Pittsburgh area modelers, don't miss out! http://www.trainboard.com/grapevine...o-Wants-A-Free-6-x-12-portable-Model-Railroad Mike
I want to publicly thank Mike for the layout. It arrived at my house safe and sound and already my neighbor is considering switching from HO to N scale. He did some measurements to see if he could build it in HO and it scaled out to 11 X 22 feet. That would make it too big for his available space. I am thinking of making two additional six foot sections that could be added to the sides so that the layout could expand to 6 X 24 feet. I intend to work on this over the winter and hopefully will have it available for shows in 2014.
Awesome! I'm glad a fellow Trainboarder was able to get it! Is that two additional 6 foot sections PER SIDE or just one per side? If it's just one per side I think that would extend it out to 18 feet vs. 24, which would still be very cool! It would certainly extend the length of Dante Yard and the mainline run as well as having a nice long passing siding on the side opposite of the yard. I can recommend a couple of books that would be worth getting: Clinchfield Country by Steve King Clinchfield In Color by Morning Sun Books Clinchfield Railroad In The Coal Fields by Robert Helm All three can usually be found on eBay without too much difficulty. Definitely keep us posted with progress shots and I look forward to seeing it live and in person again at a show next year! If there's anything I can do to help out let me know! Mike
I plan on keeping the current side pieces and making 6 six foot modules (three to a side) that I could then substitute to make the layout larger. For those unfamiliar with the layout it is 6 X 12 and consists of four sections, two end sections that are 6 feet wide by about 3 feet long and two side sections that are 2' X 6'. There is a 2'X6' gap in the middle of the layout much like the typical Ntrak setup. Mike and I discussed taking up the track and replacing it with C55 and that remains doable at least for the open trackwork. The hidden track can remain C80. Most of the hidden track is on the end sections. I have some Atlas C55 flex and a couple of switches that I can use to get started. I must admit that seeing the layout in person is different than seeing it unfold in the Model Rairoader series. In person the layout seems a lot smaller than the photos in the magazine. In truth it is but only by one foot. The real Clinchfield was 6' X 13'. Adding to its length will, I think, make the layout more enjoyable.
Wow, with that sort of expansion it'll be a club sized layout! The "Clinchfield Club" Can't wait to see the renovation! Mike
Here is a follow up to the saga of the traveling Clinchfield RR layout that I received from Mike as noted in the above posts. The layout was set up and I started to work on it to complete it. But as usual, life got in the way and the layout sat still unfinished in my basement. During this time I formulated all kinds of plans on what I could do but no decisions were made as which were to be accepted and which were to be discarded. So the layout sat and sat with nothing being done. During this time I got involved in a model RR club operated by the township police dept as part of their D.A.R.E. program for kids. My wife came up with the idea that since I was not doing anything with the layout that I should consider donating it to the club for the kids to work on. They had layouts featuring O and HO but no N scale. So I made the proposal to the club and they, very enthusiastically, said they would welcome the layout. The layout now occupies part of the club's space in a an old school building which is now a community center and is being worked on by a bunch of youngsters. The trackwork has been completed and we are into the scenery phase. The railroad is no longer the Clinchfield but rather the Montour as the Montour RR, at one time, ran through the community. It got some nice comments from people at the recent Christmas open house and also from those crusty old HO people from the local NMRA when they held their meeting at the club. Considering everything I think the current location is better than being in my basement as a lot more people will be able to see the layout and some good publicity for N scale is always needed.
Great idea, glad to see it can now make an impact on a whole bunch of up and coming model railroaders!!!
You do not often see the Montour modelled, so that is good news. Is there any product available for it in N scale? Does anyone even sell decals for it? You can buy Monongahela sharks and a caboose (although the era for the paint scheme on the caboose is not that of the sharks), but never have I seen any Montour products in N. It ran SW-somethings for diesels and 2-8-0s and 0-8-0s for steam, as I seem to recall. I will have to dig out my P&LE books to see. Good to know that it is serving a useful purpose with the young people, as well.
I know nothing about steam but the Montour had SW9's. After those were retired they were assigned SW1500's from the P&LE. I probably have some of the same P&LE books you have. I just happen to be reading mine presently for some modeling info. I know Blueford Shops ran their USRA 2 bay and their 14 panel 3 bay for the Montour. I've a friend who models the Montour and I've not seen any other freight cars for the Montour offered. We've scoured trains shows for a long while now. But I am by no means an expert on N scale freight cars. The P&LE historical society ran some decals for the Montour back around 2012. Good luck finding any of those as it looks like that society has been inactive for a while now. Which kinda bums me out since I've taken an interest in the P&LE after taking an interest in the Monongahela since I model Conrail and PC. Funny how it has kinda snowballed.
The Montour RR was almost strictly a coal hauler although it did have other industries along its right of way. But it existed to haul coal basically from the mines to the prep plant. One of the cardinal rules on the Montour was that only 2 bay 50 and 55 ton hoppers were to be used between the mines and the prep plant. The reason was simple, there were no scales and the Montour was paid by the carload not by tonnage. So they got the same amount for a 50 ton car as a 100 ton car. Larger capacity cars could be used to ship the coal from the prep plant to off line destinations and connections were available with the PRR, B&O, N&W (P&WV) and P &LE. These cars would be weighed, probably by the receiving RR, so they could bill the receiving customer. Regarding those Montour decals, those were pirated by someone from the P&LE historical society from me. I had noticed on a website which I believe was 'Great Decals' that someone, who I think is now deceased, was offering HO scale decals of both the Montour and P&LE RR's. I contacted them and asked if they could do the same decals in N scale. They could and did and I got a supply. I gave a couple to an individual in our club who also was with the P&LE society. He then contacted the printer and had more decals made. He thus by-passed both myself and the man who originally commissioned the artwork. A bit unethical I thought but knowing the individual as I did, not totally out of keeping with his character.
And we have confirmation of the fact I am not an expert on N scale freight car offerings. Thanks Paul. Somehow we missed that one.
A few years ago, the P&LE historical society was selling a Montour caboose model in N (and HO): https://www.plerrhs.org/store/2011Caboose/2011CabooseOrderForm.pdf
As a former member of the P&LE Historical society, I'm not sure who is maintaining the web site, but the Historical society is pretty much dormant. If you have access to the caboose decals, Intermountain (Centralia Car Shops) still sells the P&LE version of the ex-Union Pacific CA-3 caboose that was used on the Mighty M. http://www.intermountain-railway.com/distrib/ccs/html/ccs6072.htm
To Paul Graf, Not only do these N Scale Montour Hoppers look Great, I also have the N Scale P&WV hoppers and they too look fantastic. Now what we need is a N scale P&WV caboose, yes I know Life-Like produced one years ago, I have two, but we need one in the more modern yellow logo, not the steam era white logo. We also need a P&WV and AC&Y Phase IV FM H16-44 (The one where the walkway is the same height all the way around the locomotive) And since Walthers / Life-Like seems to be sitting on the SW9's, how about a Atlas SW9 with the MU and Drop steps like the version used on the Montour? There were a number of other short lines that used MU SW9's like the Shawmut
