Nassau Lionel Operating Engineers - Open House - December 2016

It's time to consider a few new buildings for my next layout, and I decided to scour the internet to see how many structure manufacturers I could find. Starting with Amazon and Ebay, I am over 24 and know that I'm missing a few whose names I cannot remember.

Starting with product lines mentioned on Amazon, there are Bachmann Plasticville, Woodland Scenics, Ameri-Towne, Lionel, MTH, K-Line, Menards, Lemax and Ertl. Note that these are largely pre-assembled and painted structures aimed at model railroaders who don't want to build their buildings.

On the other hand, Ebay listings for O scale structures are more likely to include wood, resin and hydrocal materials instead of plastic, and in kit form rather than ready assembled. Manufacturer names -- some well-known and others not so familiar -- include Design Preservation Models, American Model Builders, B.T.S., Downtown Deco, Model Tech Studios, Trackside Laser, GC Laser, RS LaserKits, Deerfield River Laser, Rich White Models, Branline (Yorke), Dr. Ben Publications & Products, Atlantic Scale Modelers, Fos Scale Models and Train Time Laser.

Using the media of paper or cardboard are Photo Real Buildings and The CityBuilder. The latter printed structures are produced in India and I would like to hear from anyone who has assembled one or more The CityBuilder kits. Pictures in their ads appear very attractive for two-dimensional printings.

For now I think that I will go with three Branline resin kits designed by Thomas Yorke, another Rich White brick building in hydrocal and Deerfield River Laser's Harbor Master's office with a distinctive octagon tower.

Please reply if you have other names of currently active structure producers to add to this list.

Gil Hulin