AC&Y - Ohio's Road of Service

[coldriver]

Nice looking track work!

I'll second that - nice prototypical track flow.  Well done on the track painting/weathering too!

[SAH]

Thanks guys.  The whole yard sure does look better with out the hodge-podge of unnatural colors all about.  The painting technique is more-or-less as described by Bob Gilmore in an Atlas Code 55 painting thread.  Since I'm doing a yard instead of a main line I use brown as the base instead of the black Bob used and a buff/beige/tan as a highlight instead of his use of brown.  I really just dusted the tracks with the highlight color.

Valspar Project Perfect Flat, #84206 Labrador Brown and #84230 Rugged.  Odd name for a paint color IMO.

There are two browns in this product line.  Velvet Brown or something like that is the other.  I test applied each.  I could not tell the difference but my wife said the Labrador had more umber / red in it, which I thought might work better for the rusted rails.  She knows about these things so I ran with it.  A good choice.

[SAH]

With business travel last week progress slowed some.  Sunday afternoon I laid more Spur 4 track, past the enginehouse and around the curve to General Tire.  The Little Cuyahoga River meanders alongside of Brittain yard, turning north just to the west of the shops and parking lot.  I wanted to include the signature "AC&Y SHOPS" bridge into the scene.  The Atlas thru girder bridge has the correct number of panels for the lettering.  Lots of details can be gleaned from the prototype photo below. 





The photo flat of RCA Rubber was made by a local Akron woman d.b.a. TRACKSIDEFLATS.  She has an Ebay storefront.  RCA is one of what at one time were dozens of "rubber shops" populating the Akron area.  They are still in business, located about 100 yards west of the AC&Y SHOPS bridge.  As late as the 70's they would periodically receive a box car load of bagged carbon black.  I can't fit their spur in without crowding the scene but given the availability of the photo flat and the correct proximity to the overall scene could not resist adding a bit of authentic local flavor to the scene.  Filling out the building will help hide the hole in the wall.  This whole corner should be a fun scene to build.

I also hosted another guest operator on Saturday and gave Brittain a good workout.  Two inbound trains, two outbound trains and lots of sorting in the yard.  Things ran pretty well.  No real ergonomic issues this time, although Steven is about 5'-9" and Mike, my first tester is 6'-3".  I think working from the chair becomes more difficult as one gets taller.  All in all I think the concept is sound.  And so we press on.

[SAH]

The base of the stock Atlas bridge will not do given the prominent placement in the scene.  I cobbled together a replacement bridge deck last night.  No particular prototype was followed and no real details (rivets and such) were included.  I only wanted to suggest the lacy structure of the prototype. 





For the lettering I think I'll laser print white letters on a black background, measure the plate dimensions, cut the black background to fit, glue the paper to the bridge and seal it with flat spray.  For those who have used this method in the past:  Can you suggest an adhesive for this type of application?  I have the bottom of the bridge to experiment on.

[SAH]

Working my way around with Spur 4 construction.  Rounding the corner from the AC&Y bridge scene we have General Tire shipping, a turn back curve, the siding to General Tire inbound materials and the carbon black unloading track.  The open spot in the backdrop shows how the AC&Y main passes through the scene.  It will be covered by the General Tire factory entrance, which will be a blast to build.


Turning the next corner we find the Akron & Barberton Belt interchange yard and other business off Spur 4.  Front to back:  Goodyear coal storage, the interchange/industry yard, Akron Standard siding to the right, Harwick Chemicals to the left.  At the far left is the spur to Goodyear Plant#2.  Between it and the hidden AC&Y main (Kato Unitrack adjacent to the backdrop) is the A&BB yard and Goodyear outbound staging.  Both will be visible staging in effect.


Too much business travel recently and it appears more is on the way.  This working thing is getting in the way of my hobby time.   

[SAH]

All the switch machines and feeder wires are installed for Spur 4 (bottom level).  I still have some track to install at the Goodyear end (left side of the photo).  I'm still thinking about how I want it to look, and work.  Not quite an arrangement that matches the prototype, but in this case necessary to enhance the Goodyear ops.  The photo flats are temps.

[SAH]

The first train heads up Spur 4 to switch the Akron & Barberton Belt interchange and the Goodyear plant.



Here's the crew shoving three empties to the A&BB for reloading at Columbia Southern in Barberton.



Everything went very well for a first run over newly installed trackwork, especially considering many of the turnouts were reclaimed from another layout.  It will look a lot better when the tie gaps are filled and the track painting process covers all the bare white and pink table top.  I've started an assignment that will take me away from home for most of the summer though, so it's anyone's guess when the next steps will happen.  But at least I know it runs!

[btrain]

That's some really great progress on the layout you're making! I never thought I'd see a modeler tackle Brittain yard during my commutes past it when I went to Kent State.

Being that you're an AC&Y fan, do you know much about the RS1 that Atlas is planning to release this summer? Was it used much as a road locomotive, because I haven't seen it teamed up with any FM power in some of the photos I've seen. 

[SAH]

Thanks.  Brittain is a perfect prototype for a modest, working yard that can support the potential N scale offers for operations.  I'm itching to give it a full workout. 

The AC&Y RS1 worked as far as the 3M complex at Copley when it was new.  Later in life it was a regular on the Spur 4 jobs and East to Mogadore.  I've never seen a photo of it MU'd either.  When I return home I'll pull out the AC&Y Newsletter dedicated to it and see if there is a reason stated.  Given it, along with some S2s, were the road's first diesels and thought of as special service engines (yard and transfer work) it may not have been equipped with MU capability.

[SAH]

I painted the Spur 4 track yesterday.  May be the last significant progress on the layout for a while as business travel is about to ramp up.  The whole of the thing is starting to come into focus as the track and landscape looks more life like.  I like the possibilities.  Here's a trip down Spur 4 to service the tire plants in Akron

I've decided to use decals for the AC&Y SHOPS logo:  Clear letters surrounded by a black block covering the white block painted on the bridge.  There will also be an automobile bridge just behind the RR bridge leading to the Brittain Yard parking lot.  The abutments for both are in as is the culvert under the AC&Y tracks.  The culvert is a space  limitation concession.  None present at this point on the prototype.


The RCA Rubber shop flat discussed in an earlier post looks good.  I cut in a bit of the Little Cuyahoga River to add some interest to the corner.  Contrary to popular belief the Indian word Cuyahoga is translated as "crooked", not "catches fire easily".


I don't have proper lighting over the whole of Spur 4 yet so incandescent floods will have to do for photos.  The General Tire outbound dock will cover the access hole and a bridge representing the Akron Expressway (now I-76) will break the view to the corner.  The scene is pretty much as it was except the entire General Tire complex is twisted around to fit the space.  A good compromise IMO.


General Tire carbon black unloading is represented by the NKP covered hopper.  I'm waiting to see how the structures play out in this area before I lay the spur.  The box cars to the left are on the Gen Tire inbound materials track.
r

More in a following post.

[SAH]

The Monon box car is on the Akron Standard siding (supplier of tire molds to the rubber industry).  The hopper is on the Goodyear coal storage track.  I understand the coal storage yard was primarily used to stockpile coal when a possible strike loomed.  I'll probably use it as the regular inbound coal destination.  The three tracks allowing run around moves and drilling the Akron & Barberton Belt interchange and Goodyear plant are between the two cars.  In the rear is the AC&Y main which will be hidden by building flats.


The tank car is on the Harwick Chemicals siding.


From front to back:
The box car is on the Goodyear inbound materials siding.
The black covered hopper is at the carbon black unloading station.  I've photos showing tank cars and box cars on this track too.
The next pair of tracks (box cars and tank car) are not part of the prototype arrangement but I needed a Goodyear outbound track.  One may become tires (box cars) and the other may be for tank cars.  One of my to do projects is to come up with a plausible representation for the Goodyear lettered tanker fleet.  I'm not sure Goodyear chemicals came up Spur 4, but I'll bend reality to fit in some cool traffic.
The last pair of tracks did exist as the A&BB interchange yard.  The AC&Y also had trackage rights over the A&BB at this location to get coal hopper to the Goodyear power plant (located adjacent to the inbound receiving warehouse).  Inbound coal is accounted for at the coal storage tracks so I'm still undecided as to how the A&BB yard will be used.


While I'm away I'll be thinking about what paperwork is necessary to move the freight in and out of Spur 4.  Perhaps when travel subsides I'll have a plan ready to try.

Thanks for having a look.

Steve Holzheimer

[SAH]

The AC&Y SHOPS bridge is about as done as it's gonna get.  Needs shoes and scenery to hide the rough edges but I think it turned out well enough.  Scroll up to see the prototype.  Another bridge for auto traffic to the shops will go behind it, someday.

[stevencesj]

That looks great Steve!

[SAH]

Some new tools and skills were acquired by the AC&Y shop force recently.  I finally sprung for a die cutter and after fiddling with it some (actually had to read the instructions) was able to cut 0.01" styrene.  This thing will make some difficult projects possible for certain.  I have yet to download a CAD file but that is the next learning task.



I've wanted to give brass etching a try.  Using @Scott Lupia RMC article as a guide and reading the informative posts by other Railwire contributors who have some experience with the tool I drew bottom (black) and top (magenta) masks for parts to upgrade the old AHM 4 bay covered hopper.  I got an "OK" from ppdltd last week.  The sheets should show up in a week or so I'm guessing.  I'm looking forward to seeing how I did.



With the die cutter and metal etching skills I'm certifiably dangerous.  Watch out world!

[chessie system fan]

Nice!  I'm curious what kind of die cutter you bought.

And will that be a Southern "Big John" hopper?  I think that was the rough prototype of the model.