i have been surfing the web and i got to thinking....... i wonder if there are some really cool industries out there that i could get ideas from. So, if you have a photo or information on industries large and small, on your layout, or the real thing, please post them. Ryan
Take a look at the Canpotex web site. It is one of the major producers of potash in the world and also is a major rail customer. Their loading and unloading facilities would present an excellent modelling opportunity. Unfortunately, their railcar is unique and not currently offered in N scale. Although PWRS is offering the older (1980's) version of the car.
Ok here are some industries on my layout. First is my limestone plant that produces limestone for the cement plant. Here is my cement plant Finally here is a picture of my grain terminal
Is that an F-16 on a bombing run in the background of the first picture? Great shots, inspiring. Just curious.
I was wondering if anybody would notice the F-16, my son sometimes strategically places that model on the layout and when i took that pic i didnt notice it had been placed there.
For a minute thought you were modeling industries in Iraq... then I thought maybe that plant was used for some alternative reason and that railcar could have been suspicious of carrying some foreign substance... sorry I couldn't help myself.
I recently found out that the Frito-Lay potato chip factory here is served by rail. It gets one tank car of vegetable oil and and a car of potatoes every morning and every evening. Each plant is down periodically for maintenance. When this happens, other plants ship extra chips to the idled plant for distribution by truck. Thus if your plant is down you can have box cars bring in chips from elsewhere and stop delivering oil and potatoes. When your plant is filling in for some other plant, you can ship in more oil and potatoes and ship out box cars of chips. The plant is pretty much generic Butler buildings with both rail and truck ship and receiving docks. Add a couple of smoke stacks for the cookers and you have it.
I feel weird about this one.... adding to my own topic... dont see that everyday...... but there is a simple and easy to model industry that i think i would like to share...... East of Calmar Iowa the ICE has a siding where gondolas are loaded with limestone.... Semi tractors haul in the limestone from local quarries with Vbottom trailers and just dump the limestone on a pile near the siding... then a large payloader scoops up the limestone and loads it..... depending on the season, there could be 1 train a week, or 1 train a month of limestone...... Hope this interests someone..... There is also another industry along the Wisconsin Southern in Prairie DuChein. THe line runs along the mighty mississippi river and lead to coal piles..... Small coal hoppers are loaded here like little three bay DRG&Ws..... The coal is unloaded from barges onto piles which are then covered with tarps... I'd say athat there are up to 18 cars that can be loaded at once...... the cars are loaded with a large payloader and the WS local switches cars to a very small nearby yard and i think a track mobile switches the coal cars to the loading area... quite a neat operation i think.... SD40.....
Hrm... Still a newbie asking questions, but interestingly enough, I live reasonably close to the General Motors Electro-motive Division in London, Ontario... I drove past there today and it seems that they have three more SD90Macs under production... That's assuming I'm starting to be able to identify locomotives... A locomotive production facility is certainly a rail-based industry (Duh), but would it work in terms of a layout? Hmm...
I would think it could serve as an excellent building to store your engines in to keep dust from settling on them while not having visitors present. You would need to keep maybe two or three engines in bright new glossy paint to be the "New" engines, and the rest could be weathered as desired. When guests are expected, back some engines out onto "ready" tracks and "rip" tracks, then place the "new" engines at the front, as if ready to deliver. You would also need some sidings and cranes to unload gondolas with new trucks, motors, prime movers, couplers, wheels and box cars with springs and other small parts. This could be a good "Corner" filling scene on your layout. Just an idea.
Interestingly enough, the new locomotives at this production facility don't even have paint schemes yet. I think they're applied after they are delivered to their appropriate destination...
Three interesting industries in Southern Cal are: 1. Several Behr paint plants, which get tank cars of chemicals regularly 2. Several manufcaturers of small-ish plastic containers (typically the quart bottles motor oil is sold in, that kind of size), all dotted along the now UP (ex SP) short line (branch line? BTW, what's the difference?) that terminates at the LA Times Orange County plant. The plastics plants receive the plastic in granulated form in hoppers like Atlas recently released. The granules then get vacuumed out of the hoppers with hoses, into the plants. 3. The LA Times facility gets 5-12 boxcars per day of newsprint rolls. To my knowledge none of the industries ship by rail - they only receive. Good thread! William
Thanks William, some good suggestions. Have you taken any pictures of any of the above? By the way, have you made the move to your new location yet? I see you are still listed as being in Irvine.
Hi Alan. Oops - forgot Big Brother tracks my whereabouts!! I'll update my profile right away. Yes, thanks, we made the move just fine. My current challenge is finding a masonry bit that will make more than a dent in the basement wall for the obligatory new shelf layout. Any ideas? Are there different kinds of masonry bits? The one I got from Lowes just grinds and grinds and gets hot, but no more than a dimple... No, of course I didn't take pictures of the industries - I "always" was going to be there for live inspections I will be visiting there this weekend and next week for business (now the smoke has cleared - literally) so I will be sure to take the camera and see what I can get. William
Thanks William, I am sure pics of actual industries will be helpful to many of us. Regarding masonry bits, we have a shop or two around here that could sell you a good one.........just pop over and pick one up...... .........
William, try this site [URL=http://www.diamond-drill-bit-and-tool.com A hammer drill will help. A Tool Rental center should carry a Bosch or Hilte hammer drill and bits that will do the job for you and not too much cost for 1/2 a day. Good Luck!
william something that is a little faster than the hammer drill is the good ole Ramset. uses a 22 caliber cartridge to fire a masonry nail into the concrete, noisy but effective. if you get sick of the drill you might try this.
