# Railroad Avenue Buildings now outside



## Jerry Barnes (Jan 2, 2008)

I bought out a guy whose railroad got hailed out. He had some Railroad Avenue buildings, most were not damaged by hail but he had assembled them poorly. I did have to fix most of the windows and did install lighting. The 'barn' is part of the mine they made, it was damaged too much to be a mine again, so I separated the parts and made them into other buildings.


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## tom h (Jan 2, 2008)

Jerry, those buildings look great next to each other, both look like they have been through the mill.

Tom H


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## Jerry Barnes (Jan 2, 2008)

Tom, I guess that RR Av painted the pieces, you just assembled them. A cabin I just finished had one roof piece really broken up by the hail, got it back together and sort of matched the paint.


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## Torby (Jan 2, 2008)

Looks like my place. No, where I live.


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## Ron Hill (Sep 25, 2008)

Jerry, I tried to purchase some windows and doors from Railroad Avenue when they quit making large scale buildings. They kept giving me the run around and promising. I want something different than Grandt Line windows and doors and Railroad Avenue offered something. But in the end I did not get anything. I asked Grandt Line to offer in 1/2" scale what they offer in 1" scale and you would have thought I called them a dirty name. The really got all huffed up about how they had the largest selection of windows and doors, etc. It just shows that some manufactures do not care what customers think. 
Ron


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## Jerry Barnes (Jan 2, 2008)

Yeah, I talked to that RR Avenue guy about windows/parts also, just got a run around.


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## joe rusz (Jan 3, 2008)

Jerry, those buildings look great, especially sitting in whatever that ground cover is. 

Unless I got something different, RR Ave kits were not painted. Your were given some instructions on what paint to use, but you were on your own. I know, I bought a house at the Big Train Show from the guy who runs the business, Scott Bowers. I shoulda bought more, had I known he was gonna stop making 'em. 

I found them challenging to assemble because they are resin and you need the right "glue" to get the parts to stick together. I settled on 3M silacone cement (the stuff in a tube), which took forever to set up. I painted it with rattle cans. Because the house is still indoor, it looks perfect. BTW, I put a partial interior in the place--a living room and a bedroom, both with wall paper. In the bedroom I placed a seated figure of a pregnant lady and next to her, a guy in a suit who I like to think is a traveling salesman, who has just got the news that his "date" is preggies. 

Someone suggested that perhaps the reason RR Ave stopped making large-scale kits is because the molds got all used up. Not being a resin casting guy, I don't know. I did see RR Ave's mine--on a layout in the Bay area when BAGRS had their summer open house a few years ago. I gotta tell ya, that is one huge structure! 

As for Grandt Line, I think their stuff is great and I have a box full of assorted windows, doors, etc. that I keep on hand for various projects. Keep in mind, though, that these are 1/2-inch scale, which can be a challenge if you are modeling in 1:20.3. If you go on their website you can see their entire inventory of HO and G. They even give you the dimensions of each window and door, so you know how big a hole it needs. 

One thing though: if you want to be true to only a single scale, a 1/2-inch scale building may get overhwelmed by one built to 1:20.3. My plan is to keep the smaller buildings in the rear. Intersetingly, in his column in GR a few months ago, Jack Verducci said he builds all his structures in 1/2 and said that to make these little buildings look right among bigger ones, all you need to do is you make the windows and doors 1:20. Umm, I dunno.


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## Jerry Barnes (Jan 2, 2008)

Yeah, I kept the RR Av buildings a bit aways from the ones I made of clay, they are about more 1/24 or 1/29. Also got a pola kit or two in that buy. Gave the train station to a buddy, it was sort of in pieces, from bad assembly(or wrong glue). I did not look it over, didn't need a train station. Got one RR ave shack to fix up, big hail hole in it, and a couple of other Pola(I guess) kits. Not sure I'll get to them anytime soon though. Did sell a couple of the swtiches I got from him, so about got my money back.


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## pimanjc (Jan 2, 2008)

I like them!
JimC.


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## Paulus (May 31, 2008)

Jerry, the buildings are great! They look very realistic and the right cars are placed in front. It's a good looking site! 
What is that sea of green? Thyme or something? It's a great ground cover!


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## Jerry Barnes (Jan 2, 2008)

Thanks guys. Paul, that is Yellow Acre Sedum, VERY invasive and fast growing. I would HIGHLY recommend NOT using it, unless you want your whole RR covered with it. I try to contain it to one area, but keep yanking it out of the thyme and other groundcovers.


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## Ron Hill (Sep 25, 2008)

I tried to purchase some windows and doors before they quit producing building. They gave me the run around and agreeing to sell some of the windows and doors. Finally I gave up. 
Ron


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## Ray Dunakin (Jan 6, 2008)

I really like that old farmhouse.


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## Jerry Barnes (Jan 2, 2008)

Me too Ray. Only had to reglue it some and fix the windows, I put lights in it also. No interior.


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