Office Shelf Layout

[bnmike1971]

Looks great

[hyawn]

Thanks all of you for following along and for all the nice comments. After switching on it I was quite pleased with track arrangement.
I hope to work on the layout this coming Sunday and get some of the track laid down.

Gary, the Santa Fe box car is a 15 to 20 year old Model Die Casting kit.
Bil, the tracks in the background are of another layout. I just set this layout on top of it for taking pictures.

I'll post some picture of what gets done Monday.

Thanks again for looking,
Howard

[Gary S]

Thanks Howard. I need to fill out my roster with some Santa Fe boxcars. Right now, I have some undecorated kits and some decals, but if I could find some already painted and decorated, it would be nice.

Looking forward to Monday's photos.

[hyawn]

Folks
Due to working on Sunday I did not get a chance to work on my module like I wanted to (hate when that happens). Going to try and sneak in some
time during the week. Will keep you posted.
Howard

[P5se Camelback]

Howard, I was just going back over some of the newer threads that I had looked at when they first appeared, but not so much lately as I have been busy with some scratch-building (yes, I'm documenting with photos ...) and having fun watching Gary's backdrop progress into a thing of beauty. When I was reviewing this thread and saw ...

... My dream layout will be the Joint Line between Denver and Palmer Lake CO in 1989. By modeling that area I can include the Rio Grande (my other favorite RR) and the Burlington Northern. ... Howard

... I had to let you know that should you ever get down to the Ft. Myers, Florida area ... let me know you are coming and we'll see if we can't arrange a visit to the Scale Rails of Southwest Florida model railroad club that I now belong to! We have that run (although somewhat abbreviated,) on the "Joint Line" from Denver through Castle Rock, Palmer Lake and then on to Colorado Spings, and into Pueblo, Colorado (all on the lower level) before hitting the helix up to Victorville, Ca and the "Division One" run over Cajon Pass and on into San Bernardino on the upper level. Our time period is a bit earlier than your dream ... we model the period between 1950 and 1969, so there is still some big steam but the diesels are definitely taking over.

Anyhow, should you be planning some vacation time down here on the Gulf Coast of South Florida, let me know!

[hyawn]

Hello all

Sorry that I haven't been active as much as I would like but work keeps getting in the way. (Good thing). All I managed to do is lay some roadbed and solder some track feeders.

   
Bil, Thanks for the invite. I've been thinking of a vacation to Florida in the next few years when we retire.

Howard

[hyawn]

Hi all:

Time for a quick update. Progress has been slow due to work. In the picture below you can see that the turnouts and one siding have been glued down
along with the ground throws.
   

Happy Modeling
Howard

[hyawn]

Hi:
Finally had a chance yesterday to finish laying the track. Now it's time to work on scenery and buildings.
   
   
   

Not sure yet on the length of the far right track (might cut it back a bit). Haven't decided on an industry for it yet. Was thinking of some kind of tank car unloading facility but there is
not much room.

Howard

[mountaingoatgreg]

Howard,

Looks like you are making some good progress!!

As for some suggestions on industries:
I work for a large shortline and we have a number of tank ar customers, the majority are fertilizer which is unloaded using gravity and hoses. This is mostly seasonal but I have seem them recieve cars in the off season to refill their storage tanks. This could easily be modeled with a tank in relief and some hoses along the ground.

We have a customer that has a one car spot that they share with another industry. The recieve loads of lube oil and use a truck to draw the oil out of the tank. The car will sit for usually a week as they take their time unloading the car. Other then a trach can and a spill pad there is not much to model.

Another option is recieve tallow which is used in animal feed. We have a few customers that takes this and mixes it with dry feed to create "super foods" for livestock. I have also seen dog and cat food plants recieve these types of materials in making their food. Again some hoses and some vertical tanks nearby.

We have another customer that recieve solvents made in using paint. One car will last them between 3 and 6 months as they are a small speciality company. There are some vertical storage tanks and some hoses for unloading the car. Where the car is spotted there is a concrete catch basin and there is a spill kit station near by.

If you need any details on any of these places please let me know, and I hope they have given you some help!!

[Mr Fixit]

The recent articles in Model Railroader about a Corn Syrup Transload Facility is a great idea for a compact industry and you could alter how many different grades of product the facility receives to adjust the size of the plant to suit your space.

Also the Effingham Railroad has a transload/team track area where tankcars of Biodiesel are unloaded directly into tanker trailers for delivery to the customer who is a rural fuel merchant in a town just South of Effingham. All that is needed is a spotting location and a gravel team track area.

Mark

[hyawn]

Hi all:

Greg & Mark: Thanks for the ideas. Some kind of transload facility is what i originaly thought of. Along that line, I cut the right hand track back a bit.

Also took some time to do the wiring so now thats done.
   
   
Thanks for all the comments.

Howard

[Gary S]

Howard, I like that the ties on the sidings are "less than perfectly" spaced. What track are you using?

[hyawn]

Gary:
The track is Micro Engineering Code 83. I used a single edge razor blade to remove the small piece of plastic between the ties on the back side (very time consuming)
and then ran my finger down the middle of the track from the top side. The results are ties unequilly spaced and some at an angle.

Howard

[hyawn]

Hi all:

Can not believe it's been about 6 weeks since my last post. I worked on the layout a little bit these few weeks.
Painted the track and worked on two of the buildings. Will start ballasting and scenery next. Hopefully that will not be another 6 weeks.

   

   

   

   

   

Thanks for following along,
Howard

[ocalicreek]

What did you use to paint the track?

Galen