02-27-2010, 01:43 PM
I don't think it would be all that difficult to scratch build your luggage. If you make two of the windows rest rooms, you need to put in walls and doors from the waiting rooms. That eliminates probably two thirds of the floor space in the center section. You also need enough open floor space for the station agents to move around. That probably leaves a stack of luggage on the back wall. If I'm remembering correctly from my youth, most luggage in the 1950s was hard sided squares for small cases. My mother had one that was about a 12 inch cube that was called a "train case" by Samsonite. It was designed for personal care items and toiletries. The train case would have been a carry on, so would not be in the baggage room. All of the suit cases I remember from then were rectangular in shape. They would have some sort of reinforcement in the edges, but that would be such a small detail in ho that I would not bother trying to model it. Handles are hinged to fold flat, so you would not see them either. I suspect that they would have a shelf system so that suitcases and packages could be put on the shelves. I think trying to stack suitcases on top of one another mixed in with package freight would be unwieldy. I'm thinking that the baggage shelves would be along the wall without windows, and would probably not go all the way to the ceiling. It would probably only be one shelf and the floor underneath with enough clearance to the bottom of the shelf for a hand to easily reach in and grab a box or suitcase. If you made your suitcases 1/8 inch wide in ho, that would represent a suitcase about 10 inches deep. Vary the length from 3/8 to 1/2 inch and the 3/8 inch suitcases would be about 18 scale inches tall which comes to about 0.207 inches (roughly 3/16") rounded up. The 1/2 inch suitcases would be about 1/4 inch tall. You could cut a strip of 1/8 inch thick styrene roughly 0.207 inches wide and a second strip of the same material 0.250 inches wide. Then just use a chopper on the narrower strip to cut 3/8 inch long blocks, and 1/2 inch long blocks on the 1/4 inch inch material. I would make them all leather cases because I'm too lazy to try to paint brocade fabric in ho scale. Paint the top side, one end, and 1/8 inch of each side of the 1/2 inch long boxes in various shades of blacks, greys, browns, and tans. The suitcase on each end of a shelf should have one side painted completely, and then glue the bottoms of the suitcases to the shelf like library books. Glue your completed shelf assemblies to the wall and add a couple of wooden crates or cardboard boxes to the floor in front of the shelves.