Small dock scene

[TinyTurner]

I had an idea of building a small section/module that can be part of a larger room sized model, (though still small by most standards) and would quite like a dockside waterfront scene.  I plan on it being 8' 8'' long in a few short sections, with the last one being removable or it slides aside like a turnstile to get by, and 12 to 24'' wide.
The idea is that is goes over the work bench quite high up towards the rear of the bench as a good operating height, leaving room to work underneath.  The perfect place to loaf and learn whilst switching trains by the river!
Thought to build it to the German Fre-mon AmericaN shelf and table standards.

A two/three road small car float is probably a meme by now, but I don't mind that, and I have since leaned that there were also steam car ferry.
The idea is that this forms some visible staging at the front at an angle, widening the terminal end of the board somewhat.
Does anyone know of links to some small dock scenes, perhaps Model railroader published some plans?
I would be linking it via a wye to an Interchange nearby which will be the lead for switching.
Set it in a steam to timeless era where nothing ever changes much.

I'll get a drawing up soon, but would like to ask for any well known areas. 

[wm3798]

There was a car float operation maintained by the Western Maryland that connected its main Baltimore terminal, Port Covington, to a smallish industrial area at Wagner's Point on the other side of the South Branch of the Patapsco.  As I recall, there were chemical manufacturers in that area.  The traffic was pretty regular, and the float was the secondary connection to the outside world, the main being the B&O Curtis Bay Branch.  The WM serviced the area with one of its GE 44 tonners.

It was also an urban residential neighborhood that was embedded among the industrial sites, so it could make for an interesting and busy backdrop.  (The close proximity to industrial uses led to the neighborhood being purchased by the city, abandoned and demolished in the 1990s)

The map shows the area as part of Anne Arundel County, but it was annexed into Baltimore City in 1919. 
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/Fairfield_Peninsula_Map_Detail_1907.png
You can see the ferry bar on the map, which is now the location of the Louis Dreyfuss grain elevator near what used to be the Key Bridge.  The Wikipedia article gives you a bit more of the history.  The article below touches briefly on WM's carfloats around Baltimore harbor.
https://www.alphabetroute.com/wm/history.php

I'm sure the operation existed during the steam era, and the WM maintained a fleet of small steam that worked the various urban industrial lines it worked in the city up until the "smoke ordinance" curtailed that in the 1930s, thus ushering in the small diesels.

Somewhere in my stacks of stuff I have a 1948 rail shippers guide for Baltimore published by the Chamber of Commerce in that year, which is indexed to a map of the city that color keys the several rairoads serving it, and shows numbered locations of the industries.  Being it's an incredibly useful document, I've lost track of where I have it stowed since my move.  It's digitized on one or another laptop I've set aside over the years.  If this is of interest to you, I'll be happy to dig it up... eventually

Lee

[u36b]

Try to find Model Railroader April 1980:
Both the track plans of the San Fransisco Belt Line and the Alameda Belt Line include small ferry slips (ABL with a prototypical wye ) - and some nice prototype pictures and plans. Some track plans and pictures can be found online - and for timeless steam look out for the Flying Scotsman on the SFBL
"California"s Tidewater Shortlines by Norman W. Holmes ; Shade Tree Books 2009 cover both (and other California shortlines, some of which operated small ferry slips.
Although H0 - a Britisch modeler has a thread https://www.rmweb.co.uk/forums/topic/170060-pier-101-car-floating-on-the-bay-in-1975/ of his his building of a ferry slip (looks a bit like ATSF pier52 to me:
https://www.foundsf.org/index.php?title=Santa_Fe_Railroad_Ferry_China_Basin)


Stephan

BTW, MR 4/80 was my first Model Railroader and since then railroad ferrys are pet interest of mine
 Oh, .... hmmmm...... quite some time ago 

[Ed Kapuscinski]

There was a car float operation maintained by the Western Maryland that connected its main Baltimore terminal, Port Covington, to a smallish industrial area at Wagner's Point on the other side of the South Branch of the Patapsco.  As I recall, there were chemical manufacturers in that area.  The traffic was pretty regular, and the float was the secondary connection to the outside world, the main being the B&O Curtis Bay Branch.  The WM serviced the area with one of its GE 44 tonners.

It was also an urban residential neighborhood that was embedded among the industrial sites, so it could make for an interesting and busy backdrop.  (The close proximity to industrial uses led to the neighborhood being purchased by the city, abandoned and demolished in the 1990s)

The map shows the area as part of Anne Arundel County, but it was annexed into Baltimore City in 1919. 
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/Fairfield_Peninsula_Map_Detail_1907.png
You can see the ferry bar on the map, which is now the location of the Louis Dreyfuss grain elevator near what used to be the Key Bridge.  The Wikipedia article gives you a bit more of the history.  The article below touches briefly on WM's carfloats around Baltimore harbor.
https://www.alphabetroute.com/wm/history.php

I'm sure the operation existed during the steam era, and the WM maintained a fleet of small steam that worked the various urban industrial lines it worked in the city up until the "smoke ordinance" curtailed that in the 1930s, thus ushering in the small diesels.

Somewhere in my stacks of stuff I have a 1948 rail shippers guide for Baltimore published by the Chamber of Commerce in that year, which is indexed to a map of the city that color keys the several rairoads serving it, and shows numbered locations of the industries.  Being it's an incredibly useful document, I've lost track of where I have it stowed since my move.  It's digitized on one or another laptop I've set aside over the years.  If this is of interest to you, I'll be happy to dig it up... eventually

Lee

This was captured in part of Paul Dolkos's Baltimore layout.

Never getting to see that in person is up there with never getting to see Tom Petty live in my book of missed opportunities.

[wazzou]

This was captured in part of Paul Dolkos's Baltimore layout.

Never getting to see that in person is up there with never getting to see Tom Petty live in my book of missed opportunities.

Paul passed away on Friday 8/9, incidentally.  RIP.

[TinyTurner]

I would be glad to have a copy any docs you can find.  Doesn't come much more authentic that the real thing!

There are a few scenes that icononicly shout 'America', and waterfront operations are one of them to me.
Tight tracks in small spaces with cool structures, it's as if the builders knew that one day, train nerds with small homes would want to build scale models

[chuck geiger]

https://designbuildop.hansmanns.org/2012/06/07/boomer-operator-3-the-new-york-harbor-railroad/

https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=446c73570a76d288&rlz=1C1GCEA_enUS1042US1042&sxsrf=ADLYWIIFrfxv16a8ldJz_qNf6yN6LT09tA:1723587770929&q=new+york+n+scale+harbor+dock+layouts&udm=2&fbs=AEQNm0AVbySjNxIXoj6bNaq7uSpw-2eW7KIQ8H4T_tEPJYsPzOi5GKsV0RKGmy84LfyUxrl-4_0AusV0IdjeUAdX2KBg7BmnGLOak5d-z-_u-BD5mN13FgBnNWDvju7R9DTlWNidOrJflM1JuVtiWYZDkHFOJzhjFWWukocdFSx3yN5TzfLggWRnI4Aa-8EhEIZUfHR_WMFwmbeNhwTWDi8XltL7qhh3uw&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjH-8zmgPOHAxW8IkQIHV66LGMQtKgLegQIEhAB&biw=1920&bih=919&dpr=1

[Slim Rail Mike]

While wandering the net just now found this archived site on small ferry operations.
https://www.carendt.com/small-layout-scrapbook/page-97-may-2010/.

[Angus Shops]

Or CP’s Slocan Lake barge and tug operation - a unique (?) operation because the caboose and engine accompanied the train on the barge. Well documented.

[TinyTurner]

Here's a shot of what I have been working on.
A lot of the effort is involved in working with the layout of the room, in a house I don't want to be in, but making the best of it.
There are awkward built in wardrobes in the top corners which are full of hobby bits, if I ever need to get in them I will have to remove that section and the legs fold in.
Height is above furniture at about 50'', I will need some sort of high operators chairs at strategic positions, which I have at benches anyway, which does lend itself to more than one operator.  I cant stand up to work ops, so a central position is best for solo.
The room is about 12x13, I wrote it down somewhere...although sketched in inches, I usually work to metric
6'' Anyrail grid, parts are just roughly placed.  24'' wide boards to allow use of foam.
The idea is that any part of it can be taken down and worked on and operated independently, even as separate layouts, planning ahead for moving after losing layouts that way.
The ferry end is removable for access, but could be ducked under in an emergency.  Same goes for removable section across doorway, I think I can keep the door open in use.

Hand building custom track as posted elsewhere.

A lot of variation can be done in this space, there are many plan ideas.  This is my 'freight' option.
The main alternative is a small suburban passenger terminal, something like Minories but that is something else entirely...