OK, I'll talk about something. I'm trying to get a 6 foot long N scale diorama ready for an event the club is participating early next month: http://www.levycountyhistoricalsociety.com/railroads---riverboats.html. There will be several buildings on the diorama, all using Clever Models texture files. I'll link to pictures after the event is over. Although I am modeling a prototype scene, it feels like I'm freelancing. I have the Sanborn map of the scene for 1884, and a small scale "bird's eye" drawing from the same year, but no photos, and so only a vague idea of the appearance on the buildings. I'm hoping after this I can assemble some of the kits to put on a layout.
There are a lot of gaps in the online collection, but I believe they're slowly filling in.
These are the only online Sanborn maps I've found that are reproduced in color, which is very useful -- it tells you, at a glance, what materials were used.
On the project I'm working on -- a GN layout set in Montana in the 1920s, the LOC has nothing. I went through a Montana historical web site, and I had to get a login (through my local library, if I remember correctly) but I managed to get all the towns my client needs for his layout -- Great Falls, Havre, Hingham , Pacific Junction, Shelby, Glacier, Whitefish & Kalispell.
The University of Florida has an extensive collection of Sanborn maps for Florida up to 1922 on line, in color. I don't know if they have all the Sanborn maps for Florida, but there are four for Cedar Key, 1884, which I am using, 1890, 1909 and 1920. The rail facilities at Cedar Key were at their peak in the 1880s, but declined after that, until the rails to Cedar Key were taken up in 1932. I did blog about my first attempt at this, but haven't added to it since I started over. I'll see what I can do in the next day or so.
alink well worth looking at . there's no shortage of beautiful modeling here. thanks for getting the ball rolling .
tanimate@gmail.com
https://www.loc.gov/search/?fa=partof%3Asanborn+fire+insurance+maps&sp=1
There are a lot of gaps in the online collection, but I believe they're slowly filling in.
These are the only online Sanborn maps I've found that are reproduced in color, which is very useful -- it tells you, at a glance, what materials were used.
On the project I'm working on -- a GN layout set in Montana in the 1920s, the LOC has nothing. I went through a Montana historical web site, and I had to get a login (through my local library, if I remember correctly) but I managed to get all the towns my client needs for his layout -- Great Falls, Havre, Hingham , Pacific Junction, Shelby, Glacier, Whitefish & Kalispell.
http://sanborn.umi.com/splash.html