A First Step: The CSX Southside Spur

[SouthsiderO701]

The hardest part about getting started is always the first step, so I guess I am glad to be finally sharing the beginning of my journey to build my first model railroad. To put it lightly, my parents very fond of my hobby. Also, being only 16 doesn't help me when petitioning my parents for a corner to build with in the garage. They think I am too old for trains. But this restriction has at least allowed me to do extensive research as to what I would really like in a model railroad. Being only and hour from Tampa, and with the amazing Downtown Spur of Lance Mindheim, you can be sure I wanted to capture some of the south Florida feel in my first n scale layout. After numerous drafts and revisions, I have decided on this design:



Obviously, this is very influenced on Lance Mindheim first East Rail layout. I tried to resist this "plagiarism", but I found the design so elegant that I couldn't resist! All of the industries come from various parts of CSX's Clearwater Subdivision. The goal of the layout is to capture the feel of the subdivision while being operated like the terminus, the Southside Industrial Spur in downtown St. Petersburg that was torn up mid-2005.



All of my rolling stock and motive power has been acquired, and I will posting some it later perhaps. For now, please share your thoughts and any criticism on my rough trackplan