Protolanced Industrial Park

[packers#1]

Hello everyone!

Well it's been forever since I really contributed anything so I'll re-introduce myself. My name is Sawyer and I've taken the last few years off from model railroading for college. It made sense both with how often I moved around for co-ops and internships, and I had also lost some of the "fun" in the hobby because I took it too seriously like work and couldn't ever get settled on what to build. However, I've now graduated, have a job lined up, and am about to move to Memphis, TN, so it seems like the perfect time to pick the hobby back up. I also play disc golf as a decently serious hobby and homebrew as a casual hobby, so having something for rainy days or bitterly cold days as another hobby will be good I think (yes, three hobbies but I think all three can be juggled; keeps life interesting).

So anyways, I'm a bit of a ways out from actually building the layout since I have to actually move and everything, but I wanted to go ahead and ramble on my plan for the general peanut gallery to comment on.

So for me, one of the fun things in modern railroading is shortlines. Lance Mindheim's East Rail project has always seemed like something I'd enjoy, and while I usually haven't built track to the standards that something like an operating layout would require, but I think something of a small industrial park type scale would be enjoyable to build and operate. Enter the Missouri North Central.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Chillicothe,+MO+64601/@39.7802157,-93.5362453,602m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x87c20fa55f97916d:0x7f27c1ce80ea0d2b!8m2!3d39.7952946!4d-93.5524358

Hopefully this link takes you where you need to go, but this is a small, preplanned industrial park in the middle of absolute nowhere, Missouri that I really like the feel of. There's a Cold Storage warehouse and a Plastic Packaging company (fun fact; I interned at one of that company's plants in Cincinnati last summer making the paperboard tube cans with metal ends. Think Gatorade powder or Powdered Infant Formula type cans). I think I'll be skipping the cold storage warehouse for now because refrigerator cars are expensive and instead go with this industry from another industrial park in Mexico, MO:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Mexico,+MO+65265/@39.1618182,-91.9145079,301m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x87dcf8324fa9bba9:0xba90fd3bd3e323b1!8m2!3d39.1730652!4d-91.887271

http://rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=3010571

They're called Cerro Flow Products and make copper pipe fittings according to a cursory internet search. Pretty cool industry, and they take boxcars, which I have a decent fleet of already and can easily add a couple more super modern ones for photos as well.

For the track plan, I would replace the cold storage warehouse with Cerro Flow and otherwise leave it alone. I also will be omitting the unique switchback for now, as my plan is to just get a nice 2x8 or 2x10 furniture quality plank from Lowes that's like 6 or 8 feet long to use as a layout base. Potential future expansion would first be the little three track yard you can see if you scroll to the left on the first map, and then possibly expanding past Cerro Flow to include the cold storage warehouse. If the space ever opened up I could also see replacing Cerro Flow with the cold storage warehouse, building the switchback, and then having the line continue to Cerro Flow and possibly another industry that would wrap around. The wrap around would be inspired by my Sonoco internship, as there was a CSX rail spur serving two other customers there. The industry would probably be based upon the vinyls/garden hose plant I interned at this past semester, but would include a spur for hoppers and a spur for tank cars (Teknor Apex, shown by this link:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Teknor+Apex/@34.6642409,-82.1843913,642m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x88578a53c63390ed:0x8375dfc768fc4354!8m2!3d34.6642409!4d-82.1822026)

Track will probably either be Micro Engineering Code 55 or that Atlas code 65 stuff. I'll be using a foam base so those turnouts would be buried and the snap track would be removed from the base and laid on the foam.

As to location, I'm not too sure yet. I'll probably claim it's somewhere up in the Upstate of SC, like maybe another little shortline around the Pickens and Greenville and Western, or I may set it out around Memphis somewhere. I'm not too hung up on that though, as I'm more focused on the operations and structures than any groundbreaking scenery for now. Era will definitely be modern, probably around 2010-2013 or so (my high school years).

As a fun scenic element, I think I'll try to incorporate a little grade separation between Sonoco and Cerro Flow. As the prototype pictures show below, there's a good few feet of drop in the spur to the second industry in front of Sonoco. I'll try to keep it to just a few inches after the turnout and probably not as dramatic so that leaving cars while switching is easier, but I think it would be a neat scenic element and really make the scene fun.

http://rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1291545
http://rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=2587184

And one last shot to really show the feel I'm going for: http://rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=695482

However, while trying to keep the layout simple, I will not be modeling either of the MNC's power, and my railroad will not be called the MNC. Instead, right now I'll be modeling a new locomotive for the line, a GP15-1. All fans of Conrail should look away now, as I bought the last Conrail Op. Lifesaver GP15-1 from MB Kliens and will be turning it into LLPX 1506 (http://rrpicturearchives.net/locoPicture.aspx?id=129961). However, I will be keeping the original Conrail number and going with a different leaser name, probably some sort of play on my initials. However, in terms of patching and weathering, I'll be copying straight from the pictures. I will probably also try to at least change the horn and make any other superficial detail changes. I also will not worry about trying to get the Conrail Quality on the nose to show through unless anyone has an easyish technique for doing that. I'll start a separate thread for the loco when that project starts.

I'm really excited to be getting back into the hobby, and while I'm trying to keep the scope extremely manageable, I really think this is going to be a super fun layout to build and ease back into the hobby. Plus, there's plenty of expansion options with the plan as it stands!

[packers#1]

Well, I took the time this morning to draw up a layout plan in the Atlas track planning software. This lead to a couple insights: 1) a 24x80 inch hollow core door will be the perfect benchwork for the layout, and 2) the Chillicothe Industrial park layout didn't quite fit the space I would have, but in spirit it was perfect.

What I have changed from the original industrial park:
     - Changed the Cold Storage warehouse to Cerro Flow copper pipe fittings.
     - Adjusted the Sonoco Plastic Packaging spur to curve away from the main line into the industry.
     - Added a road in front of the back industries that the Sonoco spur crosses
     - Changed front road to be in front of both spurs.
     - Added a DC in the back corner of the layout to anchor the layout visually and also help hide the backdrop so that I don't really have to worry about one.

I will be keeping the slight grade between switches. Plan is drawn using Atlas Code 65 true-track; I'm looking forward to trying this track product out!


I'm not quite sure what else will go in the front and to the right. I could potentially have the road curve to follow the tracks and build an Interstate overpass over the road and tracks, or have an edge of town area with a park with a disc golf hole or two, a brewery, and the back of a strip mall. Still not totally sure yet.

In other news, the GP15-1 showed up. Doing a bit of further research on the prototype has shown that the prototype for my GP15-1, Conrail 1637, is still in service with CSX and also still has the horn over the cab. I plan to use 1637 to guide the detailing decisions, while LLPX 1506 will be my guide for painting and weathering.

My initial plan is to patch the Conrail and Conrail Quality lettering, renumber the cab as 1637 and SJEX, paint the appropriate handrail areas white, weather the locomotive, and rock and roll. If the horn starts bothering me too much, I'll move it onto the top of the long hood. I may start a thread for that with my

[packers#1]

I posted this in the weekend update but would like to post it here as well for layout chronicling, but I've finally settled on a track plan I think. The back two spurs will serve a cold storage warehouse (near spur) and a plastic packaging industry. The front spur will serve Cerro Flow, a copper fittings company. The side of the door closest to the camera will have a busy road, while I will build an interstate overpass on the back end to hide the 90 degree curve. I might try to sneak in an abandoned spur next to Cerro Flow and model a brewery in an old industrial space. Everything behind that is staging for the layout. I will probably also use some of the foreground area as a workbench. I will be making an Excel workbook to schedule ops sessions with VBA macros and probabilities for car movements, so that should make planning ops sessions a breeze. Overall I'm liking how the layout operates and it's a pretty fun 20-30 minutes moving cars in and out of industries. I could potentially see expanding the layout past the busy road to include some sort of tank car industry and a paper board industry, as well as a passing siding. Right now I just have the train shove down into the layout, but with a passing siding I could have the train roll through the industrial park, work the passing siding industries, and then work the current industries on the way back out.

layout overall 62418 by Sawyer Berry, on Flickr

[jpec]

That Code 65 looks good...wish it wasn't the ugly stepchild in Atlas's track line. I'd be happy if they offered more turnouts...I guess #5 was a good compromise coming out of the gate.

[packers#1]

That Code 65 looks good...wish it wasn't the ugly stepchild in Atlas's track line. I'd be happy if they offered more turnouts...I guess #5 was a good compromise coming out of the gate.

Yeah, I haven't been the biggest fan of the turnout quality control: one worked flawlessly out of the gate, one doesn't activate all the way from the motor, and the third I had to break down because the frog was sticking up and I needed to get it level, but then the screw wouldn't go back in the frog so it can't be powered now. I'm just going to hand throw all three. In terms of the actual track though, it does look rather good, and if they put a bit more pieces out they could certainly compete with Unitrak. I only wish there wasn't that giant bar in the middle of the points (I'll probably paint them black) and that they didn't have the huge plastic tab sticking up from the roadbed. However, just picking the right photo angles will reduce the impact of them. If I ever do build the extension though, it'll be code 55.

I should also mention that I can see myself carrying this theme forward and building a layout somewhat similar to the Iowa Interstate Grimes layout. However, I would have an industrial park similar to this layout at the end of the line, and two industries on a peninsula; a vinyls plant similar to the one I interned at my final semester and a lumberyard similar to one in Greenville, SC. The vinyls plant takes covered hoppers and tank cars, while the lumberyard takes centerbeam flats. I would also model the interchange with a class 1 (most likely Norfolk Southern), and base all the scenery off of the Upstate of SC. However, for this layout, I'm primarily going to copy the industrial park I currently work in for scenery, as it's easy enough to do research and I view this layout as more of an exercise in returning to the hobby and experimenting with operation.

[BOK]

I believe Atlas recently, announced a new Code 65 #6 turnout was to be released. It would be nice if they came with a larger radius curve (which I believe they are) for use as a spiral into their tighter curves. The Code 65 certainly, looks much better than Kato track which uses, wider, Japanese tie spacing. Still, it's "bullet" proof in design and use. 

I like this track, it's easy to use, reliable and it fits for a small IC, (Illinois Central) layout since this was the color ballst they choose. If different, turnouts are needed I can also mate up Code 55 to the 65 ones using a bit of a shim.

Barry

[lajmdlr]

Most real industrial spurs are at ground level vs being on a raised roadbed. Should be able to hide it with some kind of ground cover.

[packers#1]

Most real industrial spurs are at ground level vs being on a raised roadbed. Should be able to hide it with some kind of ground cover.

For the most part, yes. The prototypes I’m considering have a bit of raised roadbed, but nothing like this track. I figure raising the scenery around the roadbed will work well, then slightly ballasting to better blend the scenery edge.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

For the most part, yes. The prototypes I’m considering have a bit of raised roadbed, but nothing like this track. I figure raising the scenery around the roadbed will work well, then slightly ballasting to better blend the scenery edge.

Yes. I've found you'll want to do something to raise the scenery itself. I've found foamcore or various foam sheets can do the job quite nicely.

You can see the results on Unitrack here:


I used foamcore to bring the baseline up and then filled in the gap between the roadbed and the track with scenery materials.

[packers#1]

Bingo; I can foambord sheets for 50 cents at Dollar tree. I used them as a scenery base on my last attempt at a layout before I stepped back and it worked well. Just leaving some room for ditches and what not, then filling in with sculptamold works great

[packers#1]

Most real industrial spurs are at ground level vs being on a raised roadbed. Should be able to hide it with some kind of ground cover.

Not all of the spurs in the park I work in look like this, but this is just outside of my plant:
Untitled by Sawyer Berry, on Flickr

@Ed Kapuscinski Foamboard is down; I didn't even use a full sheet so I'll be using the second sheet to mock up buildings later on

Untitled by Sawyer Berry, on Flickr

Also bought @nwline's digitrax system that was for sale and dang, does it improve operations even in DC compared to the old as dirt Bachmann powerpack I was using. I have a decoder on the way for the GP15 and will hopefully be picking up some Atlas sound units soon enough. The Wisconsin and Southern GP38-2's and Union Pacific GP38s have me thinking some fun thoughts for the next layout: a freelanced WSOR branch that starts at an interchange with the UP and includes an industrial park and smallish grain elevator at the end of the branch. Have an inner WSOR mainline with a pair of Kato SD40-2s that drop cars, the UP interchange, and a WSOR GP38-2 that goes up the branch. But it'll be a while before that, so what I'll probably do is get one of the Norfolk Southern or CSX GP38-2s and an undec shell, and paint the shell to be a freelanced "[City] Industrial" Railroad (maybe Memphis, maybe not). I'll probably also grab a Union Pacific GP38 and patch it to be a WAMX unit. Then I have three different scenarios for my little railroad: the original Class 1 operator, the lease unit when the line was sold to a smaller operator, and the new operator's motive power. This is similar to what Norfolk Southern did in my hometown of Aiken, SC. They sold/leased the line to the folks who own the Greenville and Western, and a LTEX SW1500 showed up to operate until they stationed a pair of GP30u's on the line (see my profile photo).

Also managed to run some trains today!
Untitled by Sawyer Berry, on Flickr

[packers#1]

Mocked up some industries, along with the viewblock at the far end. The plan is to go for a two lane overpass with a small forest and view block behind it, so that the train enters from off-scene into the actual layout.

First, here is the view block section I was talking about:

IMG_4110 by Sawyer Berry, on Flickr

Up next is the Sonoco Plastics company. To the left of the building will be the hill coming down to the building.

IMG_4111 by Sawyer Berry, on Flickr

Finally, the other two industries. Rather than the cold storage building I was going to do, I'm going to go with a logistics warehouse. There are three car spots; one will be a cold storage section, followed by two more doors for box cars. Memphis is a huge logistics hub, so it makes sense. In front is Cerro Flow. To the top of that will be a drainage pond and some sort of non-rail served industries, followed by a strip mall or some other sort of public area.

IMG_4112 by Sawyer Berry, on Flickr

Finally, an example of what I'm really going for. Industrial Park canyons

IMG_4095 by Sawyer Berry, on Flickr

[Philip H]

Looks good Sawyer.  You may want to consider widening your road overpass so the slopes under it are more gentile. 

[packers#1]

When I build the actual model it'll definitely be a more gentle slope. I just wanted the mock-up to sorta resemble an actual overpass so I could see how it looked and decide if I definitely want to build one on the layout

[DKS]

Ah! Someone else who builds their layout on their bed. I thought I was maybe the only one...