Choosing And Naming Industries.(Advanced)


Brakie

Member
Choosing and naming industries is as important as choosing a road name.
The first basic questions we should ask our selves is:
A.Where is our railroad located?
You see the types of industries we choose should be the type we find in the area that we are modeling.If our railroad serves (say) Iowa then we should have several grain elevators.However,if we model a coal producing state then of course we should have several coal mines.If we model a industrial state then of course we should have various industries that is INDEPENDENT of each other and not dependent on each other of course there are some exceptions such as a logging railroad or a iron ore carrier from mines to lake dock.

B.What industry building fits our needs?
Thankfully we are blessed with several types of industry building kits or we can roll our own from kit bashing or using modular sections from DPM and Walthers.We can choose a building that fits our need to include the"background" buildings from Walthers.However..The building must fit the type of industry we are modeling..We wouldn't want to use a grain elevator for a cement plant.
C. Choosing a name.
The choosing of a name must fit the building again a grain elevator isn't a cement plant.
The name could fit the area that its located in-Great Lake Steel,Ohio Valley Steel,Mid Ohio Plastics and even Tri-State Grocers Distribution..Then we could go with regular local industry names such as North American Knitting,A.J. Wilson Manufacturing Corp etc.Then we can use the bigger corporations such as ADM,Pillsbury, Allied Chemical etc..Cutsy pie names should be avoided for layout believability.
D. Freelancing local industries.
This is the more fun but,difficult task..We must choose our freelance local industries wisely.First again where is the railroad located? What towns does it run through? What is the area sered? Is it farm? Industrial? Heavy industrial? How do we find this information? That might be the easiest part if you have a large library that has phone books from other cities.You see the yellow pages will reveal a lot of local industrial information.This same information can be found on line as well.Or if close enough a Sunday drive through the area being modeled or perhaps a vacation in the area we plan on modeling..Take a pen and note book and record the types of industries and those served by rail either past or present as well as those that are not.
Now of course we don't know if Hubbard Lumber is rail served or not but,in freelancing its the name we are after.Again avoid cutesy pie names and stick to believable industrial names.After all sooner or later the cutesy pie name will loose its humor.
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Just for fun:
Choose a industry and name for this building..

http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/933-3192


I will show the names I chosed later...
Please join in.
 
Good thread, Brakie. I agree with you about cutesy names for things. They are funny, but grow old in a hurry and too many will take away the theme of modeling a real railroad.
For your example: Thinking that it is for the more modern era and a light industry, I choose an electronics assembly plant.

PROTECH Assemblies
"A division of Alpha Security Systems"
 
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Most of the industries on my layout (set in 1925) will be the kind of industries that were found in this area of New York State back in those days. However the names will be mostly from my own family and will have some "inside humor". You may not figure it out but most family members will have a chuckle. Cooley's Blue Ice (my Mother's maiden name), Sherman Paint (cousin's married name), Lyon Imports (after my sister, the world traveler and artist), Fox Plumbing and Hardware (My Father in law was a plumber), and of course Howard's Dairy (well actually there was a Howard's Dairy owned and operated by my Great Uncle), etc. Why not have some fun along the way...?

For the name of that building... I would call it the "Way Too Modern Warehouse" on my pike:rolleyes: ;)
 
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Shoot, another topic I miss out on. I Have SWPC (South West Portland Cement) and a Cargill elevator, both prototypes. I guess its what I get for wanting a prototype based rr. As for my dad's he'll just be "fibbing" the history of copper mining in Upper MI, and using "prototype inspired" names.
 
Josh, what type industry and what would you name the industry in Brakie's link?
Shoot I missed that part, my mind passed over it as a signature!

Hummm, I'll have to go with, either of these:
B.M. Warehouse (Big Metal Warehouse) *wow maybe not*

Tester's Paints
Carr's Cycle design
 
Fred Meyer Distribution Center
Receive manufactured and other household goods for distribution to Northwest Fred Meyer Outlets.

Whenever my layout get up and going to Chehails, WA, I'm going to have one of these, since there is a real distribution center, though not on rail.
 
i'll go for this one, i worked for them over this side of the pond and they were a warehousing company who distributed Kellogs breakfast cerials,,, they are known as something else locally

Thompson International Transportation Services
 
Most of the industries on my layout (set in 1925) will be the kind of industries that were found in this area of New York State back in those days. However the names will be mostly from my own family and will have some "inside humor". You may not figure it out but most family members will have a chuckle. Cooley's Blue Ice (my Mother's maiden name), Sherman Paint (cousin's married name), Lyon Imports (after my sister, the world traveler and artist), Fox Plumbing and Hardware (My Father in law was a plumber), and of course Howard's Dairy (well actually there was a Howard's Dairy owned and operated by my Great Uncle), etc. Why not have some fun along the way...?

For the name of that building... I would call it the "Way Too Modern Warehouse" on my pike:rolleyes: ;)

There is certainly no reason not to name industries after family and friends.
Your industry names has a ring to them without being "cutesy pie" and sounds very believable.
 
Fred Meyer Distribution Center
Receive manufactured and other household goods for distribution to Northwest Fred Meyer Outlets.

Whenever my layout get up and going to Chehails, WA, I'm going to have one of these, since there is a real distribution center, though not on rail.

There is no reason why Meyer Distribution Center can't be rail served on your layout unless of course you are doing a prototypical detailed layout.:D
 
I was planning on it being rail served. It's going to be in an industrial park that also includes a frozen foods company 'National Frozen Foods' and a cement plant 'Central Redi-Mix', both of which are currently served by rail.
 
That's actually one of the kits I have my eye on with the idea it will fill in the area behind the back track on my layout (I may have made it too close to the wall though):
DSCF2552.sized.jpg


This is the industry it would be:
P1310085.sized.jpg

I'm pretty sure they don't use rail anymore - it's just another storage track now.
 
BUMP!
I know this ain't legal, but this is a good thread to keep going. Hope we have some more samples to name. It sharpens my thinking for my own industries.
 
Ok fellas here's my choices.I choose these names by using the yellow pages.

1.American Electrical Supply's
2. The Henderson Plastic Corp.A cover hopper unloading area would need to be added..This could be no more then a unloading grate between the rails since the holding vats could be located inside the plant..
3.Dunkirk Automotive-a sub contractor for floor mats
4.The Thurman Distribution Company-In tobacco products,beer,wine whiskey.
5.The Mitchell Manufacturing Corp.In plastic out bottle caps
5.Conner's Tire Distribution
7.Vellermens Cabinets..In cherry,oak and pine wood,varnish..Out cabinets
8.Siegel's-in carpets and linoleum rugs
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Please add you names.
 
There is a building in my hometown that is an almost exact copy of this. This building is less than twenty years old. Even down to the "covered" loading doors. Even another link to railroading is, its built on part of the site of the old Selma Shops of the SRR.

My name;
Manderson Distributing
"Purveyors of Fine Wines and Beers"
"In Business since 1940"
 



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