CSX Thomas Subdivision in HO

John Smith Jul 28, 2014

  1. John Smith

    John Smith TrainBoard Member

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    Hello all! Starting a new thread for my home layout. It is based off of CSX Thomas Subdivision in Western Maryland/West Virginia in the US. This is the old Black Fork Grade of the Western Maryland Railroad from Cumberland, MD to Elkins, WV. In the 1980s, CSX cut the Thomas Sub to just Henry, WV. and cut the line into the B&O Mountain Sub. Most traffic at that time was coal coming from a mine just southwest of Bayard, WV. Today, Bayard Yard is used to hold coal trains going to the mine or the Mt Storm Power Plant(which just recently started to use rail again for coal supplies). My layout starts in Bayard, WV at Bayard Yard. However, in my world... Bayard(and Wilson, WV) still have healthy industries going besides coal. My layout room is only 17 feet by 8 feet. I also have a hidden staging yard that runs into a storage area in my house that is connected to my layout room(HVAC, water heater, main water shut off valve in this area as well). So, lets start off with a couple of pics of Bayard Yard. These pics show where the tracks come in from the staging yard. There is a small engine terminal with sanding tower. Then there is a bulk terminal facility(which also can double as an Intermodal Ramp), a small three track yard. The siding on the back drop is called Warehouse Row spots 1, 2 and 3. At the end of the main yard is a small RIP track and a small pocket yard to serve the Dupont Plant. Also, off the mainline is Peterson's Tool. They get boxcars, tankcars, flatcars and gondolas... A great industry for a variety of car types! That's it for now. JMS
     

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  2. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    The orange colored bay window caboose in your first two photos, would that be a maintenance of way car?
     
  3. traingeekboy

    traingeekboy TrainBoard Member

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    Thanks for posting these. Really enjoy seeing bigger shots of your layout. Good to see you've even got a yard on it. Between your layout, and some of the other HO switching layouts, I am now getting tempted to dip back into US prototype and build a small switching shelf layout. Mine would have to be N scale though, since that is what I own enough in to build a switching layout, but I am not scale centric by any means, just have all my HO scale out in the garden for now.
     
  4. John Smith

    John Smith TrainBoard Member

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    NP Geekboy! Glad you are enjoying them. Boxcab... the orange bay window caboose in an old Athearn BB that was a special run. It came with an orange GP40-2(RF&P Heritage) in CSXs Pumkin Work scheme. CSX painted MoW equipment in the 1990s this way. Today, most is sold, scrapped or painted. My layouts era is 2004-2005...
    However, I have taken this caboose(and another in the pic of the RIP track) and made them into shoving platforms. Used for reverse moves on the main and also as buffer cars(few industries get haz-mat cars). I rebuilt the end railings on both to match prototype...also removed walkways on roof and filled in holes. On the grey one I filled in the windows and sanded smooth like it went through a complete rebuild. The orange one I just glued styrene panels over the windows... to represent a caboose that got new wheels, brakes checked, windows plated, and then rushed to service. JMS
     
  5. John Smith

    John Smith TrainBoard Member

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    Ok, we left off at the end of the yard where the RIP track is and the pocket yard for Dupont. The first pic shows my MoW base and assorted equipment. All the trucks are either kitbashed or kitbashed/scratchbuilt. The Bobcat is a pewter kit and the trailer it is riding on is 100% scratchbuilt(couldn't find one that I liked). You can also see the gate to the Dupont Plant. Next up is the Dupont Plant. The foreground buildings are from various kits. The dump/loading shed in the back is scratchbuilt(from a proto pic from Sulphur, LA) The cracking towers, flare tower, retention ponds, and big silos behind the complex are all sscratchbuilt. The cracking towers, bins, and the small tank by the retention ponds are PVC pipe with some modifications. Next, is where my layout curves back around... there is a small electrical substation, a small industrial park. This is where the line basically leaves Bayard, WV to run a couple miles in the woods to Wilson, WV. Next is the holdout signal for Bayard Yard and a small ballast deck bridge crossing a small creek. The creek represents the North Branch of the Potomac River... In reality, one could follow this creek all the way to Washington DC. Once over the creek, we start heading into Wilson, WV. First we pass through an industrialized area before getting into downtown. The last two pics show B&B Industries(main complex in foreground) Byrd's Sand and Gravel and Magic Pan Bakeries(spur running towards layout room door). This is where Sand/Pan run around is(what crews call it). The CSX GP40-2 is on the siding. The red leased GP38-2 is for B&B Indrustries(They also have an old S12...but, it is getting work done right now) That's it for now... I will finish up with the town of Wilson, WV and my staging yard soon. JMS
     

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  6. John Smith

    John Smith TrainBoard Member

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    Hello all! Finishing up the tour of my layout. We left off at the beginning of the Sand/Pan Run around. At the end of the run around is Wilson, WV. Here we see part of the part of the town with the old OxyChem plant. It is no longer OxyChem(I believe they make toothpaste and mouthwash now from the titanium dioxide and sorbitol cars it gets) but, still called that by the crews. The next 2 pics show an overall view of the town and a view from the other direction. Most of the buildings in the town were kits that I assembled and painted. The comic book store and the Katie's Candy store were "ready built/painted" models from Walthers. The Pizzaland is a laser cut wood kit from Blair. The white office tower is 100% scrachbuilt. I couldn't find anything that would fit in the area and be exactly like I wanted... so, I built one that was! LOL! The small concrete bridge at the end of the layout is also 100% scratchbuilt(except I used a couple K rails from BLMA). The last pic show part of the staging yard in my utility area next to my layout room. I used hollow core doors(wood, light weight, straight and level) to form the main shelves of the staging yard with removable connecting boards to it from the layout. I did that in case I ever need to remove/replace any parts of mt HVAC system or my water heater. In the staging yard pic... the track in the fore ground is a stub track. It represents the end of the line at Henry, WV(where CSX cut it in the 80s). The other 4 tracks loop around to the other end of the layout. This side is the coal mine... the other side would represent Cumberland, MD. So, that's about it. I am drawing up a track plan diagram to show how the layout is today... and also, a diagram to represent how the layout was(and evolved) over the ten years I have spent building it. Thanks for looking! Hope you enjoyed my take on CSX's Thomas Subdivision. JMS
     

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    Ironhorseman likes this.
  7. RGW

    RGW TrainBoard Member

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    John, who's product is your viaduct in right-hand corner of photo 1, post 1? Excellent work. Michael
     
  8. montanan

    montanan TrainBoard Member

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    That's a nice looking layout with a lot of potential. Glad to see some more people interested in a switching layout. I have been working on mine for over 20 years and have finally got some of the last trackwork down.
     
  9. John Smith

    John Smith TrainBoard Member

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    Thanks guys! With a smaller space... I decided a switching layout would be best. I do have an option to build a second level. There is a space for a helix just off my layout room. The way it would work out... the 2nd level would add mainline run in between the Dupont Plant and the Sand/Pan run around. The 2nd level would prob only have one, maybe two at most, industries. When I draw up a track plan to post... I will add the 2nd level concept that I am thinking about. As for the highway viaduct by the engine terminal... it is 100% scratchbuilt. I started with a piece of foam board cut to fit the angle of the corner. I used corrigated styrene for the outside barrier/railing. I used styrene "I" beams underneath for the metal beams that support the roadway. I made the concrete supports from tube and box styrene. On this bridge I used blue painters tape and painted the white and yellow lines on the roadway. For the town, I used small styrene strips painted yellow(or left the white it comes) and glued to the road surface. I found that use styrene strips is easier that trying to tape on the uneven road surfaces that I use to represent asphalt. JMS
     
  10. RGW

    RGW TrainBoard Member

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    Good to know thanks, M
     
  11. GP30

    GP30 TrainBoard Member

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    I don't know how I missed this thread. Good looking layout! I haven't been up in the Bayard area for a few years, I only live an hour or so away from that area. Rare to come across layouts online focused on this area not be modeling the Mountain Sub / West End.
     
  12. traingeekboy

    traingeekboy TrainBoard Member

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    Your layout is a real gem. Now to figure out where everything is in relation to everything else. Are those pictures to the right or the left of what we saw in the first set of pictures? I can see what looks like a hole in the wall under the bridge by your loco facility, but it also looks like the other end is going off somewhere.

    I guess I need to go read your posts more closely till it sinks into my thick skull. :)


    err.... lets see, line one of your second photo post, "Ok, we left off at the end of the yard where the RIP track is and the pocket yard for Dupont." never mind ha ha

    Is the staging just stub end or do you have a complete oval around the room for run through trains via staging to staging?

    Very inspiring layout.
     
  13. John Smith

    John Smith TrainBoard Member

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    Geekboy, the staging yard is a 4 track loop. On the Wilson side... it represents the coal mine... on the other side... it represents Cumberland, MD. There is one stub track on the Wilson/mine side... that track represents the track that goes to Henry, WV and just ends. I made the staging yard a loop so, at open houses, I can just run the trains on the loop. That way I can answer questions, fix things that go wrong, etc... without having to also worry about the trains. Also, I keep one loaded and on unloaded coal hopper trains in staging. I can just run these around the loop... and "acting" like they are more than one train running to/from the mine. JMS
     
  14. traingeekboy

    traingeekboy TrainBoard Member

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    Ok, I went and looked at your staging yard. I see 4 trains staged and what looks like a run around. Seems like you can hold a fair amount of traffic in there to keep things interesting. Thanks again for the pics, I've looked at them numerous times.
     
  15. David D Hetzel

    David D Hetzel TrainBoard Member

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    I like this pike, love me some Mid-Atlantic/Appalachian Railroading!
     
  16. Twist

    Twist TrainBoard Member

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    Nice looking layout....great work.

    cheers,chris
     
  17. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Looks like quite close quarters. How much overhead clearance do you have, in the event of needing reach in?
     
  18. John Smith

    John Smith TrainBoard Member

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    Thanks for the compliments guys! Boxcab, between track and the joists is about 5 inches. But, between the joists there is a height of about 11 inches. The joists are about 16 inches apart. I have a little roller stool that I can sit on and "roll" myself into that space. I pretty much had no other choice if I wanted a 4 track staging yard at the length I needed. It is a little tight... but, it is manageable. JMS
     
  19. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    I'm sure your back is happy to have that device!
     
  20. Colonel

    Colonel Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Don't know how I missed this either loo forward to more updates
     

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