Still to cold to enjoy the outdoors around here and think I might be coming down with a bit of cabin fever. So i decided to rummage through some of my old kits I had and ran across the Atlas HO lumberyard kit. I model late 90s to present day Norfolk Southern with a freelance shortline that connects and interchanges with NS. I was wondering if the lumberyard kit would fit the era I model. I figured it might give my shortline a new customer. I just don't know if there are many still around that look like this. I figured I might add some extra out buildings and possibly a small hardware store or combine it with some other landscape services to enlarge or modernize it. Possibly stone or brickyard too. Like I said I'd like to keep it on a smaller scale since it will be in a small town served by the shortline. Just hope it will fit my era. If nothing else maybe it will satisfy my urge to build something at next to nothing in price. Just a little paint, glue, scrap wood,and imagination. It should be fun. What do you think? Any input, info, or guidance would be helpful.
I was looking around on the internet to see if I could find any pictures of the kit on a modern layout. If you read Model Railroader, they did an article a few months ago about a modern lumber yard. It did not use the Atlas kit. Most of the pictures I saw has 40’ boxcars in them, a little too early for you. I think you can still use the kit with a bit of modification. I think the outside of the building is fine. A square building is pretty timeless. I would upgrade the lumber racks to be more modern. I think it would be smart to get rid of the platform on the second floor to make the building more forklift friendly. Buildings can last a long time, especially for industries that don’t want to replace them, so even if it looks outdated, it could still be around today. Small details will cement it in your modern layout. A heavy forklift like the Kibri/Walthers kit could be cool, and you could put some wrapped plywood flatcar loads inside your building. I think you could definitely pull this one off.
In smaller towns have a lot of local companies. Some do not moderise. If you like the way it looks go for it.
