I am looking for kits of this kind of buildings: http://www.trainweb.org/oldmainline/oml/450wview.jpg http://www.trainweb.org/oldmainline/oml/140elli1.jpg http://www.trainweb.org/oldmainline/oml/078nxing1999.jpg So far, I've found only one kit, from the English brand Wills... But it is a kit of a watermill, and I don't know whether there were that kind of watermills in the USA? Does anyone has suggestions?
These English buildings from Hornby have a look similar to the one's in your photos...perhaps you can modify them?
I would look into the British made kits like Kestrel Designs or Langley, or some of the other European ones like Kibri or Faller.
Thieu, in my opinion, you should be looking for English kits, since UK buildings often are stone while US are wood. Many years ago when I went into a 'UK phase,' I became fond of UK Metcalf (spelling?) card buildings. I thought they were elegant, easy to detail and modify, and with colored markers I could pretty much hide the fact that they were cardstock. I would often cut out the windows and substitute plastic. If Metcalf is still around, I'd suggest you check their catalog. Scott
The Old Main of the B&O. My first thought was indeed: English kits. I found at a train exhibition a nice kit of a watermill, but didn't buy it because I didn't know what to do with the wheel. On the internet, I found some Hornby kits, and the brands you all mention. Most of their kits are not exactly what I want. That house in the second picture however looks very nice, and maybe I can do something with that one. Fortunately, the British Pound has dropped so the prices of British products have dropped too. Maybe I should order some Peco track as well. Metcalf is still around. You can buy it here. But I don't like the fact that it's made of cardstock. I always spray a lot of water on my layout when glueing the Woodland. :tb-wink: German manufacturers do - as far as I know - not produce English-style kits. The only kits that are usable are the factories form Pola and Kibri.
Thieu, stone buildings, especially homes, would be appropriate for rural areas of Maryland and Pennsylvania. These areas, noted for large amounts of field stone readily available on the surface, were settled by immigrants from northern Europe and Britain who were familiar with stone masonry. Therefore stone was the preferred building material during the late 18th and early 19th Centuries. Furthermore, stone was preferred because it was easier to work and provided better insulation than wood. This link shows a typical stone house in Maryland. http://www.marylandhistoricaltrust.net/NR/NRDetail.aspx?HDID=788&FROM=NRMapCE.html Also water power was widely used in this area during this period due to the many streams and rivers flowing east from the Appalachian Mountains. Here are typical businesses that used water wheels as their power source. Note that some of the buildings shown are constructed of stone. http://www.angelfire.com/journal/millrestoration/excel.html
If you don't mind scratch building, you might want to look at the material from Model Tech Studios: http://mts.inline.net/index.ihtml They have a stacked stone sheet that is passable (I think they also offer this in N): http://mts.inline.net/merchant.ihtml?pid=1052&lastcatid=17&step=4 but you would have to paint it yourself... They also do custom laser cutting, but I don't know what kind of artwork they require. I look forward to seeing how this project turns out! -Gary
Theiu, Being from Maryland his information is pretty spot on. The kits provided by Hornby are pretty close representations of the area (Ellicot City, Oella etc.). Mills however were much different than what is commonly beleived and cited above. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellicott%27s_Mills_Historic_District National Register Listings in Maryland What era are you modelling as that will yeild better guidance? If you need more information let me know, I can get/take photos if you need them and know the area very well. Tim
Thanks for that link! Very interesting. It looks like I should feel sorry that I didn't buy that kit of the watermill........
I don't mind scratchbuilding, but I am a lazy modeller: when there is a kit available, I will use that instead of scratchbuilding. :tb-wink:
True. The British do things always in a different way as the rest of the world...... Luckily, most 'normal' N scale kits are also not very good to scale: too small. So I think that the 1:148 will compensate for that.
Were there no water mills, or did they look different? I have a Doodlebug, but also a GP-30, so I am not very strict. I will try to model the 60's, because it will give me the possibilities of passenger trains, colourfull freights and an interesting mix of diesels. But a nice SD-50 from Chessie will occasionally ride the tracks. :tb-wink: Thanks! I would like that. Surfing the internet does not give me all the information I need. I've found a lot of information on this site: http://www.trainweb.org/oldmainline/index.htm but additional information is welcome! I do not know anything about the watermills (unless they are Dutch :tb-wink and the quarries (how did they load the hoppers? what did that loading look like? were they still in operation during the 60's?). Some more pictures of the houses and streets are also very welcome.
Thieu, here is a photo of a grist mill that still exists and operates as a tourist attraction near Rock Run, Maryland, which is about 6 miles up the Susquehanna River from Havre de Grace.. More information about this mill and the surrounding area is available from this website. http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl...w&sa=X&oi=image_result&resnum=4&ct=image&cd=1
*topic off* That's a very beautifull watermill, Hank! Our family has something with mills: first we had to visit all the windmills thanks to our son Tim, and now the kids also want to see each watermill. Here two short movies of medieval watermills in Maastricht, the Netherlands: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9L21PyrlNIo"]YouTube - Leeuwenmolen, Maastricht[/ame] [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugRcIhtf0Xc"]YouTube - Bisschopsmolen, Maastricht[/ame] OK, it has nothing to do with Maryland. :tb-biggrin::tb-wink: * topic on* That site gives some nice pictures of houses that can be scratchbuilt.
Thieu, Like Sizemore, I'm a Maryland native - born and raised here in B-more, in fact. However, I suspect Sizemore is probably a better source for historical information, as I'm a more current-to-future guy as far as Maryland is concerned. I loves me my CSX and Amtrak stuff! But that doesn't mean I'm not willing to TRY to get information for you; just that he will probably have it faster than I will. It all depends on what you're looking for. Tap me as necessary; I DO have some off-beat sources I can dig into, sometimes. Meanwhile, good luck, have fun, and consider odd-ball resources.:mtongue: Jim
By the 60's almost all the mills if any along the "Old Main" were gone. Those that were in existence were served by trucks as they were not along the right of way. During the 50's and 60's most area's serviced were businesses, warehouses etc. There is only one Mill along the right of way that I know was served through the 50's but after that it was truck only. http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&FORM=LMLTCP&cp=qj9xzd8m0gfp&style=b&lvl=2&tilt=-90&dir=0&alt=-1000&scene=7165303&phx=0&phy=0&phscl=1&encType=1 Note the Ellicott Mills Station in the picture http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&FORM=LMLTCP&cp=qjb1cb8m0dzm&style=b&lvl=1&tilt=-90&dir=0&alt=-1000&scene=7165274&phx=0&phy=0&phscl=1&encType=1 http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&FORM=LMLTCP&cp=qj9zkm8m0fwd&style=b&lvl=1&tilt=-90&dir=0&alt=-1000&scene=7165276&phx=0&phy=0&phscl=1&encType=1 The mill at Oella is north of Ellicot City (Ellicot Mills) by earshot: http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&FORM=LMLTCP&cp=qjc3zd8m0vvc&style=b&lvl=1&tilt=-90&dir=0&alt=-1000&scene=8941807&phx=0&phy=0&phscl=1&encType=1 It's getting turned into fancy apartments/retail area. This is the old paper mill at Ilchester Tunnel east of Ellicot City: http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&FORM=LMLTCP&cp=qj7q0w8m2jdk&style=b&lvl=1&tilt=-90&dir=0&alt=-1000&scene=9026324&phx=0&phy=0&phscl=1&encType=1 It was once serviced by rail the grey building near the tracks, additionally you can see the remnants of St. Marys or Hells College this has to be about 2000-2001: http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&FORM=LMLTCP&cp=qj7nd08m2kyt&style=b&lvl=2&tilt=-90&dir=0&alt=-1000&scene=7167485&phx=0&phy=0&phscl=1&encType=1 It partially burned down years ago, the other half is still marginally in use. The large pink area on top of the hill is St. Mary's and according to most highschoolers when it was still standing a pretty spooky place to go at night. (not my video but documents the area well: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJxxOnVMFPk"]YouTube - Creepy College or Hell House in Maryland[/ame]) Hell House - St Mary's College, the Myths, truth and facts There was once a B&O RR station here as it was a stop along the "OM": Just east of St. Mary's and the paper mill is Ilchester Tunnel which has some amazing bridges: BO Ilchester Tunnel.JPG http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&FORM=LMLTCP&cp=qj7jj88m2qgc&style=b&lvl=2&tilt=-90&dir=0&alt=-1000&scene=7167485&phx=0&phy=0&phscl=1&encType=1 It was once doubletracked and you can see where the papermill was serviced by rail, the station and the well manicured St. Marys along with it's infamous steps (far left): http://www.trainweb.org/oldmainline/oml/108wilchestercolhharwood1941.jpg Previously the mainline followed the Patapsco, here is a shot from 1869: http://www.trainweb.org/oldmainline/oml/107ilchesterbollman188xviakippclark.jpg In this photo you can see the old abutments as well as the foundation of the previous structure (St. Mary's itself is in the far background barely peaking over the immediate buildings in the previous picture): http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&FORM=LMLTCP&cp=qj7ct08m2p1v&style=b&lvl=2&tilt=-90&dir=0&alt=-1000&scene=9027175&phx=0&phy=0&phscl=1&encType=1 For more information start here: http://www.trainweb.org/oldmainline/ Let me know where you want to go from there
