Modeling Brooklyn and Queens just wouldn’t be the same without a NY City style elevated railway (EL). So back in 2019 I tried kitbashing sections of the EL using parts from Walthers Cornerstone N 933-3871 Urban Steel Overpass Kit and Rokuhan R072 Deck Girder Bridges, but this proved too time consuming and expensive. From June 2019 to January 2022 Stony Smith patiently worked with me to design an elevated platform in Z scale for me https://www.shapeways.com/product/MGQZGZJUQ/elevated-platform-zscale The details were great but it proved difficult to connect the pieces together to form a sturdy strong EL. Time passed and other layout projects took over from modeling the EL. In May 2022 I was on Shapeways just exploring when I came across Tom Blode’s creations (Flat Fox Scale Models). He had a NY City style EL complete with staircases and station platforms in N scale. I reached out to Tom and he agreed to modify his designs to Z scale https://www.shapeways.com/shops/flat-fox-design-hub?section=NYC+Subway+EL+Z+scale&s=0 Over the past year I worked with Tom’s EL creations with him patiently creating new pieces for me and with the help of Frank Daniels at Z scale Hobo to get numerous Luetke # 72001 Paddock Fencing Kits which I modified to use as the EL railing the EL is finally ready to be placed on my layout. I still need to level out some of the footing so there is no space between them and the street. Stony Smith did a fantastic job creating the LIRR P54 cars https://www.shapeways.com/product/9CEZHKJEG/lirr-p54-passenger-car-zscale and Mitchell Jetten (SpoorObjecten) did a fantastic job of designing a NYC R1 Subway cars https://www.shapeways.com/product/2FL3WJ84M/nyc-r1-subway-1-220?optionId=300935857&li=shops The R1s are still waiting to be finished with decals for car numbers and roll signs, and etched brass car gates. The decals for both cars were done by by my friend and fellow New Yorker, Dan Pikulski https://www.facebook.com/people/Dans-Resin-Casting/100054357708157/ I modified a Luetke # 73231 Market Stall into a NYC newsstand. Overall I’m very happy with the way it all turned out. Enjoy! John
Marvelous! Simply marvelous! What always has resonated with me is you always try to capture a look…that fits and dang it always does!
That is just top notch modeling right there, John. Absolutely stunning scenes, and your details are second to none! Thank you for sharing with us!
John, Fantastic! You and those who have assisted you have done excellent work! Having traveled on the raised railways in NYC periodically since the sixties, I think you have captured the look! Scott
INDEED --- ANOTHER WOW! Love the stairway entrance and loading platform with lot's of "people" moving about. It certainly adds to the realism of a New York scene. Great weathering too, especially the wood planking top side. Everything ties together quite nicely. Nice write up too....
I was almost gonna go there, but it was the Blues Brothers in a seedy hotel they were staying in right next to the tracks and everytime the El went by, the lamp swayed and things fell off the wall. And then Carrie Fisher blew the place up the next morning! We need a fireball explosion John......
The walkway wood planking was one of the more challenging items that I had to figure out for the EL. I wanted the look of real weathered wood to match the walkway planking that the EL used in the 1960s and it had to be thin enough to work in Z scale. So I went with Northeastern Scale Lumber Co. 116SCR132P 1/32” thick scale lumber sheets that I cut into planks 3 wide. I painted them gray with Polly-S gray 052244550750, then dusted them with Bragdon Enterprises ash powder followed by a light dusting of black chalk soft pastel. I used the same wood and technique for the station platform but turned the wood 90 degrees to add some visual difference between the walkway planking and the station platform. I’m really pleased with the way they turned out.
Excellent - although I didn’t know Santa did laundry. You mean all these years of leaving out milk and cookies, we could have been leaving a load of laundry? Great detail everywhere! Ha, even the pigeons.
I enjoy your work and enjoy seeing little details. So the Santa is nice but the pigeons….totally set the scene!
Katz’s Deli, on the corner of East Houston St. and Ludlow St. https://katzsdelicatessen.com has a special place in my family history, besides having eaten there numerous times as a child and adult, it is also where my Dad proposed to my Mom in 1959 (my Mom said the table that they were sitting at when my Dad proposed to her was close to the table in the scene from 1989 movie “When Harry Met Sally” which was filmed inside Katz’s ). The building and Katz’s triangle sign was designed for me by Charlie T. at Z & US Models https://zandusmodels.wordpress.com Thanks Charlie! The VERY tiny wall lamp lights were custom made for me by Lance Baker (Zscaleplanet), which without the model would have not been complete. Thanks Lance! My Dad grew up on Suffolk Street in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, just five blocks South of Katz’s Deli. So I decided to model it as best I could as a dedication to my Mom and Dad and the place it has in NYC history and in my family. "Katz's, that's all!" Enjoy! John
