Chris

Those are gorgeous structures. If they fit your era...........decision made. They would set the bar very high for the rest of the layout and that is a real motivator to do everything to a high standard.

Relaxing the prototype

Beautiful additions Chris!  Given what you said about this area not being well-known or photographed, I think they're perfect for use here.  I wouldn't even consider them a "relaxation" of your standards in my view, because it seems as though they're just very high-quality stand-ins until you gain more info on those areas...if that day ever comes.  We all have to fill in gaps in our knowledge with something temporary, and if that additional knowledge never comes, the temporary becomes permanent.  Nothing wrong with that.

I went through a similar phase back when I was offered a couple of IAIS Alco locomotives for next to nothing in 2015, but I truly was relaxing my standards, since I knew they didn't fit my era.  Those units were too cool to pass up though, so I was happy to pick them up.  For me, the fun of that relaxation didn't last, and I sold them last month. 

When accurate information is at hand and I ignore it, I start to notice a definite decline in my hobby enjoyment.  If I just didn't know what's accurate, as in your case, I'd be completely comfortable doing what you've done.  Educated guesses are part of accurate prototype modeling too, and you get bonus points when they involve models as nice as those you've added.

Relaxing the standards is a

Relaxing the standards is a great way to go. I have decided on something similar in that I will capture the feeling of an area more than trying to model an exact slice of time. I feel it offers the best of both worlds in that you can fit the railroad into your space and choose the most appealing aspects for your hobby. That is called winning in my opinion. Looking forward to the things you like to share with the rest of us.

Always good modeling, Chris

Always good modeling, Chris and Bill (S)? really knows his stuff. I met him down at the Collinsville (IL) RPM meet and he is a great guy.

BTW, regarding prototype or not, I saw a lot of structures as a locomotive engineer many of them old and falling down which didn't leave a lot of options to model them accurately. So...you take your best shot and don't be concerned if they aren't the prototype. Outside of a couple of modelers and friends few people will know if they are copies of the real buildings or not. I think this might be one reason many modelers only model the backs of industries where the interesting, freight car, loading/unloading scenes are and not the whole structure which is not required for operations? 

Thanks, for sharing your work it's quite inspiring.

Barry

Relaxing the prototype

is just modeling. We almost all do it as soon as we accept electric powered trains instead of steam or diesel. Even the guys running electric prototypes leave out air brakes and other necessary real train stuff. ..DaveB

The beauty of freelance is

The beauty of freelance is the freedom it gives you but I understand the call that some have to model a particular favorite prototype either spawned from memories or admiration for something they see everyday. Nothing wrong with giving yourself a bit of a break though especially if you're doing a line that disappeared long ago. I have a prototype that I very loosely refer to but there's now a major hunk of asphalt along it's old right of way so it would be a guessing game to do much more than that. Those are some fine looking structures and they should serve you well.

"representational"

If I have one word to describe my own modelling, it's "representational."

I knew of a guy who decided to do a perfectly scaled version of the depot for the town I grew up in, with approach tracks, in HO taking place in the 50s. It's a small depot and he (and I) thought it wouldn't take a lot of room.

He got track diagrams and found it would take a high school gym to pull it off correctly. I looked at his findings and thought, "that can't be," but he was right. The area was just way bigger than it looked. WAY bigger.

So, that lesson learned, I realized I could never model the prototype perfectly. All my rolling stock, structures and such are to me, representations of the real thing. I model a fictional branch line of the real (3 footer, modelled in On30) RR and everything represents something that either existed in real life or what could have had that RR gone where I model it.

But if I'd decided to model the real main line, the structures would have bene much closer together, everything would have been smaller, and the like. My goal was to model the time/place for how the general look would have been. I've missed the goal in terms of how I wanted it to look, but I'm still happy with the result.

Heck, I've seen a guy who has a PRR Horseshoe Curve in his basement in 3-rail. If you measured it, it would be a tiny fraction of the size and scope of the real thing, but he nailed it on the overall look of the location itself. To me, that's all that matters.

Heck, haven't we all seen someone who modelled a place or structure/locomotive/car that had perfect dimensions and all the detail but it just didn't 'look' right anyway?