I'm building an N scale layout (Midwest granger shortline) that will have businesses, industries named for friends and relatives. I know for sure that there will be an auto repair shop named for my 5-year-old grandson who adores Match Box cars and has about 300 of them. There will be a small town called "Shoofly," the original name of my hometown until Milwaukee Road tracks reached the town, when the name was changed. A lake and a river also must have names. Something will be named for a fellow N-scaler and Internet model railroad friend who lives in far off Montana (I live in Iowa). He has helped me with so many suggestions via email since we first met several years ago. I won't name him because I don't think he wants the publicity; I'll just say he's a very active member of Trainboard. My layout will remember the Milwaukee Road, my favorite railroad.
I named industries after fellow modellers too. This is handy when all the rail-served industries have to be named to use carcards and waybills effectively. Jon
I named this barber shop after a good friend (her second name): The building will get a nice place on a new oNetrak module.
Another thread reminded me of this one. A lot has changed in my life since 2006. There are a lot of people who deserve named places. I must get to work. The Pics from the Above Post: I'll be replacing this on the, "Grey and Grandure X": Nolan Mountains, (which surround the 'Grandure Valley', in honor of Pete Nolan who did them for me: That is my wife's grandson who now lives with me and had requested to have a cookie factory named after him.
This is for my Dad, his nickname was Sonny. I didn't notice it was the name on it until after I got it. And he never was a mechanic, he was a Master Carpenter. Also during WW2 he was with B-25s in the south pacific started in Australia, he picked up a motorcycle and every time the move up, all the way to Okinawa, the bike was put in the bomb bay and went with him. It also went back to Australia before he cam home. Oh and my RR name is the PP&LE, Papa & Leon, Evan, my grandsons. David
I've done it in the past with a couple of Businesses named after family & friends, a mountain also named after a place I served while in the Military, a Church resembling where I used to attend. My next layout will be similar. A labor of love with every viewing for me if no one else.
Most of my towns are named after family memebers along with several businesses. Some of the creeks are named after friends who were killed in combat in Iraq over the years.
I have an industrial district named after my mothers parents, I grew across the street from them. the main (only at this time) yard is named for the street I lived on when I started my first real layout. buildings named after family members online customers named after locations where I have lived Gary
I stick to prototype but I honor my grandpa by modeling the 8 mile long Frisco branchline he grew up by back in the 19teens and 20s. Definitely a challenge.
I named a fictitious east Texas courthouse-square town for my model RR buddy Ron Johnston who passed away in 1973. Ron drew scale drawings for Tomalco and did some amazing scratchbuilding. His name is on the town water tower. And spelled out in standard Santa Fe lettering on the end of the town depot. Another model RR buddy, Jim Burkett, was a rock radio disk jockey with the Air Name " J J Stone" when not modeling. His name became the company name of a materials company with a gravel pit. Texas counties are usually named after Texas heroes, so my fictitious town is the seat of a county named for a fictitious Texas hero, John Wayne. Here's the Wayne County Courthouse. The local tractor dealer, Wayne Implement, is named for the county:
A friend's cute 4-year-old daughter became the trademark girl of my Dixie Darlin' peanut butter plant. I don't have a good picture of the scale 15 N-scale-foot sign on the roof, but here is the artwork. The Lion's Club in Corpus Christi sponsored the only train show in the city's history, and I honored by having their little plastic members meet at the Lumberjack Cookhouse in Johnston, and to have a sign at the city limits. I honored Fort Worth HO modeler Lat Lattimore with an N scale model of his barn, with an N scale model of a Lionel layout in the loft.
Thanks for resurrecting the thread Grey One. I wasn't too interested with the original topic but since then my father has passed. He was the one responsible for getting me into model trains. I still have the S scale Missouri Pacific passenger train he bought for me the year I was born (1958). OK, so as the story goes he really wanted a model train for himself but Mom said he was too old to play with toys. So he modified the request and said he bought it for me for my birthday. I still remember running it with him when I was old enough to operate the throttle. It now sits proudly atop the main display case. But I can't run it since its S scale and I do N. So, in his honor I have reconstructed it (with artistic liberty) in N scale. I think of him fondly whenever it does a lap around the layout. Brian
Many businesses named after relatives (wife, Kids, grandkids, family) Same with a couple lakes on the layout. Matter of fact, my layout the BHRR is in honor of my deceased Dad. Back in the early 70's we built our first N scale layout together. Definitely my way of honoring him and all of my loved ones.
Well, I thought I was the only person who did this kind of thing. So, I have an industry named "B&B Industries". The first "B" is my mother Betty. The 2nd "B" is for my father Robert(Bob). The industry is switched with an old S12 painted in Texas State Colors(where mother was from) and has a small Texas shaped flag on it with her name... "Betty Ray". The report marking for it is RFDX... which is my father's initials with an "X" at the end. B&B Industries also owns some covered hoppers with the RFDX marking... and also has a GP38-2 with the RFDX markings.
