Ideas from the real world

As I go on railfan trips, I often bring home ideas I'd like to incorporate into the CR&E someday.  Sometimes the ideas are operational concepts that I can implement in an operating session.  Other times, I see something that looks like it could be the basis for a neat scene on the railroad.

Although I do not intend to duplicate all of the scenes shown below, a combination of some of these ideas will likely be used as I build scenes on the CR&E.  I thought I'd share a few of the scenes that have caught my eye or serve as good reference for modeling.

There are many "small town America" trackside scenes like this one in the Southeastern United States.  This example is Spruce Pine, North Carolina, on the former Clinchfield Railroad.  CSX bases its Spruce Pine Shifter out of this location.  A depot, a main street through town, and storefronts make this a neat model railroad scene.

Keystone, WV, on the NS Pocahontas District has a similar small-town feel, although the buildings are in disrepair.  The bumper stickers on the car parked in the street urge readers to support coal and identify the UMWA, which has a local office in this downtown strip.

The Norfolk Southern Bluestone Branch on the former N&W Pocahontas Division is only used today for car storage and coal staging.  The branch passes under the large double track Bluestone bridge on the N&W mainline at this location.  Without the bridge in the photo, this passes for a simple scene representing a small community along a little used branch line.  The red metal roof on the church seems like a must for modeling.  The brick building has concrete lettering reading, "1884 Mill Creek Coal & Coke Co 1924" and painted lettering on the boarded-up windows reading "Quality Stitch."

The trackside home and old black-and-white station sign, along with the mountain scenery and undulating track profile, make this a great scene on CSX's former Nicholas, Fayette & Greenbrier.  The NF&G was once jointly owned by CSXT and Conrail (C&O and NYC  before that.)  This is now CSXT's Sewell Valley Subdivision.  The NF&G is a neighbor of the freelanced K&N District of the CR&E, and has always been an intriguing railroad to me.

In another scene on the NF&G, a logging truck waits for a coal train that has loaded at Green Valley Mine and is returning to Rainelle.  The NF&G scenery and territory will definitely serve as inspiration for scenes on the nearby K&N.

This weather-beaten old house at Blacksburg, SC, along the former Southern Railway mainline between Washington and Atlanta makes a nice modeling/weathering subject.  The pile of firewood would make a nice modeling detail as well.

The Hanging Rock Store (Hanging Rock Fruit and Vegetable Market) is a nice example of a rural store near the tracks.  This is actually located at the north end of the CSX (former Clinchfield) Boody Siding just north of St. Paul, VA.  The hanging rock itself can be seen above the roadway.  The railroad is out of sight to the left and is marked by the telephone poll in the far left of the image.

This single-wide trailer serves as a post office in Andover, Virginia.  Norfolk Southern's Andover Yard is adjacent to the post office and small gravel lot.

Austin Powder manufactures and distributes blasting powder for coal mines and quarries all over the US.  I've seen quite a few of these small elevators along various rail routes.  This one is near Mt. Hope, WV, on the RJ Corman line between Thurmond and Pax, WV.  CSX seems to get the carloadings from the manufacturing facility on a shortline out of Chillicothe, Ohio.

The Bristol Industries chip mill on the Norfolk Southern's Asheville District loads chip cars over two tracks.  Loads usually go west to Asheville on train P87, the Marion Turn.

An industry that serves as a landmark is a great basis for a scene on a model railroad.  Now demolished for a few years and still an unsightly pile of rubble, the North Carolina Finishing Company served as a great photo prop for trains climbing up from the Yadkin River crossing at Spencer, NC.

The Red Sombrero Award

At the inaugural regular CR&E session on 4/17/10, crew member Todd Arnett just couldn't resist the large red sombrero that was stored in the layout room.  I got this sombrero during a 1989 high school graduation trip to Mexico, and it has been used a handful of times for comic relief at social gatherings over the years.

When I moved into the new house in the fall of 2008, several miscellaneous items were piled up in the then unused portion of the basement that is now part of the layout room.  This sombrero remained in the room even after cleaning and organizing for the NC Rail Run.  Todd saw it then, but somehow let it go.

Todd has suggested that we start a new tradition on the CR&E by introducing the "Red Sombrero Award" to the person who makes the most boneheaded move or decision during an operating session.  I suppose a local crew could clog up the railroad by making bad switching decisions, a dispatcher could set up a head-on collision, a yardmaster could send a whole train to the wrong location, or the superintendent could forget to provide snacks.  The possibilities are endless.

Although a number of, let's just say, not-so-smart moves took place during our first session, I think Todd's bone-headed idea of introducing this big red hat into our operating sessions probably outdoes them all.  Therefore, Todd Arnett is presented with the very first "CR&E Red Sombrero Award!"   May there be many more to come, just hopefully not for him....

Kessler & Northern District construction update 5/13/10

Some progress has been made on the construction of the Kessler & Northern District branch line territory.  The lower level benchwork has been built and is standing on legs now, although more legs will be necessary to give it the support it needs.  Raising benchwork sections from the floor and onto legs by oneself is not that easy, but it's done!

The lower level of the K&N should see the following features:

Ajax #1 loadout (track already exists and is active)
Crawley loadout (track already exists and is active)
NF&G crossing and interchange at Raders Jct (track already exists and is active)
Kessler, WV, passing siding
Small Ajax #2 loading location
Clear Creek loadout and wye connection to K&N mainline
Wildcat Jct and loadout on separate Wildcat Branch

After running on the lower level, trains will go into an elongated helix or "ovalix" for the climb to the upper level.  The ovalix will run around the inside of benchwork in an open space that is 40" wide and eight feet long.   The upper level will be mostly a narrow shelf with a couple of medium sized loadouts planned as well as the B&O connection and interchange at Fenwick, WV.

The above photo shows the K&N peninsula construction entering the layout room.  To the left in that photo are the Charleston and Roanoke staging yards, with the K&N location of Kessler in front of the Charleston (lower) staging yard.  A passing siding will be located there.   The area in the foreground where the red level is sitting will have a scene divider and will represent Clear Creek Jct. on the far side of the level and the branch to the Wildcat mine on the near side of the level.   I'm planning a wye connection at Clear Creek so that coal can move south to the NS/CR&E trackage at Meadow Bluff or north to the CSXT/B&O trackage at Cowen.  The Clear Creek loadout trackage will disappear into the open area in the middle of the peninsula, where the ovalix and some staging leads will be located.  I'm planning Clear Creek as a large preparation plant that will send out 24-car unit trains that will be flood-loaded there.  They will also receive raw coal for processing.

The above photo shows the K&N peninsula from the back corner of the room.  To the left I have mocked up the supports for the upper level shelf, which will be rather narrow all the way around in order to keep from blocking too much of the view of the lower level.   The big open space in the middle is where a 2% elongated helix is planned to carry trains from one level to the other.  The K&N "mainline" will go into the ovalix to the left of the mocked-up upper level supports and will loop around the outside of this open area a couple turns before reappearing on the upper level on the opposite side.  I also see the potential for some staging around the outside of that open space.  Wildcat Jct will be somewhere near the foreground corner.  The branch to Wildcat Mine will drop down parallel to the K&N mainline but then go around the back side of the benchwork to a loadout near the door.