Home Yard design for a logging shortline

Shortliner13 Mar 5, 2018

  1. Shortliner13

    Shortliner13 TrainBoard Member

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    So I am working on building the bench work of my N scale logging shortline called the Blue River Railroad (BRRR), yes the acronym was part of the reason why I picked the name. I already have a couple of section built and put in place. However, I do need some reference point in how to design the home yard for the railroad.

    The railroad has three engines, two shays and one ten-wheeler, a MOW train, two passenger cars, three caboose, and log bunk cars. I'm trying to make the whole layout feel like it's in the remote part of the Appalachia mountains where the only connection to the outside world is two sidings for Inbound and Outbound interchange with a Class 1 railroad. The home yard will be in the middle of the E shaped layout.

    Does anyone have any suggestion or reference points I can look at?

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    Kurt Moose likes this.
  2. traingeekboy

    traingeekboy TrainBoard Member

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    The type of railway you want is very unique. you may want to do some research on the real thing.

    https://www.usa.gov/libraries

    That is just one starter source. Libraries are very interconnected these days and you can get anything on Interlibrary loan. It depends on how developed your local library is, but our library allows one to check things out online and they send you an email when it gets there.

    But yeah, libraries man, they're a life saver. A month or two of reading some old books and you'll become our local authority on these logging lines.

    You'll be telling us what to do on our logging layouts. ;)
     
  3. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Your era I am guessing is pre-WWII? Maybe 1920's? 1930's?
     
  4. RCMan

    RCMan TrainBoard Member

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    I am interested, live just west of you in Tennessee.
     
  5. Shortliner13

    Shortliner13 TrainBoard Member

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    Yes, that is correct.
     
  6. Helitac

    Helitac TrainBoard Member

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    My favorite shortline, Feather River Railway, was basically a wye, with one leg going up into the forest, one leg at the sawmill, and one leg to it's connection with Western Pacific. Edit; there wasn't much of a yard at the mill, a few tracks for making/breaking trains and a small shop/service area. The interchange with W.P. was a couple of tracks. Definitely a smallish operation.
     
    Last edited: Mar 16, 2018
  7. JoeTodd

    JoeTodd TrainBoard Member

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    Just a thought, in North Carolina they had the Graham county railroad, it essentially a loggng railroad per say, they did haul finish limber, they interchange with the southern railway on the Murphy branch. Check it out the inter change was 3 tracks on the side of a mountain. They had 2 shay one was a 3 truck, the other was a 2 truck. Great history. The railroad is all but gone. But one of the shay 1925 is at the north Carolina Museum in Spencer NC, she did Operate for a few years, sadly just for display now. Thanks jt
     
    txronharris and Shortliner13 like this.

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