That's the plan, Boxcab. I'll tinker with this one yet and try to take care of some of the boo-boos. But as I remarked elsewhere, after I complete 20 buildings it will be time to go back and do 'em all over again ... because I'll finally know what I'm doing. Until then, stuctures likes this are a step up from paper mockups. And when these early structures are replaced, they can be moved into the background somewhere where they'll be less visible. Jim
Yes, +1 on the work and the plausible history. I've always like to read about the history of model layouts, like the V&O. I think it's an important aspect for the believability of the layout, much like what scenery does. I did kind of the same thing, but I started with the actual history and then gave mine an alternate ending, you might say. You can read it on the first post of the blog if you're interested.
Badland and Bendtracker, thanks for the kind words and encouragement. Hats off to you for wading through so much text! Bendy, I checked out your blog and enjoyed your backstory as well, especially the surprise appearance by the C&NW. I'll be visiting again to poke around some more. I really liked the look of the track plan, and look forward to reading more about your operations. Jim
That would be incredibly awesome. Unfortunately, probably not ... unless I somehow end up with more space than I can dream of to build the ultimate layout in. If I eventually get 350-400 square feet, I could probably fit in most everything I want. But I hadn't necessarily considered the Kate Shelley bridge as part of that. It would take a considerable amount of space to do justice to even a condensed version of the real thing. However, I've had some vague ideas about trying to incorporate something that would be at least a visual tip of the hat to the Kate Shelley. But that's years into the future. In my current space, if I knock down one wall and widen a doorway, I'll be able to put up the four HCDs that would comprise Cedricsburg, and probably have additional staging for 6-8 long trains. But that's about all I can cram in this basement. Jim
Yep, it would be around twelve foot long! Someone down here built one in HO scale. Gonna have to find that guy....
Here's my second (meager) attempt at scratchbuilding. Not quite done yet, but probably about as far as I'm going to go with it for now. I'm still learning the basic skills, and how to get a passable brick appearance. For mortar, I diluted white tempera paint 50% with water, and added a drop of detergent. The mix was brushed on and wiped off, and a single ink wash was applied. It's nothing to brag about, but you gotta start somewhere, right? On the other hand, if you're like me and have never tried something like this before, it shows that even a newb can knock out something that vaguely resembles a building. So try it out. You'll look good by comparison. Two of the eight buildings that will make up the Armstrong meat packing plant are "done." I'll revisit these at some point and try to clean up the boo-boos, but they'll do for now. Here's a couple looks at how the plant is progressing: I'd planned to experiment with a different brand of brick sheet on the next building, but the manufacturer dropped the ball (and my order). So ... one more building with the NSA sheet, then I'll see what kind of mayhem I can inflict on a wooden "brick" sheet. Jim
Well, it's been more than a year ... hboy: I don't think I touched the layout from April through October last year. Got back into it in the fall, and made a few more attempts at scratchbuilding structures and putting together the MTL icehouse kit. I haven't put up the track plan yet. Here's where I'm at: It's a pretty crude representation, as I used the old Atlas freeware, and didn't spend any time trying to beautify it. For instance, in real life that spur at left nicely follows the mainline curve. Yeah, it's a loop, but I operate it as a point-to-point, with local switch jobs departing the yard and traveling clockwise around to serve the industries on the backside. So while the yard and the Armstrong plant are side-by-side on the table, they're more than four miles apart from an operational standpoint. I only have two of the classification tracks in, but the rest should be going down shortly. Sometime this year I hope to reach Phase III of construction, and add a third HCD perpendicular to the other two at lower left. The new HCD will hold a passenger station, small coach yard, and freight house. Stage IV will (eventually) allow me to double-end all the yard tracks, add a couple industries, and move Rhee Produce to the other end of the layout, making way for a turntable and roundhouse. In the meantime, there's plenty of work to do on structures, scenery, roads, etc. And, of course, just runnin' trains. Jim
I'll get an updated plan up sometime soon. Essentially, there will be two left-handed switches cut in to the mainline at the lower left. The track from one of these switches will meet up on the new table with that spur at far left, creating a 'Y' and the lead to the passenger station and coach yard. The other switch off the main will lead to the freight house/team track area. Until I get to Phase V (the addition of staging), the passenger station will be used primarily for staging during ops sessions. Currently, I can only stage two generic trains. One is parked on the spur at left, and the other sits on the turnback curve at far right. Those trains just travel a few feet into the yard at the appropriate time to drop or pick up cars, then head right back to staging. For now, the emphasis is on switching in the yard and running 4-5 switch jobs to serve Armstrong packing plant and the other industries. Once the passenger area is in, I'll have 4-5 tracks available for staging, which will be a big improvement. Thanks for asking.
Since the question was asked ... here's my current thinking on what Phase III will look like. The six tracks to the left serve the passenger station. The first four of these are A/D tracks, with the last two primarily serving as a coach yard. One of the "yard" tracks can serve as an A/D track during the commuter rush, if necessary. The first and fourth tracks are designed to serve the long through trains. The "City" trains would have plied this route, and I have Kato's COLA, so I needed a couple tracks long enough to handle an 11-car consist. The second and third tracks are capable of serving shorter trains (up to six cars) which require turning. The four tracks at right are the freight station/team tracks. The first of these tracks (from the left) will be mostly inside the station, with the second served by a loading platform along the exterior of the building. A narrow road will run between the third and fourth tracks to provide access for loading/unloading. As I mentioned earlier, I'll primarily use the passenger tracks to stage freight trains when this section is first built. I won't be making much effort to model passenger activities until after Phases IV and V (the completion of the freight yard and construction of adequate staging). I'm open for suggestions here, so if you have thoughts on improving the design, I'm all ears. Jim
I've been playing with some mockups for building placement, to get an idea of what the scenic possibilities are for the Missouri Valley Western. Here's a quick tour. Above is the view from the east end of Cedricsburg yard. That white scrap in the foreground marks the spot for the future yard tower, based on a C&NW prototype. The first industry encountered traveling eastward is Clinton Cereal Company. The two tracks in the foreground are for a temporary industry that will eventually be shifted to the other end of the layout. The cereal company will eventually look something like this Quaker oats plant in Davenport, Iowa: I'm not modeling that particular plant, but just trying to capture the feel. Clinton Cereal is located inside a turnback curve. I thought its height would help hiding the curve, but I've been pleasantly surprised at how effective it is. Watching a train disappear behind it and pop out traveling in another direction gives the distinct feel that we've fast-forwarded to a different section of the railroad. I used four DPM kits to make up both sides of the street for a city block. The DPM buildings seen from the back will be 2-2.5" deep, while the building fronts across the street will only be about 1/4" deep. I'll be playing with the locations, probably adding a parking lot or two to provide a better glimpse of the street and the building fronts. These buildings are about 3/4" higher than the mainline; I'll taper off that ridge with Sculptamold or something. I'll eventually want to gain about 2" in street height as the backdrop wraps around toward the future passenger station. Doolittle Manufacturing in the lower right corner is currently the only facing-point spur on the layout. There will eventually be others. The little "uptown" area is terminated by this street. Right across the street from Doolittle is one of the most important customers on the line -- Armstrong packing plant. Here's a view from what will eventually be the center of the layout. Yep, Armstrong packing is right behind Cedricsburg yard. They're a couple inches apart, but about 4.5 miles apart operationally speaking. And finally, here's a shot of the layout overall. Lots to do yet. But everything is fully operational, so I can run trains and operate as I plod along on the scenery. This is my first N scale layout, and the first layout I've ever developed this far, so I'm learning as I go. Jim
