed my whole layout before...Only bits and pieces.

Thank you Lee, getting a compliment from you is indeed an honor in lieu of all the "cool ideas" you have shared with others in the hobby.

I had to be creative since my space is limited....when I put in my MTA subway, i came up with this idea to run the subway via reversing loops under my main layout. The result can be seen in the video below as the train traverses under the rail yard and returns underneath to the main layout 
where it goes through a second reversing loop.




Everything on the fold up door to include the hobo tower is glued and screwed down so it folds up without issue

The above railyard has two tunnels through the wall which my trains go through to enter the mainline, which starts my Area 51 Martian invasion scene, a bit of whimsey on my part.





Close up of the center of layout




Final picture is the main layout with tiered track loops where I can run 4 trains and two trolleys and my subway at the same time.





Another angle of the whole layout.










-Pete


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## Wood (Jun 9, 2015)

Pete, Thank you! This is very nicely done in every aspect. Your setting, the train room, is a beautifully finished room. Your control panel is an electronics marvel. Your layout has lots of action from the traditional to the whimsical. You have multiple scenery accomplishments from water scenes, lighting, building construction, track installation.

Where did you get that elevated gondola? That's a trip all by itself.

I really like it. Thank you for sharing and I hope you will continue to add to the conversation here.


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## Lee Willis (Jan 1, 2014)

That is just fantastic. The words "beautifully finished" come to mind but they don't really convey the attention to detail and thought and completeness here. Just fantastic!

Thank you for the additional photos. There is a lot to study and I will,. No doubt I will shamelessly plagiarize many ideas from your layout. Just fantastic.

This is also what one would call a "rich tapestry" of things to look and marvel at, everywhere. 
Tiny details that you suddenly stumble upon and that delight. Just one of the many cool things that is fun to see was United Planets cruiser C57-D, no doubt looking for Anne Francis!


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## BFI66 (Feb 7, 2013)

Thank you,guys for noticing the details. I always enjoy to hear the comments, I am sure as you all do, when a visitor notices one of my scenarios hidden within the layout.

Wood, the Gondola, I found online awhile back, it is not to scale but it works for me. It is a Jaegerndorfer - Bachmann JC 89093 G Scale Single Cable Car Set found in the UK and sold by 2k Technologies.
I used the basic engineering on two projects within the layout. It utilizes an old windshield wiper motor hooked up to speed controller.

Heres a closeup of the gondola.......the wiper motor is located in a tower at the other end. If pictures are requested I will post them later (do not want to go on and on)



I utilized the same principle in my whimsical rocket blastoff video that I have posted in the other forum



The windshield wiper is located in the hole in the ceiling (Wife not too happy about that one) where the rocket disappears. There is a Lionel smoke unit hooked up in the rocket blastoff pad.



I hope you enjoyed the pics, it was nice to get all the bits and pieces I posted consolidated under one thread. 

-Pete


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## Wood (Jun 9, 2015)

Thank you Pete. Very interesting. One of the nice things about model railroading is the wide mix of activities and talents used to create our layouts. You have done a very nice job.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Pete, that's an amazing layout, and I love the finished look! The folding piece is great, who would have thought of that? Very nice workmanship.


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## Guest (Jun 27, 2015)

My favorite!


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## Wood (Jun 9, 2015)

*Oil Storage Base*

Sounthernrr - Very nicely done. It looks like you have a Plastruck workshop there. Would you mind sharing what you made the base for the storage area out of. I am particularly looking at the area where the storage tanks are located. (See arrow.) It is really crisp and realistic looking.


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## Guest (Jun 28, 2015)

Wood, unfortunately I cannot take any credit for this as the construction was done by Alan Graziano and the pictures were taken from his workshop before sending it along to me.

Every visitor to the layout comments and falls in love with it instantly.


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## Lee Willis (Jan 1, 2014)

Alan does fantastic work with plastic and scratch-building materials. That is a wonderful looking storage area. A good model.


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## Guest (Jun 28, 2015)

Tough call, but probably this one.


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## Guest (Jun 28, 2015)

Tough call, but probably the Lionel larger version of the GCT.


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## BFI66 (Feb 7, 2013)

southernrr said:


> Wood, unfortunately I cannot take any credit for this as the construction was done by Alan Graziano and the pictures were taken from his workshop before sending it along to me.
> 
> Every visitor to the layout comments and falls in love with it instantly.


........and who could not! It is beautifully crafted!

-Pete


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