Layout Road Names, etc.


Railrunner130

Railrunner130

Well-Known Member
While mentally assembling my railroad, I've decided to include musical references to the layout.

For example, I'm planning on using the following:

A Tastee-Freez restaurant from John Mellencamp's "Jack and Diane".

Naming a road "Gypsy Angel Row" after Bruce Springsteen's "Spirits In The Night".

Naming another road "Thunder Road" after Springsteen's song by the same title.

Naming a seedy little motel by the ocean (if my railroad makes it that far) "Memory Motel", after the Rolling Stones song.

I know there are some other great ideas out there.

1. Does/Has anyone else done this?
2. What other ideas do you have?
 
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I went in the large Road Atlas I have & closed my eyes & picked a town or city in ea. state & made signs & screwed them to the faciaBoard on the Layout.:D
 
For me, I make reference to my family for the railroad name, cities/towns etc. Now I make reference to real towns, counties and other railroads, but for my "world" its all named by me.
 
Just finished this little scratch build and used a character from Tumbleweeds cartoon strip for the name and catch phrase.
 
My railroad is the "Western Plains" set in 1998 with heavy mainline power as a class 1 railroad whose main comodity is IMS and grain... Getting my first unit painted up as we speak!!
 
Aren't we forgetting the most obvious one? Alice's Restaurant, just a half a mile from the railroad track.

Steve S
 
We live a little South of Lake Winnipeg so the layout is the Lake Winifred Sub named after my Grandmother. Other places are named for family & friends, or just have names that suited the scene. (Black Bear Lake for example has lots of the critters around the water)
I do have Copperhead Road, which was to have a still at the end.
 
While all the towns, and other locations are real place names from my home state, the businesses in those towns, are named after friends. The only one not named for a friend, IS Alice's Restaurant in Burnsville, a small RR town, and junction.

I've had Alice on all the layouts I've had since the album and movie came out.
 
I have named points on my layout after friends who have passed on as well as names made up to highlight an industry, i.e. Dig Deep Coal Mines, Slick Oil Facility, Can't lift loading docks etc.
 
Small town (3 N scale buildings on an HO layout) on top of a the highest hill - Summit
Town of flats on top of a cliff -Clifton
Whistle stop at bottom - Valley View
 
Wow! How could I have forgotten Alice's? And Hotel California? And Seven Bridges Road? Classics.

Just the title of Copperhead Road reminds me of Tobacco Road, from David Lee Roth's first solo album.

Of course, there's Abbey Road.
 
Tobacco Road, try the Nashville Teens (actually British and not teens at the time) hit version from 1964. And Edgar Winter did a kick butt 17 minute version in the 70's
DLR is just one of dozens of other covers.
 
Places on my layout will be named after surrounding counties (Stark, Summit, Wayne, Medina, Ashland, Knox, Carroll, Holmes, Mahoning etc) and some family or names from favorite movies. (Kosco, Green, Callahan etc)
 
U could name one roadway Venutra Highway? Haha if u like America :) U could also make a desert portion, put a horse and a guy w/ a guitar in it, and call it "No Name Desert" lol... Tasty Freez is also referred to in the song Hillbilly Deluxe which is where I assumed u had taken it from until I read on. I can think of alot of references. Chuck Berry had a "Turtle Creek" in one of his songs lol :) Flat River Bridge from "If Heaven Weren't so far Away".... mmm... Haha reba sings "The night the lights went out in georgia" and the bar is named Webs... haha im sry im not sure what kinda songs ur looking for hope i helped at least a little :D
 
The town names are real, based lightly on the prototypes. On my actual layout, we are working to scratch build or kitbash buildings modelled after real buildings in those towns. But on my TrainPlayer layouts, the industries are catch phrases or rhyming names turned into titles. Like Free's Market or Doyle's Oil. Just silly stuff. On one layout design that had two levels, the small yard up top didnt have a name as it was just a holding area and turnaround point for the trains working the second level. So I named it the Upper Deck. Road and street names are just random ones I think up.
 
Thunder Road? I thought you were talking about the Robert Mitchum song from the movie by the same name. Must hold the record for number of times shown at the drive-in theater
 
Well being a big Disney nut, I've tried to incorporate many a reference into my layout. Luckily there are quite a few movies and locations to taken names from.

For instance, the local gas station is a Dinco (Toy Story/Cars) which will be right next to Annette's Diner (Disneyland Paris, named after Annette Funicello).

Before you catch your train at the nearby station, why not stop off at the traditional British pub, The Rose & Crown (UK pavilion EPCOT Center).

Talking of the station, you might spot the odd Great Northern (Iron Will) or a Western Pacific (Bur-r-bank Ice Cream Parlour, Disney's California Adventure)

That's to name just a few.
 
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