chuck wrote:Squares are 1'x1'? This makes the downtown area about 11'x12'? Are the tracks all on "street" level or are some "underground" like Chicago/NY or are some hidden behind flats?
Can you scale the dept store down in terms of footprint while retaining the height?
Can you cheat the actual auditorium of the theater into the back ground while making the lobby the main focus? The last of the original "big" theaters in Ann Arbor is arranged with the main auditorium running parallel to the street and the lobby/entrance are perpendicular to the street. There is a two story row of shops/apartments that are between the theater and the street.
Chuck,
All good questions. Yes, the squares are 1'x1'. Tracks are on 1 level except for the River Route, which is an independent loop of track running about 9" below the main level of Steubenville. About 75% of its length will be underground (tunnels) with 25% along the river bank.
Here's the current thinking (diagram). These are some major changes in my thinking over the past 24 hours.
- I've eliminated the mountain tunnel at the top of the layout. It has been replaced by a smaller hill that reflects the area more prototypically (I hope).
- I made the track changes indicated in the first rough sketch.
- The ground will slope up from the bottom of the layout towards the hill and the background. I expect the slope to be between 3" and 6".
- Panhandle 1 featured the intersection of Market Street with 4th Street. I've added 5th Street and 6th Street.
- 20180223 Steubenville Planning Thoughts 2.jpg (427.53 KiB) Viewed 2957 times
I'm going to have to do something about the footprint of The Hub department store. A person I met at the Strasburg 2-Rail Show has a resin casting for a 5 story building that would look fantastic. Unfortunately, it is 2' long x 1' high (96 s' x 96 s' x 48 s'). A 2' x 2' building takes up a heck of a lot of space. I'm rethinking that. Same deal for the Grand Theatre; I want to conserve foot print, but I'm dubious about the current commercially available offerings for movie theatres.
Other buildings in downtown Steubenville are still TBD, although there will be an S.S. Kresge (River Leaf Models). Steubenville has a number of buildings constructed in the late 1890s-1920s. There are many kits featuring buildings of that era. In addition I have a number of photographs of these buildings (taken in 2005). These have tons of architectural character and diversity.
I decided to include the Federal Paperboard factory off 4th Street. It has a large brick smokestack. I may or may not keep the siding at its current length past this factory. If I can think of another industry to put there, I'll keep it at its present length. If not, I'll shorten it and do something else with the space.
Moving to the north (top) of the layout, I've put the Steubenville PRR station in its correct location (on 6th Street). Footprint is approximate; I am trying to acquire the actual station plans. The small hill in front of the backdrop will rise rather rapidly. I see it being 12"-18" tall. Over the tunnel portal, I will use an HO model of the Bates House to force perspective (uphill and receding). At the western end of 6th Street, I will have Market Street turn right and run it behind an outcropping of the hill to hide its termination from view.
So that is the current thinking. Comments and suggestions are welcome!
George
