04-25-2013, 10:33 PM
A nice simple track plan with the potential for a lot of switching. I've found that simple is the best route to take for a switching layout, especially since most industrial spurs are themselves very simple in design. If your primary goal is to fine-tune your track laying and structure building skills, simple is certainly the way to go for a first layout.
I'd go a with food products distributor as the main industry as you could receive general service tank cars of cooking oils, box cars of packaged food products and refrigerators with produce or frozen meats. That's one of the main industries on my current plant and it has plenty of car variety and the requirement for certain car types to be spotted at specific locations. These facilities are certainly found all over the country. Using the end of the Elvis track for a transload/team track, gives you yet other potential car types, such as bulkhead flats and box cars of lumber and building products; perhaps covered hoppers of feed or plastics for an off-line industry, etc.
When going with a first time layout, far too many people tend to reject a prototypical plan that isn't filled with turnouts and track in every inch of the available space, when just a simple plan with one or two industrial spurs and interesting industries along with prototype operations is all you really need to enjoy a layout. I've found that a simple plan like Lance Mindheim's Palmetto Spur to be a very interesting layout, especially if you can expand its length and have at least three prototypical sized industries that can spot at least 4 cars each at specific spots. And of course the spur can be located any where you want it to be and operated as any railroad you choose. Even his recent single industry plan, based on a large bakery in Miami, FL, has a lot of potential and of course it wouldn't have to be in Miami, FL. Similar industrial spurs with only one or two industries on them are found all over the country.
I've been quite interested in the Memphis, TN area myself, as of course it was a terminal point for the L&N and there are many interesting industrial spurs in the area. Being a former L&N employee, the main theme of my freelance switching layout will be an L&N industrial spur, but since it's freelance, I'm free to choose the industries I want on the layout and can also operate it as a different railroad, should I desire to do so. I'm also considering having the ability to change the industries from time to time for further variety. I'm pretty much going with the same era as you, although I'm limiting it to 1977-1980 so I can justify the many short line IPD box cars that I have acquired over the past few years.
Depending on the era, you have a wide choice of railroad prototypes in the Memphis area, so you can use different motive power from any of the roads that served Memphis. R. J. Corman also operates several industrial spurs in the Memphis area on behalf of BNSF, so there again is another potential operating company, although that would put you in to the current era.
Will be looking forward to seeing how your layout progresses. Might inspire me to stop experimenting and start building!
I'd go a with food products distributor as the main industry as you could receive general service tank cars of cooking oils, box cars of packaged food products and refrigerators with produce or frozen meats. That's one of the main industries on my current plant and it has plenty of car variety and the requirement for certain car types to be spotted at specific locations. These facilities are certainly found all over the country. Using the end of the Elvis track for a transload/team track, gives you yet other potential car types, such as bulkhead flats and box cars of lumber and building products; perhaps covered hoppers of feed or plastics for an off-line industry, etc.
When going with a first time layout, far too many people tend to reject a prototypical plan that isn't filled with turnouts and track in every inch of the available space, when just a simple plan with one or two industrial spurs and interesting industries along with prototype operations is all you really need to enjoy a layout. I've found that a simple plan like Lance Mindheim's Palmetto Spur to be a very interesting layout, especially if you can expand its length and have at least three prototypical sized industries that can spot at least 4 cars each at specific spots. And of course the spur can be located any where you want it to be and operated as any railroad you choose. Even his recent single industry plan, based on a large bakery in Miami, FL, has a lot of potential and of course it wouldn't have to be in Miami, FL. Similar industrial spurs with only one or two industries on them are found all over the country.
I've been quite interested in the Memphis, TN area myself, as of course it was a terminal point for the L&N and there are many interesting industrial spurs in the area. Being a former L&N employee, the main theme of my freelance switching layout will be an L&N industrial spur, but since it's freelance, I'm free to choose the industries I want on the layout and can also operate it as a different railroad, should I desire to do so. I'm also considering having the ability to change the industries from time to time for further variety. I'm pretty much going with the same era as you, although I'm limiting it to 1977-1980 so I can justify the many short line IPD box cars that I have acquired over the past few years.
Depending on the era, you have a wide choice of railroad prototypes in the Memphis area, so you can use different motive power from any of the roads that served Memphis. R. J. Corman also operates several industrial spurs in the Memphis area on behalf of BNSF, so there again is another potential operating company, although that would put you in to the current era.
Will be looking forward to seeing how your layout progresses. Might inspire me to stop experimenting and start building!
Ed
"Friends don't let friends build Timesavers"
"Friends don't let friends build Timesavers"