And now we move on to another neighborhood in my model railroad layout, a.k.a. Rose City: Orchard Heights is — wait for it — the Rose City neighborhood with the highest altitude. What a surprise! But it no longer has orchards, as it did in the 19th and early 20th centuries, so the name is only half apt. [Can one say that?]

As happens in many cities and towns, the neighborhood with the highest altitude also has the highest income. I’m sure there’s some reason for that.

For more context, see my discussion of all nine neighborhoods in the city as well as my explanation of the new development, which is part of Orchard Heights. Today it has a suburban feel and is rapidly adding more houses in the new development area. Orchard Heights also has the oldest synagogue in the city, Congregation Beth Shalom; more on that below.

So let’s start by approaching the new development from the top of the hill:

Zooming in on the house under construction, we see a nod-to-the-past cobblestone street and a variety of closely packed houses, especially in the third image (the second one below), where the camera angle makes everything look even more closely packed than it really is:

You may be wondering about the tiny house at the bottom. Even at HO scale it looks too small. But that’s because it’s the kids’ play house for the family in the light blue house to the left.

Next we see part of the oldest part of the neighborhood, including the smaller-than-necessary hospital (which needs more space) and the larger-than-necessary synagogue (which now needs less space, as so many members have moved to Newton).

But trouble is brewing. The Vice President of the congregation (who has not moved to Newton, as he considers Newton too woke) is distressed that the Church of the Trinity has moved in across the street, so he had his construction company erect a 50-foot-high Star of David facing the church:

In retaliation, the chair of the Community Relations Committee of the church put a Jesus Saves sign on the side of the church facing the synagogue.

Rose City needs some help from someone who can reconcile these unnecessarily clashing residents.

To conclude on a more pleasant note, here is a shot of the Orchard Heights commuter rail station:

More landscaping, miniature people, and — especially — weathering are still needed, so keep in mind that this is a work in progress.

Categories: Model Railroading