West-Texas Project

Covid gives me enough time for my West Texas project. I should make the hidden staging loop for the Texas & Pacific RR ready for operation. That would give the opportunity to travel from one staging loop to another. 

But instead, I continue with my next city on the SP line: Marfa/Tx.!
In order to find the right place for the station building I had to plan it backwards and built the prominent buildings of downtown Marfa first. My plan is to show the situation of Highland Street as close to reality as possible. On a vacation trip to West Texas last year I shot some pics of these buildings:


    

If I understand well, you have glue the photos from the prototype on hand made structures ?
Great and big job.

Yes, I did. But first, you have to correct the perspectiv and to wipe out peoples, cars and trees in front of the building. Then you cut away all not needed parts of the picture. I did it with photoshop. Then you glue the photo on a piece of cardstock. To create deapth, you cut out the windows and doors and glue another photo from behind on the cardstock. If you need more structure, like one the bay windows of the hotel, you need there some additionnal layers.

In another thread (micro structures) there is a very interesting discussion about the right dimensions of buildings. 
Well, look at the huge Paisano Hotel and the other buildings on Highland St.! Space is not a problem in West Texas. But even there, the width of the Main Street is extraordinary.

   

You’re really got the town looking great. It’s hard to suggest any changes or additions. Wide main streets were a common design feature with the hope that some day streetcars or trains would run down the middle.

I’m pleased you liked the city layout comments. That’s just one of several city layout plans. I believe that much of Texas is not laid out to those sort of rules due to the Spanish/Mexican influence. The same can be said for many of the Spanish settled cities of coastal California.

Another common plan is “wheel and spoke” where street are laid out like a wagon wheel. City blocks are shaped like triangles and rhombus as are many buildings. Cities like Denver and Seattle and I believe Dallas-Fort Worth are built that way.

Gotta figure out how to attach more than 2

Thank you, folkZ, for your comments!
What really satisfies me ist the fact, that every building along Highland St. is prototypical in its dimensions. The only cheating is the fact that I had to leave out a whole cityblock on the way from the RR crossing to the courthouse. I´ve choosen not to compress the buildings but to leave out the less interesting ( or not good enough documentet) buildings. A "must have" was a little park near the RR tracks, as it is documented on an old picture of Marfa.