Your road's customers won't like the project either, construction delaying shipments and all. I'd offer the DS&N to handle your temporary reroutes, but with our clearances, stack trains wouldn't get out of the yard before trouble would arise.
Well I'll be darn! You know what they say when you ASS-U-ME? I decided to take one car of the MAXI-I with the double stacked containers and try it on the layout. Low and behold, total (and comfortable) clearance on both double track portals!!!!! In case those that are contemplating for future builds, the portals are Woodland Scenic double track ones. And the track is Atlas Code 80 on Midwest cork. This combo gives a very realistic, comfortable clearance. AND as bonus, my layout has a single track Kato bridge and the double stack went though that with a ton of clearance. Plus the track below the bridge had enough clearance to boot. I must have been such a great visionary back then (10+ years) when I laid the tracks. No need for off loading to the DS&N.
That's great news! I think the Board of Directors should grant you a significant bonus for thinking ahead.
Is that N-Scale? If so, it's worth is probably $2.98. EDIT: OMG! Stupid brain trying to be smart! What about High Cube containers???? I suspect two on top of each other will hit the portals. I'll have to take a measurement next time I'm at a show and I see High Cube containers running. Unless someone here has a High Cube and take a caliper measurement.
My Board duped me with a chocolate filled bar. I sometimes see well cars with only one container set in place, so I suppose you could handle yours in the same way if they don't clear. [Spartanburg, SC 08/14/2019]
MK, you can send those stacks to me and I'll detour them across the JPT sub to your customers and in turn divert some grain or coal traffic to the DS&N Oh, if that gold bar was filled with chocolate, it might be worth more than $2.98 at todays market prices!
What is that behind the lead engine? Looks like some sort of yard, which is becoming a bit overgrown?
That's the former Clinchfield yard, still important and in use by CSX, but normally accessed via a tunnel under the NS (SOU) mainline that connected the Clinchfield to the ACL. Before the tunnel was built in the early 1960s, the SOU handled all of the interchange between the Clinchfield and ACL. SOU wasn't pleased with the tunnel! I'm thinking they leave this old overgrown connection intact for emergencies. You can see the south end of the tunnel here. The train is on the ACL connection and the other line is a former Piedmont & Northern connection, both CSX. [04/13/1986]
Some of my tunnel portals are on curves, which presents a bit of a problem when placing retaining walls which look best curved to match. I found some really nice Woodland Scenics retaining walls at my local hobby shop that come six to a box, each 1-5/16" wide and 2-1/2" high which can be cut to height and arranged however you like. The top photo shows a pattern I made using a Kato 282mm curve so that I could arrange and glue the sections to a consistent radius. It worked out pretty well. The bottom photo shows the completed assembly set in place, ready for paint.
It was hard to take a decent picture of, but I wanted this straight track tunnel portal and retaining wall on a grade to be vertical, not glued to the angled slanted roadbed to look ridiculous. Shimmed at the rear, I think this will look good.
Looks good to me! Depending on access and how steady your hands are, you might consider painting/weathering it before installing scenery, if future access will be hindered by scenery.
Yes, all is loose right now so that I can take everything outside to airbrush. It's not much fun out there in the summer heat and humidity, but it's best .... as long as I set up away from the cars!
As I'm starting to mess around with foam scenery on the DS&N, I stopped by Home Depot this afternoon to buy another 4 x 8 x 1/2" sheet of pink sheet foam. What I paid $8.50/Sheet for exactly a year ago is now $25.00. Glad I'm not building a house. Unlike a year ago when I had a pickup truck, this year I had to cut it up to fit it in the VW. At least I found a shady spot in the 92 Deg. heat. I suppose I could have less trunk space. This lovely blue Beetle was parked close by.
I didn't check the price, but I did see pre-cut smaller foam pieces on the shelf at Home Depot. They might be just the ticket for you.
That would take 4 city busses to get there. And the same back with a small load. If the local Home Depot or Menard's has such in stock when I get there.
Ah, MENARDS! When I visit my brother in Wisconsin, we always make a trip there just to look at tools. They're nice stores. I wish we had 'em in the southeast.