More about Wheels

One might say, when talking about model railroading, "Its all in the details" and that is certainly true enough. And when model railroaders talk about details they often describe adding the illusion of activity on their model railroad. In truth the only true action on a railroad is found on the track.

Yes, you can add working fountains, and waving flags, a turning carrousel, and perhaps a burning house. I have seen a burning house scene on a "public" layout in Pennsylvania where the fire brigade put out the fire with real water. To be fair Madurodam in the Netherlands also has such a scene. Personally I find that more often then not these working props tend to look cheesy, so you probably won't find any on Sierk's NY City Harbor Model RR with the possible exception of working overhead doors.  The December 2011 issue of Model Railroader has an article on how to make these, and I think I have just the spot.

So how do you create the illusion of action in a still life environment? It has long been known by artist that the the way you pose a figure, or draw a still life, can create a feeling of anticipated movement. It is almost like kinetic energy. The figure of a person standing on a sidewalk suggests no future action, the person is just standing. Now take that figure, pose it as if it were walking, one leg in fron of the other, the front foot slightly elevated of the ground, "walking" with purpose down the sidewalk. You may adorn the person with one or more shopping bags leaning slightly to the rear as if the bags were trailing behind. Now you have created the illusion of a person walking with purpose and possibly with haste. Add to that a bus pulling up to a bus stop, and you have added the illusion of urgency: the person is trying to catch the bus. So you see that you don't need motion to create it. And I think this is a huge part of the art of model railroading; to create motion where there is none.

A very big part of the props on a layout are vehicles. Although you can and often do create action with vehicles, more than anything vehicles are a key ingredient in setting the stage for the time period. You can look at any scene, in movies, in paintings or otherwise, and you can recognize immediately the time period the scene depicts by the cars that you see. You can play a trick on your audience or ruin a great 1950's era scene buy adding 2010 Chevy Corvette. You might as well have added the Delorian from Back to the future, and truth be told the Delorian would probably fit better in a 1950's era scene than the Corvette.

I get the Walthers monthly color sales flyer, and I eagerly anticipate their N-Scale vehicle section even though it is only a couple of pages long. I actually don't buy anything; at this time I just browse and dream. But I really enjoy the 1950's era vehicle selection. This post is dedicated to vehicles. So what follows is a selection of possible vehicles you might find scattered throughout the layout. It is my intent to spend a little time researching the vehicles to make sure that the time frame is appropriate. Walther's and the manufacturer of the vehicles aren't always clear on exactly what timeframe the cars or trucks came from. For example I discovered while doing this research that a model "White WC22" was actually short for White Motor Company WC22 a vehicle and manufacturer I had never even heard of.

 
1950 Chevrolet Pickup truck - 1950 Buick Sedan
Busch Gmbh & Co
Part # 189-8320 $13.99
1950 Chevrolet Pickup & 1950 Buick
http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/189-8320




1953 Ford Country Squire Wagon Red
Classic Metal Works
Part # 221-50317 $14.00 (Sale $10.98)
MiniMetals(R) 1953 Ford Country Squire Wagon (Carnival Red)
Who wouldn't want to own a station wagon like this?
http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/221-50317




1954 Ford F350 Pickup - Blue
Classic Metal Works
Part # 221-50274 $15.00 (Sale $11.98)
Mini Metals 1954 Ford F350 Pickup (Sheridan Blue)
http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/221-50274




1954 Ford F700 Blatz Delivery Truck
Classic Metal Works
Part # 221-50310 $15.00
MiniMetals(R) 1954 Ford F-700 Delivery Truck (Blatz Beer)
No layout would be complete without a couple of beer trucks
http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/221-50310




White (Motor Company) WC22 Falstaff Delivery Van (1950)
Classic Metal Works
Part # 221-50266 $14.00 (Sale $10.98)
Mini Metals White WC22 Delivery Van (Fallstaff Beer)
http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/221-50266




1954 Ford F700 Fuel Delivery Truck
Classic Metal Works
Part # 221-50325 $15.00
MiniMetals(R) 1954 Ford F-700 Fuel Delivery Truck (Shell Oil)
This one is dedicated to my dad's many years of service with said company
http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/221-50325




1954 Ford F700 Tank Truck
Classic Metal Works
Part # 221-50300 $15.00 (Sale $11.98)
Mini Metals 1954 Ford F700 Tank Truck pkg(2) (Mobil Fuel Truck)
And this one to the competition.
http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/221-50300



International (Harvester) R190 Aero Van Reefer (1954)
Classic Metal Works
Part # 221-51121 $17.99
Mini Metals "Transition Era" Semi - International R-190 w/32' Aero-Van Reefer
These just look cool, and with all those warehouses there are bound to be trucks around.
http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/221-51121




(White Motor Company WC22) US Steel National Tube Co Flatbed
Classic Metal Works
Part # 221-51125 $17.99 (Sale $12.98)
Mini Metals White WC22 Tractor w/32' Flat-Bed Trailer
What can I say more trucks. I am just going to have to come up with some suitable loads for these flatbeds.
http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/221-51125




White (Motor Company) WC22 Tractor Aerovan Refrigerated Trailer
Classic Metal Works
Part # 221-51140 $17.99 (Sale $14.98)
Mini Metals White WC22 Tractor w/32' Aerovan Refrigerated Trailer
Like I said, one can never have to many trucks. http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/221-51140