Challenge #3 - Vintage Chemical & The Philadelphia Belt Line

[Ed Kapuscinski]

I'm hoping it's not too late to declare.

I bought a handful of "cheap and cheerful" vintage structure kits back when my dad was going through his cancer treatment (Model Power US Customs and Casket Company and a Heljan furniture factory). I sent them his way with the idea of doing a TTRAK module (or two) based around them once he built them.

Well, he knocked them out a while ago and I've been slacking on giving them a home. He got through treatment with flying colors and is now doing great.

I've also really missed having somewhere to do some industrial switching in the vein of my old school oNeTRAK module.
http://conrail1285.com/onetrak-modules-the-city-module/

So this is as good as a time as any to do something about these issues. What's more thematically correct for some modules that had their genesis in a cancer diagnosis than a good old chemical plant? Nothing!

So that's what I'm working on.

I have a bunch of frames done so I just needed to start throwing some foam on them and getting some track down. That's been done over the past few days. Now it's time to glue it down.

Why the paper building templates? Because the structures are currently residing with my folks while I was in the process of moving.

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I still need another structure for along the back as well as an assload of details.

I'm also still struggling on exactly what the plant makes. I'm planning for inbound loads of chlorine (or whatever else is shipped in Atlas 17k gal tank cars), palletized loads of something else (in boxcars), something that will come in in two and three bay covered hoppers and coal (for the boiler house). It'll ship finished products out in boxcars from the warehouse. All the actual production work will take place "off scene" to the rear. I'm open to suggestions for what could be being made here AND what all those inbound loads actually are.

[Point353]

I'm also still struggling on exactly what the plant makes. I'm planning for inbound loads of chlorine (or whatever else is shipped in Atlas 17k gal tank cars), palletized loads of something else (in boxcars), something that will come in in two and three bay covered hoppers and coal (for the boiler house). It'll ship finished products out in boxcars from the warehouse. All the actual production work will take place "off scene" to the rear. I'm open to suggestions for what could be being made here AND what all those inbound loads actually are.

Components of fertilizer can include chlorine (shipped in tank cars) and potash (shipped in covered hoppers).
Packaging for the finished product could arrive in boxcars.

[wm3798]

@RockGp40 might be able to help you with rolling stock and loads information.  There's a big fertilizer plant they switch... or used to switch.. near Chestertown.  Lots of tanks going in, and you'd need a tank farm.  (PVC Pipe and some styrene sheet and you're good to go!) And potash moves in covered hoppers.

Lots of pipes, too.  So every time you go to Wawa, grab a handful of those red coffee stirrers!  Free building materials, and it keeps them out of the landfill!

Lee

[RockGp40]

@RockGp40 might be able to help you with rolling stock and loads information.  There's a big fertilizer plant they switch... or used to switch.. near Chestertown.  Lots of tanks going in, and you'd need a tank farm.  (PVC Pipe and some styrene sheet and you're good to go!) And potash moves in covered hoppers.

Are you thinking true chemical (Lee refers to the Eastman plant I work regularly) or agricultural with tanks? At places like Southern States, Nutrien (ex Crop Production Services), and Willard's, they receive inbound freight by tank cars and hoppers. Reloading of boxcars doesn't happen in my world. The product received is offloaded by hoses to tanks or conveyor to trucksa nd placed for eventual/immediate use.

A more interesting place to model would have been Invista nee DuPont in Seaford. There they had their own generating plant for coal, and inbound tanks and covered hoppers for loading and unloading.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Are you thinking true chemical (Lee refers to the Eastman plant I work regularly) or agricultural with tanks? At places like Southern States, Nutrien (ex Crop Production Services), and Willard's, they receive inbound freight by tank cars and hoppers. Reloading of boxcars doesn't happen in my world. The product received is offloaded by hoses to tanks or conveyor to trucksa nd placed for eventual/immediate use.

A more interesting place to model would have been Invista nee DuPont in Seaford. There they had their own generating plant for coal, and inbound tanks and covered hoppers for loading and unloading.

Ooh, definitely the later. Tell me more!

[RockGp40]

Well, more than a decade we did! I found this old thread, but sadly, some of the images are no longer available. I had hoped the track diagram would still be there. Damn that Tom Mann fella!

https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=15564.0

Boy, a lot has changed though. NS doesn't work the yard anymore (Delmarva Central does), Invista became shuttered during the 2008-2009 time frame and hasn't seen a railcar in 7 years, Venture Milling was a casualty of Perdue trying to go more organic, so no rail service there. The local doesn't have much to do normally, other than get us our freight, work Gardiner Asphalt, and run up to Bridgeville/Harrington. They were trying to do a transload facility in Seaford but I am not sure of the demand for one.

[jpec]

Will you be stealing the titty bar, meth lab and hourly motel placeholders from @seusscaboose?

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Quick update.
Track is down. Buildings are figured out.
A layer of foamcore is down too to bring the grade up to track level.

And with all that progress... I spent some time playing with it. Took about an hour or so to switch out cars when I wasn't pulling swapping. This process greatly impeded, however, because the only lead I had for it that would fit on the workbench was a corner module.

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[wm3798]

Those kitty cats are SOOOO cute!  They definitely need more dirt, though.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Making more progress.

Here's the overall conceptualization of the "business end" from a few days ago. The unloading shed was only a mockup of the arrangement as you'll soon see.







It's starting to come together after my DKS Deals Depot haul.



I started working on the covered hopper unloading building front.



Mostly complete:

[wm3798]

It seems to me that "Vintage" chemical should be served by those 1969 Atlas Whale tankers, equipped of course, with Rapido couplers, and switched by a Lima Plymouth... you know, the one that looks inflated...

[Ed Kapuscinski]

It seems to me that "Vintage" chemical should be served by those 1969 Atlas Whale tankers, equipped of course, with Rapido couplers, and switched by a Lima Plymouth... you know, the one that looks inflated...

Actually, I'd need two of em.



Those are the "loki's" at the Rohm & Haas plant my grandfather used to work at and which serves as much of the inspiration for this endeavor.

[wm3798]

I like the mix of brick and corrugated siding...  The load out is very nicely rendered.  I better get back to work on mine!

Lee

[Point353]

It seems to me that "Vintage" chemical should be served by those 1969 Atlas Whale tankers, equipped of course, with Rapido couplers, and switched by a Lima Plymouth... you know, the one that looks inflated...

Fuggedabout that dinky Plymouth and get a Fairbanks-Morse centercab:

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Scored a bunch of 1" PVC couplings that make excellent looking tanks yesterday.

But that got me thinking about building layouts. The Heljan warehouse just wasn't really filling in the scene the way I wanted it too, and after talking with my grandfather I realized that it was really too small of a warehouse for a facility like this.

So I did some shifting around and came up with this.

Thoughts?