place to come to watch trains.” For the west side of Market Street, I select businesses typical of a small town in 1955 and typical of the part of town adjacent to the railroad station. I choose to have an Amoco gas station on the edge of the layout, a two-story barber shop/apartment, a three-story hotel, and a two-story “block” with pharmacy and apartments. Around the corner on Spring Garden are a pair of small resi- dences and a Victorian home. The east side of Market Street is taken up with the team track entrance, the factory doorway and the station driveway. I thought about putting the station between the aisle and the track, pre- senting the street side of the station to the viewer. This would have the station blocking the view of a train during a stop. I chose to put the station across the track from the viewer instead. This allows a viewer to see the agent’s office bay and the train order signals. The train blocks the view of the station only when it makes its stop, and trials with cardboard mock ups convinced me to put the station across the tracks. The station building is styrene and is patterned after a photo of the West- ern Maryland station at Edgemont, Maryland, in the October, 1976, issue of Trains magazine. While following the style of the Western Maryland sta- tion, I adapted it to suit the space available on the layout. At the edge of the layout a team
track with a low dock keeps the view of the station open. The docks are Camp- bell models and the pillar crane is from Alexander. The crane needs electricity, so a power pole comes to the team track area. A lot of stuff is in front of the station. Viewers can see over it, and it’s all removable for photography. Immediately behind the station is its
The mock ups (top) for Fulton’s Market Street give one an idea of how this main street will look when it is done. Fast forwarding a few years (above) shows the mock ups fading away one by one as the structures get built. Fulton Inn, Fulton Bank and the Victorian house are completed. Some cars can now be seen, and figures establish a size reference for the Ful- ton Inn. Temporary crossing gates stand guard at the tracks, too. The buildings are inspired by and are typical of those found on the Maryland and eastern Pennsylvania border.
then cutting it along the mandril to form little loops to be strung on thread. All the stuff along the sidewalks
leaves a little space for plastic people. Their clothing is comfortable for an au- tumn noontime and appropriate for1955; most ladies wear dresses, for example. The people are arranged in small groups of two or three for seem- ing conversations. One sits on a step,
RAILROAD MODEL CRAFTSMAN
another is leaning on a cane. A post- man pauses to exchange a greeting. It is a friendly and welcoming encounter. The poses of the people combine with the bright lighting lend an atmosphere of “good feeling” to the layout. I can be convinced that this pleasantry affects the viewers of my town. I was greatly pleased by the comment of a visitor who said that “this would be a great
access road. Across the access road, a tall building provides a skyline. The building is plain enough to keep the emphasis on the station. I made a mul- ti-story brick factory to fill the spot. It’s ground-level loading dock has a roof, and there are windows in the side, but no additional adornments. The pitched roof adds height. East of the station, the trackside platform extends a passenger car length. The parking lot is behind the platform. This area is adorned with people, benches, lights, cars and a cat. A freight house in the style of the sta- tion terminates the station scene. West of the station, Market Street runs directly from the viewer to the back edge of the layout. In Knox, Penn- sylvania, the bank sits squarely at the end of the main street. I adopted that placement, and the facade of the bank blocks the view to the backdrop. Build-
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