Vacant lots are a signature element of many industrial scenes. Including them on your layout can heighten realism. They have a certain, “looks like they should be there” aspect to them. The aren’t as easy to model as you might think. About five years ago I started putting a lot more thought into how I […]
There are a number of annotated maps circling in the LAJ community calling out which industries received what type of cars, where they were spotted etc. I believe most of this information came from retired employees. One note that stood out was a business on The Horn Lead called Western Cleanser. The notes state they […]
Vacant lot on the extension model of my LAJ layout. The key to realistic composition is to model the typical, the ordinary, what the eye subconsciously expects to see. In our world, a common element is the mundane vacant lot. Personally, I find these trickier to pull off than you’d think. A typical open lot […]
I recently picked up the above Kodachrome image on eBay and had it digitized. Not much information was given other than it’s “somewhere in LA”. It wasn’t dated. A post on the SoCal forum seemed to place the vicinity near the LA River, where everything comes together. The first thing that stood out to me, […]
When I upgrade a freight car, I split the work into two groups and prioritize accordingly. The first (and most important) group consists of upgrades that contribute the most to visual impact. I start with these. They are the things you notice when you first walk into the room and view the cars from five […]