The Interborough Rapid Transit (IRT) Powerhouse was really not on my Westside Railroad Layout to-do list. That was until a fellow modeler asked me if I could help him with a flat structure that would hide part of his staging yard. And he also pointed me to that building in the Upper West Side. I […]
The Interborough Rapid Transit Powerhouse Read More »
Researching the commercial structure on Eleventh Avenue and West 46th Street now named Metropolitan Lumber, I came across a gigantic cylindrical structure looming over that same entire block on 1940 tax photos. Checking the map it became obvious that it must have been a gas holder of the Consolidated Gas Company of New York. History
Consolidated Gas Holder on West 45th Street Read More »
It sometimes takes me multiple visits to a neighborhood before I register a particularly interesting structure. The building at the corner of Eleventh Avenue and West 46th Street is one of these. A big sign says Metropolitan Lumber, but an oversized poster also indicates that that company has left for good and can now be
Metropolitan Lumber Read More »
Having finally built the single 45 degree crossing at the eastern yard entrance, I was able to finish my rail yard of the B&O West 26th Street Station. Hand-laying a crossing is messy and even though after about half a dozen of such builds, I now know what works best and what does not work,
Building the B&O W26th Street Station Yard Read More »
Ever since I had finished my CNJ Bronx Terminal layout, I was playing with the idea for adding a complementary section with the CNJ’s extension yard on the NW side of Third Avenue Bridge. The plan has never materialized as I would have simply no space for another layout. It would be even bigger than
Reaching Beyond the Bridge Read More »
You don’t normally connect something to your layout – you build it for your layout so that it fits! That’s not how it worked this time for the swing bridge segment of my Third Avenue Bridge, however. First of all, it was mostly outside of my original layout. Second, with a pre-pandemic plan to move
Connecting the Swing Bridge to my Bronx Terminal Layout Read More »
This is a blog contribution that comes almost three years late. In my first blog about the Third Avenue Bridge model, I left open the entire access ramp to the bridge abutment. That’s about a 2′ section on my CNJ Bronx Terminal layout. I built and completed the ramp over time and it now enhances
A Bridge in Pieces – Part 2 Read More »
The entire CNJ Bronx Terminal block between Third Avenue Bridge, Bruckner Boulevard and Lincoln Avenue is an industrial area painted in various shades of grey, even today. The driveways between the team tracks 2 and 14 were paved with Belgian (Granite sett) blocks as is most likely the driveway along track 1. The photos of the
Track Ballast, Streets and Ground Cover Read More »