A point I touched on briefly in a previous post but worth returning to on the subject of realism - there are "interesting" scenes and there are realistic ones and the two aren't necessarily the same. Now I've never seen this module, nor know the exact era it depicts, so I have no way of judging which (or both) it might be. However, as an increasing number of years separates us particularly from the so often modeled Transition-Era, a distinct leaning toward caricature is sneaking into the modeling of it, sometimes making it look like a George Sellios scene.
As someone who lived through that era, let me quickly point out that, except perhaps in the worst parts of the big cities, rundown, dilapidated structures with filthy surroundings were decidely the exception and not the norm. Even during the heart of the Great Depression such scenes didn't exist on a broad scale! Neither were freight cars of either period typically so heavily weathered as to be almost unidentifiable. I have some fine pictures from WWII showing freight yards filled with cars whose major weathering consists of no more than slightly faded paint and an overall coating dust. Rolling wrecks in those periods are largely a myth (unlike some of today's rolling stock!). Always keep in mind that even photos of structures or rolling stock that appear to be in particularly sad shape were probably taken because they stood out as such decided exceptions.
So, again, I'd advise anyone not modeling an era they aren't intimately familiar with themselves, to adhere closely to a cross section of good photographs whenever possible. Color images are always preferable, even with their potential for color shifts, because early B&W film had a decidely different spectral response than does the human eye.
CNJ999, modeling New York and New England in the autumn of 1941