We posted yesterday about a photographic technique that makes real-life scenes look like minutely detailed miniatures. Well, why have fake fakes when you can have real fakes? (Ease up, modelers — just kidding!)
Seriously, we were impressed with the detail in a couple of photos of a portable HO gauge streetcar layout displayed at the Orange Empire Railway Museum in Riverside County a few weeks back. They come to us from Market Street Railway member Bob Davis.
The photo at left shows a detailed Bowser model of F-line streetcar No. 1061, honoring Southern California’s great Pacific Electric system. The Orange Empire museum has the largest collection of actual preserved Pacific Electric streetcars and interurbans. (We carry these Bowser models at our San Francisco Railway Museum, by the way.)
The photo at right shows a model of old Market Street Railway streetcar No. 728, the prototype of which was built for Williamsport, PA by Brill around 1912 and bought second-hand by our namesake in 1935. It’s signed for the 28-line, which connected the Ferry Building to the Southern Pacific depot at Third and Townsend via Howard, Steuart, Folsom, Second, and Brannan Streets.
Highly unlikely there was a “Hamilton Burger District Courthouse” on the old 28-line, though if there’s any justice in the modeling world, Car No. 728 should be operating along Della Street. (Those under 50 may feel free to look up “Perry Mason.”)
Great photos. Great models. Thanks, Bob Davis!!
And just in case anyone wonders, OERM does not have any actual Pacific Electric PCC’s. In the late 1950’s, all thirty were sold to a railway in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where they only lasted a few years before being scrapped. Muni 1061 is as close as we’re going to get.
outstanding modeling. It would be interesting to hve the modlers describe thier basic techniques for putting up caternary and how they model the streets , curbs and thos fantastic intersectins with tracks everywhere.
joe winkler
Most of the procedures used by the Southern California Traction Club can be found in the Trolleyville Schoolhouse or in past editions of the Trolleyville Times.
http://www.trolleyville.com