Undecided

[railroader9731]

Have you ever found your self in a spot where you dont know what kind of business to install? Well i am at that cross road, so heres an idea i saw some where here.Any how if i offer an location with a building already there would any one be intrested in putting an industry or such in that building? You would have choice over what it does and what it ships or recieves and whether any other structures should be located in the property? Let me know if any intrest.

[MasonJar]

Sounds like an interesting idea! What's your road's location, era, setting, etc?

Of course, you can always put a GERN facility in. It is such a versatile industry, and they have need of all sorts of sites all over the world.


Andrew

[Brakie]

Harry,Yes..I have one such building now and not sure of the type of industry I want it to be.

My problem is I shy away from fantasy industries and stay with believable industries and I also like to think outside of the box when it comes to choosing industries..I could use this building as a non rail served industry and be done with it.

[Sumpter250]

While Sag Harbor Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, operates Narrow Gauge Steam, and maintains Steam locos for the Cindys Harbor, Shinnecock Hills Lumber, and the Wiscasset Bucksport and Schoodic Point railroads. it is a modern shipbuilding company.

How about a manufacturer of electric-steerable-main drive, and bow thruster Pods, for small freighters, cruise vessels, fishing vessels etc. Your industry would have to be large enough to manufacture all the parts "in house", requiring only raw materials in. Or: it could be an assembly point with parts in, and finished product out.

Mode of shipping for the finished product would most likely be Flat cars, or maybe even a Schnabel, for the larger pods ( in custom shipping containers )

Then again, if your era doesn't permit.....a foundery that could, also, custom cast bronze screws ( propellers ), shipped on flats.

[railroader9731]

Ok since this does have some intrest this is how i thought it out. Place a photo of building and surounding property and how much land goes with it. After thats done set a price ( no real money involved, more of a bidding process.) such as i feel it should sell for 150,000$ ( there will be a price range given such as 95,000$ - 210,000$ )and keep that number secret untill some one wins the bid by being the nearest bidder after a set date and time. Reason i show this way is it should elimanate any favratism of a business.

[Ralph]

Hi Harry,

I'm not completely clear what you'd like us to do. You want us to post pictures of real prototype busineses or industries, right?
I don't quite get what you'd like us to do regarding prices and bidding though.
Are you hoping to get inspiration for what kind of business you might choose for your layout?

Thanks!
Ralph

[railroader9731]

Ok lets try with pictures and see if it becomes understandable This building was the former O.L. King & Sons fuel yard built in 1952. The property is 40ft wide by 200ft long includes 1-2 freight car track that can be used as a loading / unloading area.
Now that being stated i have a bid price in my head and it ranges from 60,000$ to 100,000$ the idea is the person that come closest to the price picked out wins the property with such stated above. Once the time frame i choose ( 3 days ) is up and the person thats close to the price i have choose wins and selects what should be in the said property. Hope this clears up what im trying to do.???
Any how the time frame is years of 1990 to 2000 the location is in PA. served by the EN&W railway.

[Green_Elite_Cab]

Still seems a bit confusing. No need to make things complicated! The reality is that building is pretty small. Also, it doesn't really fit with the modern locomotives (I see a Conrail Dash-8 in your Avatar and a Norfolk Southern Dash-8 in the background of one photo, making this a 90s and up era building).

Now, the last few weeks I've been all over Pennsylvania's electrified system (a trip through most of Philadelphia through SEPTA, as well as a ride out to Harrisburg, PA on Amtrak). There are plenty of building exactly like that along those mainlines. I noticed two general patterns-

1.) The rail-dock was abaondoned, if not the whole structure. Several however only had room for two or three boxcars anyway, if that, and so this is not entirely unrealistic.

2.)If the building was still getting rail service, it was usually extending out of the building itself, with either an outside loading dock, or some form of Trackmobile, industrial locomotive or car mover to shift cars around. I saw several areas where the "old" freight doors appeared to be out of use, but an adjacent loading dock had a line of a few box cars.

Personally, I think you should just park some boxcars around it if you really like the building. At the very least, it will look plausible until you have a good story.

[steinjr]

Now that being stated i have a bid price in my head and it ranges from 60,000$ to 100,000$ the idea is the person that come closest to the price picked out wins the property with such stated above. Once the time frame i choose ( 3 days ) is up and the person thats close to the price i have choose wins and selects what should be in the said property. Hope this clears up what im trying to do.???

I might be misunderstanding you, but if I am understanding you correctly, how about forgetting the whole "let's have a contest to see who gets to decide what industry this building will be used for", and instead just discuss some options for using this building - leaving it up to you to decide what you want to use the building for?

Could a track through the building be curved right behind the building and be extended to say 3-4 cars lengths beyond the building?

Smile,
Stein

[Brakie]

As a prospective bidder I would ask several question starting with is it up to EPA standards and up to current OSHA and fire codes.

Seriously a industry that small would use trucks-unless the layout was set in the steam era and I see a NS locomotive so that rules that out.

Why do I think that?

Modern boxcars would overwhelm that industries receiving department area even a 53' trailer would strain their receiving area-allowing for this area to be use as shipping/receiving and limited warehouse/raw material storage area-that means production would be on the second floor.

[railroader9731]

All cards are on the table for the structure and yes park a few cars there is plausable and perhaps leave building abandond. Stein thats my main reason on posting this colum is to have some one give the structure a purpose as i really have no idea what to place there As for running track around building, that cant be done as realestate issues. As for structure size i understand the idea shipping vs productive area and thats why i like the feedback im getting here from you all. Thats why i tossed it here to see what could develope. Keep em comming guys

[steinjr]

Seriously a industry that small would use trucks-unless the layout was set in the steam era and I see a NS locomotive so that rules that out.

Why do I think that?

Modern boxcars would overwhelm that industries receiving department area even a 53' trailer would strain their receiving area-allowing for this area to be use as shipping/receiving and limited warehouse/raw material storage area-that means production would be on the second floor.

Depending, of course, on whether this building is the entire industry.

Which is why I asked if the track could go through the building, so there could be an area behind the building where cars could be unloaded by fork lifts, which then take the stuff into the production or warehouse building - which is just off the edge of the layout, in the aisle.

Smile,
Stein

[railroader9731]

I dont know if you can really see the track that runs next to the building but in the 4th picture it runs off to the back of the building where back in the 50s coal and fuel used to be unloaded there.

[Brakie]

Seriously a industry that small would use trucks-unless the layout was set in the steam era and I see a NS locomotive so that rules that out.

Why do I think that?

Modern boxcars would overwhelm that industries receiving department area even a 53' trailer would strain their receiving area-allowing for this area to be use as shipping/receiving and limited warehouse/raw material storage area-that means production would be on the second floor.

Depending, of course, on whether this building is the entire industry.

Which is why I asked if the track could go through the building, so there could be an area behind the building where cars could be unloaded by fork lifts, which then take the stuff into the production or warehouse building - which is just off the edge of the layout, in the aisle.

Smile,
Stein

Stein,As small as that building is let's hope production is in a larger off layout building if not then trucks would serve it better since that small building would require a breakroom,rest rooms,office space,a shipping/receiving area,small storage area which leaves a small production area on the second floor.

[steinjr]

Stein,As small as that building is let's hope production is in a larger off layout building if not then trucks would serve it better since that small building would require a breakroom,rest rooms,office space,a shipping/receiving area,small storage area which leaves a small production area on the second floor.

Absolutely. I wasn't quibbling about that - just pointing out that the industry might be rail served even if the building we see is a bit small.

I dont know if you can really see the track that runs next to the building but in the 4th picture it runs off to the back of the building where back in the 50s coal and fuel used to be unloaded there

Yeah, saw that track, but wasn't sure if that track was part of the same industry. As I understood you, you were going to run a track through the portal to the covered loading docks inside the building. I might have misunderstood you.

Smile,
Stein