I met Ed of the E.Suydam Company back in the 1960s while working in Duarte, California. Once in awhile I would drop by his shop for a short visit and talk about the old Pacific Electric days, his HO building kits, and his brass trolley imports from Japan. At least a dozen men and women were working there putting together the HO kits in the yellow boxes found in nearly every hobby store back then. I purchased all of his trolleys and many of his structures kits during this time. Some kits were wood, wood and cardboard, and even corrugated metal. All were a challenge to build and I sure was proud of my efforts. Today, however, they seem to fall short on the detail of plastic kits and master kits currently available, so it is not wise to mix them.
One of my favorite Suydam models was the ‘Combination Town Depot’ which was very close to the Southern Pacific standard design. The cardboard exterior walls were its downfall. However, the plastic windows and doors looked great. Wanting to improve the appearance of this model I decided to find a more attractive color scheme. I quickly found some Southern Pacific prototypes on the internet painted in the more attractive yellow and brown scheme. I bought several sheets of milled wood to replace the existing side walls. I disassembled the model, being careful not to tear the cardboard sides which would become templates from which to cut the milled wood sides. I popped out the doors and windows and the roof bracings and repainted them before cementing them to the painted milled wood sides. It was not a difficult job and I am pleased with the results. Now I feel that I can bring the model to the forefront of the layout since it is every bit as detailed as the remainder of my buildings.
One of my favorite Suydam models was the ‘Combination Town Depot’ which was very close to the Southern Pacific standard design. The cardboard exterior walls were its downfall. However, the plastic windows and doors looked great. Wanting to improve the appearance of this model I decided to find a more attractive color scheme. I quickly found some Southern Pacific prototypes on the internet painted in the more attractive yellow and brown scheme. I bought several sheets of milled wood to replace the existing side walls. I disassembled the model, being careful not to tear the cardboard sides which would become templates from which to cut the milled wood sides. I popped out the doors and windows and the roof bracings and repainted them before cementing them to the painted milled wood sides. It was not a difficult job and I am pleased with the results. Now I feel that I can bring the model to the forefront of the layout since it is every bit as detailed as the remainder of my buildings.
