Originally Posted by Daniel828:
Can you divulge how some of the building/structures are made? I really like the fence, what's it made of?
thanks
dan
Dan,
The fence is actually one of the things that I know the maker. It was made by Kramer Products. I think they were reproducing an old fence system. The post is wood with a metal base and the fence section is made of wood with bamboo for the curvey parts. The posts are metal and the fence sections loop around it.
This was actually a last minute addition to keep the dogs out of the layout. Believe it or not, the little 5" tall fence is enough to keep my Great Dane (seen in first photo) out. She won't walk over it!
The plate girder bridge is another thing I know the maker. These were made by a a fellow Pat Fusco a bunch of years back. He made the "EL" elevated track system that some are familiar with. As for the bridges, he was testing the waters for this type of SG bridge back about 10 years ago at York. He made 2 bridges, a green on and a silver one. There was little interest and I picked them both up for a few bucks. I really like the simple design of these bridges and wish he would have made more. Not sure what happened to Pat, we lost touch a few years back. I'm gonna use the bridge on my new layout along with the EL system.
Ah, the Ajax Diner. I picked this up, along with the red water tower (seen next) of the bay for a hefty sum of $1.99. I guess no one wanted it! I did, and I love it. It is basic wood construction with a curved sheet metal roof. Looks to have been made sometime in the late 40's to early 50's.... and painted by a 9 year old.
The afore mentioned red water tank is all metal. Looks like a small nut can was used for the tank and someone crafted the roof, legs and base out of tin. It's not a very good job but for some reason I like that sort of thing. It just proves it was made by someone and they needed a water tank. Looks as if it could have been a shop class project.
The big metal red bridge is one of my favorites. Who ever made it spent a lot of time on it. It looks as if it was made in the 40's sometime.
The windmill was a recent purchase off the bay. It is wooden construction with a metal cap on top. The wind direction vane is broken off and I'll need to reconstruct something (maybe I'll give it Hojack to fix!). Who ever made it did not make plans for the wiring for the light up top as the windmill portion cannot rotate 360 degrees around. But it is a charming piece. Looks to be from the 40's. The light socket is old Christmas light sockets.
The switch tower, well you might need to ask Hojack as I got it from him. A funny story, a week after I had dinner with him at York I bought this off ebay... not knowing Hojack was the seller! It is all metal and looks to use parts from some Lionel stations for the bases and local hardware store for the rest!
I'll hit up the other structures in a bit. Hope this keep you busy for now.
ARNO
