(Article written for the Keystone Flyer, newsletter of Division 2, MidCentral Region, NMRA)

This article continues one I did for the Keystone Flyer several months ago, in which I discussed approaches to achieving that "old" look. Meanwhile, an extraordinary series of articles have appeared in Railroad Model Craftsman on modeling the Pennsylvania Railroad in the last century. I recommend the articles even if you are not currently interested in period modeling.

In my previous article, I started describing some of what I've learned in scratchbuilding nineteenth century buildings. One of the most important features of these buildings is the windows; they lend much of the charm and character, as well as being important functionally. Remember that for most of the century, window sashes had many small panes; even Campbell's two-over-two windows are only correct late in the century.

Another important feature is the trim around the window, as well as corner trim for wood frame buildings. I think I can state the general rule that before the latest nineteenth century, window and corner trim was not fastened on top of the siding, but rather, was flush with the siding. I assume the order of construction was trim first, and siding last. Unless you are modeling board-on-board in a prototypical fashion, adhering to this rule is difficult for window trim, but easy for corner trim. I never worry about this for windows unless using a milled board and batten siding. In that case, trimming the battens so the window sits back on the board siding is easy and necessary. For corner trim, I use 6 by 6 or 8 by 8, and use additional stripwood size on the interior for bracing. You have to deduct the width of the stripwood in the corner from the width of the piece you cut for the side.

Do not use trim appropriate for wood frame houses for masonry buildings. Windows in such buildings are recessed a little. A good trick is to mount the usual castings of windows-with-trim upside-down from the back of the wall. The trim is not seen, it provides a surface for gluing, and by putting the casting upside-down, the double-hung sashes are correct. This is John Neyrich's idea, not mine.

If you look at old buildings--wood or masonry--windows and doors seem to recede into the facade, rather than stick out. This recess was often emphasized by painting window sashes a dark color such as brown or dark red.

Roofs on Dwellings

The roof is an important visual element of a structure, and can reveal the period of a structure. Colonial and the immediate post-Revolutionary War period saw roofs that were flush with the sides, and minimally overhanging front and back. Dormers were sometimes used.

Contrast this with many Victorian styles, in which roof overhangs were often substantial, and an important part of the design. Brackets under the eaves were characteristic of the Italianate style, among others. Chimneys can be plain or fancy, depending on the style. Roof details you can use are: flashing around chimneys, metal rods to lend support to high chimneys, railings along roof edges for Federal-period homes, and vents once indoor plumbing came along.

Vernacular houses tended to follow basic floor plans and to use stripped-down versions of the trim found on the high-style dwellings. For instance, the so-called I-house is common in a band across Pennsylvania, West Virginia, the border states, and the mid-west. It is frame or masonry, usually with a two-story, one-room deep main part with a central hallway and a symmetric arrangement of windows and door. A wing extends out the back. I-houses can be plain, or with Greek revival or Italianate details. Many of these structures exist today.

One revival style is so common in some areas as to constitute a vernacular design; that is the Greek revival house in upstate New York, northern Ohio, and southern Michigan. It's surprise to be going down a rural highway and come across one of these temples, with elaborate cornices, and sometimes columns. They were meant to be painted white, and most owners still know this.

Time is a funny thing; it's cumulative. Take a snapshot, and you get elements of all that has gone before, but nothing in the future. While new homes were put up, the old ones stayed around, so the later in time you place your layout, the more styles you can include. Even if you don't build a period layout, these earlier times should be represented. Except, of course, in the case of urban renewal.

Avoiding the Cute

In my clinic at the Mid-Central Regional convention last year, I emphasized the importance of avoiding the cute look that seems to characterize much period modeling. Let's analyze what is cute in order to steer clear. Cute is attractive, not beautiful. It's small. Offbeat. One-of-a-kind. Puppies and kittens are cute. Hockey players are not (usually).

Remember the pictures of big-eyed waifs that graced the walls of every house several decades ago? The first one was cute, the second not so cute, the hundredth or thousandth rather scary. This gives some clue why period layouts can seem cute. An important aspect is the feeling of uniqueness, combined with something out of proportion. Look in modeling magazines of the forties through sixties, when modeling the Nineteenth Century was common, and you will see mainlines full of one-of-a-kind billboard boxcars. Yards were often attenuated, almost vestigial. You won't see long lines of ordinary, boxcar-red boxcars, strings of coal hoppers or even multiples of the same billboard car. If you did, they would all have the same number.