Atlas Model Railroad Co. Product Review

ATLAS’ PRE-ASSEMBLED BARB’S BUNGALOW

MODEL RAILROAD NEWS – December 2003

Review by John Sipple

1920s era bungalow-style house, MSRP: Built-up $34.95; Kit $19.95

Atlas Model Railroad Co., Inc.
378 Florence Avenue
Hillside, NJ 07205
908-687-0880 – FAX: 908-687-8857
www.atlasrr.com

Atlas has always sought to provide an all-around offering for model railroaders. They are, in this release, delivering a bungalow-style house in a pre-assembled, pre-painted form, ready to be installed on your layout. The second in their Lovely Ladies Home Series, Barb’s Bungalow is offered in your choice of smoky gray, light blue, and black; mustard, pine green, tan; or white, dark green, black. There is also an unpainted kit version.

The Prototype
In the years between the two world wars, various companies, including Sears & Roebuck, offered house kits through their catalogs. In addition to substantial price savings over custom-built homes, the standard architectural design guaranteed a livable house when it was completed. The future owner would work with real estate people and contractors to locate a site, order the house, and have it built. It would arrive all in a single boxcar load complete with windows, doors, and various trim features included. The contractor would prepare the site, arrange for utilities to be run to the location, and then bundles of building supplies would be delivered from the rail yards.

Right down the street from where I live, I can find at least two dozen such bungalow houses. While some have been remodeled and modernized, many retain much of their original character. I see a lot of pride of ownership among the people who live at these homes. They are generally well built and appealing. Most are small, having two bedrooms and a single bathroom with something on the order of 12 to 14 hundred square feet. The spotting signs for a kit bungalow in fairly original condition would be the hip roof with abundant overhand. Later construction would feature straight roofs and less overhand to save money. Unlike earlier railroad period houses, kit bungalows usually sit well up on foundations, often with basements underneath (containing model railroads!)

Look for large front porches held up in front with tapered posts atop either wooden or stone pillars. Also expect casement windows and very often some sort of dormer. These can range from ornamental arched “eyebrow” dormers to the model’s functional upstairs bedroom.

The Model
From the steps in front to the sloping cellar doors in the rear, this house is just cuter than a bug’s ear. I have no idea who Barb is, but I dig her pad! The narrow horizontal siding and composition-style roof shingles are all traits of an original house as are the porch railings. In back, you’ll even find sloping cellar doors. Those are the metal Bilco-style cellar doors, the kind we liked to slide down as kids. You’ll have to supply your own rail barrel to conform to the old song, but the gutters and down spouts are there.

The foundation represents a style where the basement hole would have been dug out to about five feet in depth and the floor and sides made with squared stone or concrete blocks. I have seen some still this way, but many have been sealed up inside with something such as gunnite. The sides of the porch feature a vertical lattice which was common then, unlike the diagonal lattices of today. A red brick chimney tops off the structure.

The windows are glazed, but the interior is empty. Since the roof and baseplate are glued on pretty well, you might have in interesting time trying to pry one or the other off to add interior detail. Perhaps if you want to add an interior you should start with the kit. There is a hole in the baseplate to install a light, though I’d try to wrap the bulb with some sort of diffuser and get it well up into the eves.

Pre-assembly (built-up) structures have been appearing on the market in increasing numbers, and the modeler has to choose between them and kits. While you certainly pay to have someone else build your kit, the quality workmanship sometimes exceeds mine. Also, the time saved on building the kit is often returned in more time for locating the built-up structure on the layout and detailing it into place. Most of the current crop of remaining bungalows are now imbedded in bushes, trees, and flower gardens.

Often, they have added-on garages, some still having the split-style driveway with a grass strip down the middle. Clotheslines, back fences, swing sets, barbecue grilles, and other symptoms of civilization surround them. Power and phone lines would frequently arrive from different poles and angles. Some weathering on the shingles, rust on the cellar doors, and wear streaks on the steps and porch would also help settle the model into its landscape.

Summary
It is common to find several kit bungalows in the same location since they represented some of the earlier subdivision building projects. By now they are all painted different colors and have endured different owners. Many are now rentals. Because you save time on the construction, you now have time to customize their installation into your layout. As such, these built-up kit bungalows are a welcome addition to the HO neighborhood. There is also an unpainted kit version available, if you have interior plans. Either way, the end result is a dandy.