K,
Concerning the overpriced copper chimney and the buckling wood deck, quoting Dustin Hoffman in "The Graduate," I have one word for you: "Plastic." Actually, styrene, but potato, po-tah-to.
One question: how does yout pin works scale out, relative to most of your 1:20.3 rolling stock? And is that a new or old flatcar? Also, what about figures?
The more I see of that era, the more I think modeling turn-of-the-century is the way to go. Ya can have a few cars, some horses and wagons, and lots of neat industries that don't exist today. No need for pavement or sidewalks either.