The B&O Delaware Avenue Branch

[davefoxx]

Boy, am I glad that I don't have to handlay that trackage.  It looks like turnouts on top of turnouts on top of turnouts! 

DFF

[Jbub]

And here's the amazing part about all of this. They tracked all of those cars WITHOUT computers, or RFID or scanners.

[TrainCat2]

The proof of the stockyards presents a real conundrum of what was its purpose. It could not be outbound. Why would a rancher truck livestock down to the docks to ship out. I doubt that they are getting shipped across the river. Jersey has enough livestock on their own side. So it must be inbound. But where to?

In researching the Mathers stockcars used by the B&O, I read that the destinations were Baltimore and Philly for smaller Kosher processors. Maybe they were being transferred to trucks and drove to nearby processors or there is one there by the stockyards I have not found yet.

As for hand laid track, I never did it before. I did place my order with Fast Tracks on Monday so I will get a crash course real soon.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Worth a watch.

[TrainCat2]

Cool video. Found the answer. The cattle were trucked out. Here is a pic of Tasker St taken from the B&O tracks that cross it. The car on the left side of the road is at Dilworth. Note the two cattle trailers on the left which would be the stockyard.

[samusi01]

Sorry... missed a lot of this as I have been on the road for a few days. T2 drawings may be accessed at the national archives:

https://catalog.archives.gov/search-within/563015?availableOnline=true

Fair warning, there is a lot of data there and sometimes the information may be buried 500 pages into a 700 page set of files. Ask me how I know. There may have been logic in how the data is organized but thus far I have not been able to figure it out.

Additionally, you may go here:

https://www.maritime.dot.gov/history/vessels-maritime-administration/historic-american-engineering-record-surveys

And find much cleaner data but not nearly as in depth. Huddle is a Liberty hull and Santa Ynez a T2.

I haven't gotten around to ever bothering to complete my model of a Liberty hull (swept aside by more apropos designs) but work on a C1 ship is proceeding apace and a round of parts just went off to get printed.
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[TrainCat2]

That ship should look amazing when complete.

So more progress on the design. In fact, I can call one of the four modules as done. First, here is the overall trackage I have down on "paper". Most of the buildings are getting detail or actual outlines as I get data or the kits have arrived for bashing.



The completed module is the left riverfront. Bailey's and Merchants Warehouses are on the left. Across the vertical street is Gallacher's and Pennsylvania Warehouses with the open lot for unloading directly off the cars. Below the lot is the B&O stockyard and something in the corner. to the right of Penn's warehouse is Dubin Paper Co on the curve. The smaller pie bldg will be named later. The platforms and the adjacent buildings is the B&O Perishable Products Terminal and the B&O/RDG Cold Storage building. I had to change the orientation of the inbound tracks from the west to coming off Delaware so I did not have all of those turnouts next to the module frame. Lastly on the module is one of the large manufacturing plants that actually was slightly north of the B&O Terminal complete with water tower and large industrial crane.





The right riverfront module is nearing completion in the design. Most of the work was re-aligning the structures and trackage in the corner for the storage yard and alcohol loading facility. The small yard at the bottom is for the long Merchants Warehouse off Washington that had a large yard in both front and back of the warehouse. The rest of the area is slowly being filled in before jumping the the right module that would represent the southern part of the branch.



I welcome comments on the design for operations. This is becoming a large complex switching layout that should be a blast to run.

[Chris333]

Maybe start with something smaller to see if you even like switching, or Atlas turnouts 

[TrainCat2]

I tried small switching layouts and I was bored to tears. Make no mistake, I like the switching, but there is nothing to model in that plan or the original plan. No scenery and nothing but 2D and your run is a couple feet. I apologize, but that does nothing for me.

Yes, it’s a large switcher with potential to do some amazing modeling of the urban scenery. The details that can be done really excite me.

[samusi01]

Forgive me if I've missed it - do you intend to have remote throw switches or how will you reach some of them?

[garethashenden]

What is the grid spacing? It looks like a long way to reach to retrieve an errant boxcar or do any maintenance.

[LIRR]

Bob,

This isn’t your first layout is it?

[TrainCat2]

Tortoise or SMAIL, still not sure as the total cost of the Tortoise plus DCC decoder is just about the same as a SMAIL. The SMAIL would simplify wiring.

The Grid was set at 3in when I took the screen shots.

Not my first layout, but will be my first DCC layout. My last layout was a two level taking up my half of a 2-car garage.

The design is such that I will be able to build the modules individually and I could stop after 1 or 2 modules if I wanted.

[LIRR]

Good to hear, then you’re not insane….

R

[peteski]

I tried small switching layouts and I was bored to tears. Make no mistake, I like the switching, but there is nothing to model in that plan or the original plan. No scenery and nothing but 2D and your run is a couple feet. I apologize, but that does nothing for me.

Yes, it’s a large switcher with potential to do some amazing modeling of the urban scenery. The details that can be done really excite me.

If I understand it correctly, your goal is to build a detailed model of a pier with bunch of track there, not to actually get engrossed in switching operations?  Basically you enjoy the construction aspect of a layout, rather than operating the trains once the track is laid?