Interesting Transload.

[Brakie]

While looking over Railway Age Magazine ( <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.railwayage.com/">http://www.railwayage.com/</a><!-- m --> ) I came across a interesting outside of the box transload operation on the Greenville & Western Railway. They transload and store heavy machinery.

All that is needed is a switch and a piece of flex track and a unloading dock and crane for unloading buckets,beds and other optional machinery . The equipment can be stored off layout or one could park some equipment along the edge of the layout.

See: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.railwayage.com/index.php/freight/short-lines/short-line-opens-machinery-distribution-hub.html?channel=46">http://www.railwayage.com/index.php/fre ... channel=46</a><!-- m -->

The best part this industry could be used in any era that has heavy machinery.

To my mind any industry outside of the normal layout industry box is interesting and maybe a tad exciting..

[Catt]

Just what I always wanted.An excuse to buy heavy equipment. I already have a grain complex that sells Catt equipment when I rebuild the layout I can add to the company business.

[railohio]

Catt equipment

Wait, what?

[Mr Fixit]

Catt equipment

Wait, what?

Lol, good one Catt and I be you just love to hear those diesel engines purr.

Oh and an excellent idea for an easy to model trackside industry. Just the place for all those model pieces of construction equipment that we just cant help but buy.

Actually you could develop the concept further. If you take the plastic pellet industry idea of using covered hoppers to store pellets awaiting delivery, and swap the hoppers for flat cars and build a series of sidings full of flat cars loaded with equipment and say that it is an SITE yard. Storage In Transit, Equipment. Its plausable if you have only some equipment stored in SITE tracks and the remainder off loaded and stored on the ground. You could even have a mobile and tower crane storage yard next door with repair/overhaul facilities for a national crane company to store its surge fleet between major jobs.

Mark

[Mike Kieran]

I would never buy Catt equipment. I hear that when you're operating them, they go crazy and pounce on moving shadows or slow rolling balls.

[railohio]

I would never buy Catt equipment. I hear that when you're operating them, they go crazy and pounce on moving shadows or slow rolling balls.

I'd imagine they can't be used with laser-guided surveying equipment either.