USING RESEARCH TO CREATE A SENSE OF TIME AND PLACE

As I've said previously, my model railroad is set in April 1947, the month and year of my birth.  I set out to create an impression of both time and place, and the research involved was actually pretty enjoyable.  I love history anyway, so maybe that's why I liked this part of planning.

The place part was the easiest.  I've lived in Texas for eight years and my wife Susie and I have driven the length of the Texas coast, so I've gained a pretty good impression of how things are in the ports.  Also, I've pored over historical photos and related material to get an idea of what type of rail traffic and industries existed in this state in 1947, as well as other details.  For example, because of our southerly latitude the tidal fluctuation on the Texas coast is much less than it is in my native Washington state, so I made the piers lower than I would have if I were modeling, say, a Puget Sound port. 

When it came to creating an impression of the time being modeled, the Internet was a tremendous asset in this kind of project.  Also, late-1940s movies and vintage magazines helped .  My earliest memories date back to 1951 or '52, and the postwar appearance of many things persisted well into the mid-'50s, so much of what I found was already familiar to me.  My objective was to convey the era well enough that a visitor could figure it out without being told.  To do this, I used buildings, signs, automobiles, a movie marquee and vintage billboards.  Details, no matter how small, all contribute to the larger picture, even something as small as the fact that in 1947 stop signs were yellow with black lettering, or a gas station would likely have a "mechanic on duty" sign.