New HO US 1950's-60's Vehicles from Oxford Diecast for 2017


Chet - How wide is your main street through Gallatin Gateway? Did you use 1.5" per lane or wider (to accommodate for 18-wheelers)?
 
I would have to take some measurments for you Johnny. I did not go by inches. I used a scale rule and went by scale HO distance in feet. The driving lanes are 10 feet wide and the parking lane is 8 feet wide. Close to what would be actual standards at the time, but changed slightly to make the town fit in the area I had. Here are a few more photos showing the town area. May give you a better idea of the lane widths.

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Chet - thanks. After researching, I see most HO layouts using the 1.5" figure for each lane, and I guess another 1.5" for curbside parking. But got to wondering if semis would look odd on that size.
 
Take a look at the bus in the third photo. Trucks and buses were limited in width by the DOT and limit is 102 inches, or 8 and a half feet. Anything wider need special permits. Road widths would vary depending on the type of road. In towns 10 feet would not be uncommon, but on highways and secondary roads, 12 foot to 14 foot widths would be used not counting the shoulders. An inch and a half for each would easily work with a total of 3 inches for two lanes.
 
Right. And in that same photo I see that semi parked in a lot. So I'm thinking for a main street 6 inches would accommodate two lanes of traffic and two parking lanes. Side roads could be just two lanes, with parking in driveways or small lots. Our town will be a small one, much smaller than your Gallatin Junction. We'll have a main street 3-4 feet long (actual length), a couple of short side streets, and narrower feeder roads that disappear into the countryside. In addition to making it realistic as far as the town and its connections to the country, I want to have as much business, residences, people, cars, etc in the town as possible, without making it look cramped or junky - that's going to be tricky. I really enjoy the photos and videos of your layout - I've gotten lots of ideas from it. Just wish I had as much room as you do :)
 
That should work out good for you. There aren't many idiots like me who would model a town this size with parking on both sides of the street because of all the HO real estate it eats up.
 
montanan said:
That should work out good for you. There aren't many idiots like me who would model a town this size with parking on both sides of the street because of all the HO real estate it eats up.
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Chet your no idiot, crazy maybe, crazy like a fox! You have some of the best street scenes I have ever seen!
 
montanan said:
That should work out good for you. There aren't many idiots like me who would model a town this size with parking on both sides of the street because of all the HO real estate it eats up.
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Chet - I echo Louis- you're no idiot. And the upside is, you have a great collection of model era cars!!
 
Here are a few of the trucks that I cobbled together years ago. Back then where weren't many choices but I did like the Alloy Forms Mack trucks.

The first is a mack cab that I spliced together with a logging truck that I think came from Co Cor.

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The little Mack truck in this photo had the chassis shortened. I did put MV lenses in these trucks replacing the headlights. The town that this trucking company is at on my layout is Gallatin Gateway. Needless to say when I found these trailers, it worked out nice for a local trucking company. The sign was scanned from one of the trailers.

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In the 50's there weren't many over the road trucks as the interstate system we have today wasn't built yet, but I did find a coffin sleeper and put it behind this Alloy Forms Mack cab.



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The last truck is pretty well a straight kit build. The headlights were replaced with MV lenses and I used straight pind for the mirrors, bending the head to resemble the mirror.

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I have a few more on the layout that were also kit bashed.
 
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Chet - more great models, nice photos. You have a real talent for creating vehicles for the era you model. That's really creative, using a straight pin for cab mirrors. Again, you've given me some good ideas. Thanks.
 
image.jpgChet I like those old B73 Mack's you got there here's a old Crakerbox I took of the shelf I built years ago and decide to put it on the layout you have the best looking main st I've seen I like the oil stains up the middle of the streets nice detail
 
Nice looking tractor. I can remember seeing trucks like these when we took the train east to visit relatives in Indiana. Sure wish that someone would make more trucks for the transition era. Sylvan does make some but my past experience with them years ago didn't impress me. I have a few other trucks I'll post later.
 
That's neat you seen these trucks I use to delver chair parts by Tell City In. That's what inspired me to build this truck. Slyvains are questionable I fix them up with diffent tires and wheel to get the look I want I thought you would like it.
 
It's tough populating a layout with vehicles when you model the 1969-72 time frame. I already have all the ones for model years 1965-72 - even multiples of some - except maybe the Buick Riviera GS which looks like it could be a '69 or '70 (the catalog doesn't include the model years). Seems like different manufactures all tend to produce the same vehicles. I don't need any more '65 Mustangs or '68 VW Beetles, and I definitely do NOT need any more muscle cars!:rolleyes: I need a fleet of random, mundane autos, the type that your average Joe or Jane would drive.

I see that Shapeways has quite a few of the type of vehicles I need. Only problem is, they're unpainted and cost way too much for the amount of work required to make them look decent.
 
That is tough time period to try to find vehicles for. The transition era isn't too bad or is the modern era. Have you looked at the American Excellence site?

I do like the offerings that Classic metal works has come out recently. 4 door sedans and station wagons, more of what you would see on the roads instead of the sports cars and muscle cars. Just every day vehicles.

https://www.american-excellence.com/?p=list&scale=87
 
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montanan said:
That is tough time period to try to find vehicles for. ... Have you looked at the American Excellence site? ...
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Yes Chet, that is one of the two sites I visited that has all the vehicles I already own.

Currently it isn't a major problem for me, since I don't really have many areas on my layout that would have high concentrations of autos. In the meantime, I'll try buying just one 3D-printed automobile from Shapeways and see if I can make it look good, and if so, how much time I end up spending on it.
 
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Here are a few more trucks that I have on the layout. The first is an old Urlich Mack Tanker. It, along with another fuel truck and a tank car were lettered for Tschache Oil. A friend here had parents who made their fortune in the oil industry so these were lettered for him as a joke. Lettering the door, letter by letter on the Mack tractor was fun.
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The next is an Imex '48 Peterbilt that was cobbled into another logging truck. The last is also another cobbled together Imex Pete with a dump box. The box is a bit modern for 1957, but I don't think many people would know.

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Great trucks everybody, thanks for sharing the pictures.

You guys talking about old Mack trucks has me thinking of those 13 speed Mack transmissions. Who came up with the crazy idea of using 2 hands to shift? It was bad enough you had to double clutch every time. That was working for a living!

All I had to see was a Gold dog on the hood and I would be a assuming it would be a busy day behind the wheel.

Those 13 speeds made it tough to smoke a camel, drink coffee and drive! Forget about eating lunch on the road, I did not drive them enough to be that experienced.
 
Louis - Back in the mid 60's when I was going to electronics school in the Navy at Great Lakes, IL, I had an uncle who worked for a trucking company in Hammond, IN. I would take a truck friday evening and run to either Toledo or Indianapolis drop a trailer and return. A quick way to make a few bucks. The trucks were the old 60 series Macks with the triplex transmission with three shift levers. Fun and games with those. No air seats like today. They rode like the axles were welded to the frame. Could shake the nuts off of a brass monkey.
 
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