Freelance 2014-2

[faraway]

dickgreen's question about an elevator on my 2012 layout made me look at those old photos of long white shoebox buildings and long yellow genets. I can not resist to give SoCal another try :o
First step was to remove a lot of stuff to start thinking what might be next.



Key point is if I can find a more prototypical concept worth to do the tracks new or will I stay with pure freelance and redo the "decoration" only. I have to admit that I thought about a more prototypical track layout related to SoCal for over a year now but still have no clue. My be starring at a deserted layout is helpful....

some hours later....
It feels so good to switch with a pair of UPY Gensets

[torikoos]

I can't keep up Reinhard, you change theme and structures faster on a 'complete' layout, than I manage to build even one structure :-)

Having said that, I don't have the layout at my place of work, so it doesn't 'distract' me either ... ;-)

I'm guessing that after these yellow units, we might be seeing the Corman Geeps back in action? :-)

Koos

[bdw9535]

You do keep things interesting, but if you make changes now what are we looking forward to when your on your annual job break?

Bruce

[faraway]

My annual job break will happen next Tuesday. I will be back in (home) office in October.

Now, this layout change is more or less a turn back. I prefer the clean and slick optic of white shoe boxes and yellow Gensets. That is a perfect match for SoCal. I missed it so much while I built the last layout sceneries.

I am still looking for a slice of prototype in the LA basin that will be a fine ISL model in my limited space. That would be a great motivation to do a new track plan. We will be on vacation soon and I will have to make my mind until and of March building new decoration only or model after the prototype. Todays dismantling was a kick in my own a... to get things started.

ps. The down side of my preferred scenery happened already. The small ISL space shrink dramatically when I started switching with a pair of Genset. It makes a huge difference if one SW1200 or two Genset switch four 50' cars on a small ISL.

[Brakie]

ps. The down side of my preferred scenery happened already. The small ISL space shrink dramatically when I started switching with a pair of Genset. It makes a huge difference if one SW1200 or two Genset switch four 50' cars on a small ISL.

Absolutely. I decided Slate Creek power will be restricted to a single locomotive preferably SCR's SW8 or one of my SW1500s or geeps and no car longer then a 63' mill gon.Thankfully these longer cars will go to the distribution track.

Like always I will be awaiting your 2014-2 project.

[faraway]

I needed a temporary improvement of the background. Two dull white sheets of styrene, one with vertical ribs the other one with a gray stripe at the bottom, are a quick and easy mockup of background (shoebox) buildings.

[fast car]

Reinhard,

Like the idea that you are starting again.

Larry

[faraway]

The gap at the east end got temporary filled with two older tank assemblies and a simple show box. This installation and the two fake background fronts fill the gaps and permit the full operation of the layout with modern equipment while I am searching for the "real thing" to be modeled.
I did intentionally use storage tanks in both industries and very generic structures to increase the utilization of tank car and covered hoppers vs. boxcars.

[faraway]

While intended as temporary mockup only (e.g. the base is gray painted cardboard only) I could not resist and added some piping and a simple model to unload covered hoppers (http://reliancemixers.com/images/Railcar...Header.jpg).

[faraway]

May be I found an area in LA that could be used as a prototype for inspiration of a small ISL.

It is south of the UP Alhambra Sub between (N) Worth St (S) Medford St (W) N. Indane St and (E) Miller Ave. It looks like only the chemical industry (Polychemie) at the east end end is still rail served. I understood also it has it's own rail tractor and exchanges cars at the west end with the UP Alhambra switcher YLZ71R. I would ignore that fact and run UPY switchers down the spur and serve some closed industries too. Looking at the map shows also some gone tracks crossing Medford St. There must have been more rail served industries in the past.

Does that spur/area have a specific name, Mojave Granite Spur ?
Do we have some knowledge in the forum how much rail served industry has been at that spur about ten years ago or is it all long time gone?

https://maps.google.de/maps?q=Soto+St,+L...s&t=h&z=18

[alcanman]

Your latest incarnation of 'Freelance' is lookimg good, Reinhard.

I must admit to a preference for contemporary modelling with modern 'shoe box' warehouses, silos etc

I hope you are successful in finding a prototype location as I think this will add to the realism of the layout.

Looking forward to seeing more.

Mal

[FCIN]

Reinhard;

Really enjoy watching your layout transformations and find it quite inspiring.

Although not Southern California, you might want to have a look at the west side of Phoenix, AZ. Quite similar to SouCal. Start here and move along to the west: https://maps.google.com/?ll=33.444164,-1...1&t=k&z=17. It's still Union Pacific has plenty of industrial spurs and interesting industries, including those nice shoe box structures. Could even model industries as though they along the main line rather than just an industrial spur, although the spur would be my preference.

Just a thought.

[faraway]

Reinhard;

Really enjoy watching your layout transformations and find it quite inspiring.

Although not Southern California, you might want to have a look at the west side of Phoenix, AZ. Quite similar to SouCal. Start here and move along to the west: https://maps.google.com/?ll=33.444164,-1...1&t=k&z=17. It's still Union Pacific has plenty of industrial spurs and interesting industries, including those nice shoe box structures. Could even model industries as though they along the main line rather than just an industrial spur, although the spur would be my preference.

Just a thought.

That is an interesting area. It has a lot of similarities with SoCal. The most eye catching is the absence of boxcars (with one exception) from the "shoeboxes" but covered hoppers and tank cars are frequently used. Lots of "shoeboxes" have some smaller tanks and get served by rail with covered hoppers and/or tank cars. I think that is the way to go on a contemporary layout to join "shoeboxes" and railroad tracks.

One of the few boxcars at a shoebox http://goo.gl/maps/DyBMc
This is a more frequent setup in this days, hoppers at a shoebox with tanks http://goo.gl/maps/kYfCz

A nice guy in the West Coast Rail forum pointed me to this facility in LA with a shoebox and boxcars http://goo.gl/maps/kU01G
We got here a nice relationship 1 shoebox = 1 layout = 1 average room, shoe size matters :o

[Brakie]

Reinhard,During my research and planning Slate Creek I found shoe boxes and 50' boxcars varied greatly from the Southern states to the Northern states.. I limited my research from East of the Mississippi River to the Atlantic seaboard and South as far as Georgia. I dedicated two hours a day on Google maps and used my American Short line Railway Guide 5th edition book by Edward A. Lewis (Kalmbach) for reference points..

While that method turned up a lot of excellent modeling ideas and short line engine service areas-example would be a street view of a GP10 being refueled from a tank trailer near a engine house that was a dead ringer for Pikestuffs one stall engine house.Of course this may be extreme research and not for everybody but,IMHO the dividends paid well and gave me a far better view of the shoe box industries served by modern short lines..

[faraway]

Parts of the scrap yard intended for Cermak Rd may find a new home in a not rail served spot in the foreground replacing KFC


or let it be a simple truck parking area of an industry off the layout. Virtually unused space is a luxury on small layouts.