Here are some photos of the HO scale layout I have been building for the past few years. It is a free lanced railroad called the Roanoke and Southern. It runs from it's namesake city, Roanoke, Va to Knoxville, TN. The section I model is right in the middle of the western Virginia coal fields (see the post "Coal Minning and loader ideas" in the Nscale forum. I posted some there to show someone how I layout my coal tipples. Most of these photos are a few months out dated. For example, in the bird eye view of one town the furniture factory and freight house are missing but I have finished them and placed them on the layout and I started to work in the scenery around them. Also, there is now a highway bridge that crosses the yard lead (see "Highway Bridge" post.
By chance do you have a track plan that could be posted? I'm always interested in what other people develop. You never know where a good inspiration may originate.....! Boxcab E50
Very nice work there. I like the R&S's paint scheme too, very credible. I'm looking forward too seeing more as it progresses. Thanks for sharing it with us.
Yes, most if the track is hand laid with the exception of the stuff I could not reach and some temporary stuff. I thought the CD that I have my track plan on was at work. Well, I'm at work and it's not here, so I will have to look better when I get home.
It looks like you did a nice job on the Walthers coaling tower. Jeez, do we all have that on our layouts? Took me forever to get it together. Keep up the good work.
Here is the track plan. I thought I would post those pictures of the coal mines here so they would all be in the same spot. In the photo above I used an enlarged photo of the Appalachian Mountains on the backdrop. It has not been permanently attached yet. You can see that I still need to do some trimming along the top. I just taped it up to see if it would work.
Coaltrain- That definitely looks like a track plan for busy operations. How many people are required for a session of running your empire? Boxcab E50
I operate the layout with as few as two people, but I try to get at least three. Four people works well if two take over the yard. I use DCC so it works well with two switchers working the yard and the local industries. What's fun it that all but two of the locomotives that I use to operate the layout have Soundtraxx sound decoders. It gets real interesting to have all of those locomotives running around with sound in them. Hooker furniture is built from a Walthers Railway Express Agency building. The kit was "unfolded" to make a backdrop flat. The wall with the door opening for the freight cars was made from 0.060 styrene with Holgate Reynolds brick sheet glued to the front. The brick pattern was not and exact match but still worked. What might have been better to use would be those Walthers brick sheets. The sign on the roof is just a piece of paper to tell crews what its name is. I am building a sign from the prototype Hooker Furniture logo that I got off their web site. I guess now that I look back at the picture I see something else that I forgot I did. The rear section where the freight cars go into, I filled up the openings in the sides were there were roll up doors. I used the same brick sheet. What is interesting, and surprises some operators, is that this structure is located in the corner on a backdrop that is curved. To get more freight car capacity I cut a hole in the backdrop and extended the track as far back as I could. So when some one has to switch this industry and they pull the cut of cars out, four 50' boxcars comes out. [ 15. April 2003, 13:41: Message edited by: Coaltrain ]
What a creative use of the Walther's kit. You did a great job of weathering as well. It fits right in good Job!
Too bad the R&S is so far away- that looks like a layout I wouldn't mind operating. I'd like to try my hand at switching the mine.
That mine is really fun to switch. It usually takes someone an hour of more to switch it. It looks easy but it is far from easy to switch. What makes it tough is that the leads dead end into the back drop at the other end of town and you can't pull a full cut of cars out that end, cross over, and back onto your empties. It was never designed to be a switching problem but it ended up being one. Everyone that works the mine loves the job.
What do you use for motive power to switch that mine? Looks like it calls for an Alco S2, or Baldwin S12. Or even an RS1..........but it's just my opinion .
The branch line (with all the mines) is operated with steam, three 2-8-0s. The year I model is 1955. Diesels are being used more and more on the trains that come on to the layout from staging. Some of the trains that come from staging have to layover in the yard and when that happens, some of the branch crews will "borrow" the diesels to work the branch. So sometimes the mine power will be an RS-3 or a GP-7. Basically, whoever is going to switch it I ask them what they want to use and I let them use it. The branch was supposed to be all steam but now that I have sound decoders in my diesels as well as my steam, people like to run the diesels more.
Great looking layout. I really like the track plan, you've used the available space very well. I like the paint scheme too. Is it based on the Atlanta & West Point, Western Railway of Alabama, and Georgia RR paint schemes? You mention the brick sheet that you used for kitbashing. Where do you get it and do they ship? John Bursi
