T-Trak The N scale Pennsy Juniata Division 2.0 - T-TRAK!

[Point353]

One (not the whole set) Burma Shave sign.
Slogans by year are here: https://www.skypoint.com/members/schutz19/burma2.htm.

Blair Line sold some once upon a time, but they don't list them any more.

Or, a billboard like this one (with a cop car hiding behind it).

[wm3798]

I found some antique matchbooks years ago that featuring 1964 Plymouths that made perfect billboards.  You can buy them by the pound at most antiques malls with all manner of businesses printed on the covers.

Lee

[Dave V]

Or, a billboard like this one (with a cop car hiding behind it).

Maybe, but the cop behind it feels a little gimmicky.

I need to make a Yuengling billboard!!!

[wm3798]

Wrong division...  Was there a brewery in Tyrone or Lewistown?

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Wrong division...  Was there a brewery in Tyrone or Lewistown?

There's always Rolling Rock.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Maybe, but the cop behind it feels a little gimmicky.

100%. But putting a bit of bare earth there might be a fun nod to it.

[Dave V]

There's always Rolling Rock.

Yes, I could do that! From the glass-lined tanks of Old Latrobe, we tender this premium beer to you as a tribute to your good taste. 33.

We used to get cases of the Rolling Rock painted longnecks at Penn State.

[Point353]

Wrong division...  Was there a brewery in Tyrone or Lewistown?

The historic PA whiskey distilleries were nearly all killed off by prohibition. Today, there are some craft distillers.
One that survived was Overholt, based in Broad Ford near Connellsville.
Production stopped in PA in the mid-1950s and the brand was eventually acquired by James Beam.
Suntory-James Beam continues to offer some whiskey under the Overholt label, but it's made in KY.
https://www.overholtrye.com/a-overholt

Some history of the Overholt company and the abandoned site in Broad Ford:
https://www.thirdstopontheright.com/broad-ford-distillery-old-overholt-whiskey/
https://www.thirdstopontheright.com/broad-ford-overholt-distillery/

One of their ads from 1951:

[robert3985]

By the way, the road meets all applicable standards for a two-lane US highway in accordance with the Manual for Uniform Traffic Control Devices in effect in 1950. Lane width is 12 feet, and the stripes are 15 feet long with 20 foot gaps. I believe the real gap length would have been 25 feet but I wanted to compress it a little bit considering how compressed the scene already is. I had trouble finding out what the road surface would have been on US 22 in Pennsylvania then…could have been concrete slab or could’ve been asphalt. I read that concrete slab was usually closer to cities with higher traffic volumes and asphalt usually more rural, so that’s what I went with.

@Dave V - Hmmmm...looking very nice Dave!  Are you keeping these two modules permanently screwed together?  Methinks that would probably be a good idea unless storage and/or transportation space doesn't allow it.

I've got three comments.  First, would fencing be something that happened regularly in rural Pennsylvania in your time period??...like for livestock or to mark where railroad property begins?  That might be a good addition and really wouldn't detract from your whole "negative space" exercise.  I assume the fencing would delineate railroad property along the right-of-way, and maybe alongside the highway off of the highway easement to keep cattle off of the highway, or something like that.

Second, would a highway guardrail on either the inside or outside of the curving highway edge be something that was regularly applied?  The right kind of guardrail would be a subtle, but definite era-defining feature.  I've got prototype photos of the 1950's Lincoln Highway guardrails here in Utah that are definitely NOT what is in current use on two-lane roads if you're interested.

Third, I did a little research into 1950's highway traffic markings in that era, and since you're modeling a curve, it would be logical that this section of highway would be a no-passing zone, for both lanes.  AI indicates that in Pennsylvania in the 50's, no-passing striping regulations for no passing in both lanes would have been indicated by two yellow solid lines with the white dashed line running down the middle.  Other research says that in other parts of the country, the solid lines in the 1950's might be yellow...or might be white...or might not be there at all, but, in Pennsylvania, would definitely be there, and probably in yellow.

Research also says that 1950's no-passing striping was required by most States on major highways, but were often not present at all on lighter-trafficked local and State roads.

Something to think about.

Cheerio!
Bob Gilmore

[jargonlet]

Yes, I could do that! From the glass-lined tanks of Old Latrobe, we tender this premium beer to you as a tribute to your good taste. 33.

We used to get cases of the Rolling Rock painted longnecks at Penn State.

What about a Ye Olde Frothingslosh sign?

[Dave V]

@Dave V - Hmmmm...looking very nice Dave!  Are you keeping these two modules permanently screwed together?  Methinks that would probably be a good idea unless storage and/or transportation space doesn't allow it.

I've got three comments.  First, would fencing be something that happened regularly in rural Pennsylvania in your time period??...like for livestock or to mark where railroad property begins?  That might be a good addition and really wouldn't detract from your whole "negative space" exercise.  I assume the fencing would delineate railroad property along the right-of-way, and maybe alongside the highway off of the highway easement to keep cattle off of the highway, or something like that.

Second, would a highway guardrail on either the inside or outside of the curving highway edge be something that was regularly applied?  The right kind of guardrail would be a subtle, but definite era-defining feature.  I've got prototype photos of the 1950's Lincoln Highway guardrails here in Utah that are definitely NOT what is in current use on two-lane roads if you're interested.

Third, I did a little research into 1950's highway traffic markings in that era, and since you're modeling a curve, it would be logical that this section of highway would be a no-passing zone, for both lanes.  AI indicates that in Pennsylvania in the 50's, no-passing striping regulations for no passing in both lanes would have been indicated by two yellow solid lines with the white dashed line running down the middle.  Other research says that in other parts of the country, the solid lines in the 1950's might be yellow...or might be white...or might not be there at all, but, in Pennsylvania, would definitely be there, and probably in yellow.

Research also says that 1950's no-passing striping was required by most States on major highways, but were often not present at all on lighter-trafficked local and State roads.

Something to think about.

Cheerio!
Bob Gilmore

The modules are separate but at the moment they're kinda stuck together with scenery, LOL.

Guardrail yes. Maybe on the no-passing zone? Like I said, I went round and round on this. Repainting's gonna be tough now that it's attached to the layout.

As for the double yellow stripes, no... My era spans the end of World War II up to the mid 50s, and all the research I've done (not AI but highway documentation) suggests that yellow striping for opposing lane traffic didn't really start until the late 50s and didn't become standard until the 1960s. Photo evidence in my library of PRR books from the steam era confirms this.

This film from 1959 shows white dashed stripes separating opposing lanes on US Highway 30 in Iowa. If you watch you can see they're just adding yellow striping over the white at this late date...3 years after the end of my era.

https://lincolnhighwaynews.com/2010/09/16/amazing-1959-film-of-iowas-us-30/

Just to be sure I wasn't talking out of my a$$, I went back through my PRR steam books. Not too many great photos of roads in them, but found a few. No yellow stripes to be seen anywhere. Since I want to keep it appropriate for 1945 as well as 1956, I'll keep with the white (though I may see if I can add the solid stripe without much trouble).

I don't see a lot of fencing--or any, really--adjacent to the right of way in all of my reference books on the Middle Division. In town, yes, but not in the countryside.

What about a Ye Olde Frothingslosh sign?

I had to look that up, so I would imagine if the whole purpose of adding a billboard is to establish era and locale, that would be entirely too obscure for the non-Pennsylvania viewer. Now, granted, my roots are Lancaster County and Penn State, so Pittsburghese isn't my first language.

Honestly I was excited about the billboard idea before but now I'm wondering if it'll be distracting.

[Point353]

@Dave V

Third, I did a little research into 1950's highway traffic markings in that era, and since you're modeling a curve, it would be logical that this section of highway would be a no-passing zone, for both lanes.  AI indicates that in Pennsylvania in the 50's, no-passing striping regulations for no passing in both lanes would have been indicated by two yellow solid lines with the white dashed line running down the middle.  Other research says that in other parts of the country, the solid lines in the 1950's might be yellow...or might be white...or might not be there at all, but, in Pennsylvania, would definitely be there, and probably in yellow.

Research also says that 1950's no-passing striping was required by most States on major highways, but were often not present at all on lighter-trafficked local and State roads.

Have you checked the 1948 edition of the MUTCD?
If not, you can download a copy from this site: https://mutcd.kittelson.com/

[Dave V]

Have you checked the 1948 edition of the MUTCD?
If not, you can download a copy from this site: https://mutcd.kittelson.com/

That's where I got this. Only I used 20- rather than 25-foot gaps in the stripes for selective compression.

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US 22 between Mount Union and Huntingdon was definitely a 2-lane rural road back then.

Yeah, I can see a good case to "solidify" the road striping, but it's staying white.

[Chris333]

Many old photos I've seen do not have any markings.

[Dave V]

Many old photos I've seen do not have any markings.

Same. But on a US highway, there'd likely be striping. To wit:

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As an aside, the 1954 revision to the 1948 MUTCD doesn't address road marking colors, suggesting the 1948 recommendations were still in effect.