12-13-2011, 09:12 AM
Oh, yes, parking was always a problem! It's always been the usual thing for rail crews to have to go into factories, stores, warehouses, etc and get the driver to move a car or truck that's blocking the track. In general, vehicles should be parked just barely far enough from the track to clear the rail equipment -- and maybe for photos, blocking it!
Yellow stripes on curbs vary from city to city. They often mean no parking within 20 feet of a fire hydrant, but this isn't consistent. Red stripes on the curb are common for no parking in LA. No parking signs were certainly around in the 1950s. Check out the Blair Line site for authentic 1950s street and highway regulatory signs. The stripes in the center of streets and highways would be for the more highly traveled ones, and wider ones. Narrow ones in an industrial district often have no center or lane markers.
Yes, the Accurail outside braced boxcar was very common in the 1950s and early 1960s. One visual feature of a 1950s freight train was the "sawtooth" impression given by boxcars of different inside heights -- by the late 1940s, 10 feet 6 inches was almost standard, but many boxcars of lower heights were still in the mix. In fact, some railroads still couldn't handle 10 foot 6 inch high cars, and the SP, New Haven, B&O, and others stayed with 10 feet on 40 foot cars. This is barely noticeable in HO size, but if you pay careful attention to car height, you can see it.
Yellow stripes on curbs vary from city to city. They often mean no parking within 20 feet of a fire hydrant, but this isn't consistent. Red stripes on the curb are common for no parking in LA. No parking signs were certainly around in the 1950s. Check out the Blair Line site for authentic 1950s street and highway regulatory signs. The stripes in the center of streets and highways would be for the more highly traveled ones, and wider ones. Narrow ones in an industrial district often have no center or lane markers.
Yes, the Accurail outside braced boxcar was very common in the 1950s and early 1960s. One visual feature of a 1950s freight train was the "sawtooth" impression given by boxcars of different inside heights -- by the late 1940s, 10 feet 6 inches was almost standard, but many boxcars of lower heights were still in the mix. In fact, some railroads still couldn't handle 10 foot 6 inch high cars, and the SP, New Haven, B&O, and others stayed with 10 feet on 40 foot cars. This is barely noticeable in HO size, but if you pay careful attention to car height, you can see it.