This will be an ongoing review of progress on my N-scale layout, the Missouri Pacific: Austin Sub., from Austin to McNeil, Texas in ~1950. It occupies a 1' deep shelf in 10'x8.5' along two walls of my bedroom. So far, I've laid down most of the roadbed (AMI Instant) for the downtown Austin area, along with outlining where the track will go, stopping at Camp Mabry. The track is ME C55 with all the switches (so far) being either Atlas C55 #s 5 or 7. Ballast is Woodland Scenics. Here's pictures: Austin Downtown City of Austin Materials Spur Looking down the Austin side of the layout, when complete, you would be looking right at the station. MP Austin Station Track & Capitol Ice & Cold Storage. From fore to rear: City of Austin Materials Spur, MP Station track, Calcasieu Lumber, & Quality Mills. PFE, ART, & URTC reefers at Capitol Ice & Storage. [ February 07, 2006, 10:00 PM: Message edited by: Matthew Roberts ]
This is the trackplan I designed for Matthew Roberts "Austin Subdivision" layout. I drew it for 1 foot around the walls and he said he would have to adapt it because he can't keep layout permanently set up all around the wall. Also you couldn't get in. But here is how much Austin area railroading that could be squeezed into a 10 by 8 1/2 foot room IF you could squeeze into the room under the layout. (Removable or lift-up sections would probably require some modification to the design.) Post edited to link trackplan from the New Railimages Specifications: Trackplan is generally laid out for #6 turnouts, 20 inch radius curves EXCEPT curves shown on the plan in RED, trackage used only by a switcher and a handful of freight cars on a switchin move, NOT used by mainline trains or passenger cars. Nearly all of the features shown on the layout are based on actual prototype scenes and building, researched mainly from Sanborn's Insurance Maps dated 1935 and 1960, and interpolated to 1950. (I accessed Sanborn's maps via the university library where I am a graduate student, and that access is restricted to persons associated with the university.) Photographs and visuals of many of the buildings and scenes are available on open access websites. I will add some of those into another post in a day or two so you can visually tour the Austin of the layout.
The MP in Austin, Texas, 1950 had some prototype characteristics that allow for interesting passenger operations AND freight switching on a fairly small shelf layout, even if it cannot make a loop around the room as the trackplan shows. As the state capitol, Austin was an important point for passenger traffic, but it was not a major manufacturing city and not a major yard for through freight trains. (MP major freight yards along the route were Taylor and Palestine to the northeast and San Antonio and Laredo to the southwest.) The round-the-room shelf layout could host through freight trains from its staging yard, and the two passing sidings would allow those trains to meet or pass each other, or meet or pass passenger trains and local freights. But in this small room, those through trains would not be a major part of the operational activity, and if the layout could not go all the way around the room to form an oval (as Mr. Roberts layout does not at this stage), one would not be losing a lot. In the Amtrak era and back to 1955, passenger trains on the formerly MP/now UP go through Austin on the mainline, simply making a mainline stop for passengers at the depot on Lamar Street. (On this plan, that would be located a bit to the right of Travis Materials.) Passenger trains simply don’t DO very much in town, and the layout is not big enough to get a lot of feel of mainline country running. I did an earlier trackplan sketch based on this scheme which would have focused on the Colorado River Bridge, the curve immediately north of the bridge and the 1955-present station. It would be a very recognizable representation of the prototype scene, and it could even include a picture of the state capitol dome on the background as a kind of “signature” image. However, it would not fit on a one foot deep shelf if built as drawn, and would not provide very much in the way of operation except watching trains go “roundy-round.” Some late 20th century prototype pictures of scenes on the aboveshown earlier trackplan: Colorado River railroad bridge www.austinwebpage.com/Austin-1375c.jpg www.photos.birdherder.com/austin/aap Amtrak Texas Eagle NB rounding curve into Austin http://www.railimages.com/albums/kennethanthony/agi.jpg Austin TX depot photographed from train http://www.railimages.com/albums/kennethanthony/agf.jpg train on MoPacfreeway http://www.railimages.com/albums/kennethanthony/agj.jpg Perhaps a more satisfying layout representing this era could be built by having the track go around the room on a shallow shelf, keeping the Colorado River Bridge, the mainline depot and the capitol dome on the background, but moving them closer to the walls behind them. Matthew wanted an earlier era- 1950 Austin. Before 1955, Missouri Pacific had its Austin station downtown on Congress Avenue (the “main street” of the state capitol) reached from the mainline on a spur not quite a mile long. That required a movement off the mainline which was a convenience to passengers using the downtown station, but an inconvenience to train operation that made the stop take a little longer, even if there was not passenger switching to do, such as adding or removing a sleeper. For the model railroad, that means the passenger stop is more of an “event”, gives us something to do we can model on this small shelf layout. The prototype track to the downtown station connected to the mainline at a wye. A wye simply takes up too much add to build on a shelf layout restricted to a foot wide. But we can easily model a spur to the downtown area in place of one leg of the real wye. That became the key to modeling Austin operations, and set the orientation of the entire small layout. The Austin scene focuses on the spur to the downtown station, and the mainline trails off into the background behind shallow building flats. Unfortunately, that orients the layout so that the capitol dome would be in the middle of the room, not where it could logically appear as an identifiable landmark of the background. Also the scenic highlight, the Colorado River railroad bridge is barely visible, a token representation squeezed into the back of the layout. However, orienting the layout this way more than makes up for that, in operating possibilities for a small shelf layout. TO BE CONTINUED.
Have you been in touch with Bryan Rigney who is modelling the line in N scale also? You can contact bryan through his website at: www.austinsubdivision.com Hope this is of some help.
Andrew, I believe you're confused, he models the Southern Pacific (T&NO) in the 60's-70's, whereas I model the Missouri Pacific (I-GN) in ~1950. But yes, I've seen his website, and contacted him. His layout's cool too, and he lives in Austin!
Great track plan! I think it will be a nice model railroad to build and operate. Looking forward to more updates.
The ornate 1888 International and Great Northern Austin, Texas station and a spectacular N scale model of it is a special reason to model the Missouri Pacific in Austin in 1950. MicronArt N scale model of Austin depot, 1888 appearance (with links to historic photos and history of depot construction and architecture) http://www.micronart.com/N2015_IGN_Depot.html Depot was demolished in 1955. On the layout, the track in front of the IGN depot all the way to near engine service area is devoted to passenger train station track and should be long enough to accommodate any passenger train that might be run on the layout-- longer than the passing sidings and staging tracks. However this same is used as a lead to access several industry tracks WHEN not being used by passenger train. Passenger trains normally only stopped a few minutes to load and unload, did not originate or terminate their trips here. MKT station was just across Congress Ave. and on north side of tracks (in the aisle). The corner building on the southeast corner was a 2 story turret building almost a mirror image of Heljan’s “Two Brothers Restaurant” N scale kit. MKT trains came across Congress Avenue (actually there were 2 or 3 parallel tracks) to enter M.P. trackage and turn left at the unmodeled wye to go south by trackage rights toward San Antonio. The stub of the passenger track across Congress Avenue may be used as an interchange where cars are picked up and dropped off to and from the MKT. Immediately behind the IGN depot is 2nd street and a nondescript building flat could represent a warehouse across from the depot. Now would you believe what should appear behind the building flat, either as another layer of “flat” on the backside of the “flat” or on the background behind the back track, about as UN-nondescript a structure as you could ask on a layout representing a transition era American city scene. Would you believe an ITALIAN RENAISSANCE BELL TOWER? Actually is was an Austin fire department practice tower. The tower was built in 1935 to resemble a bell tower. It would be a notable part of the 1950 scene. No longer used for fire practice in the last part of the 20th Century-- but still standing-- the imitation bell tower had a REAL carillon installed- a set of tuned bells that can play music. It is a memorial to an Austin fire fighter killed in the line of duty. Here is a link to a photo of the Austin fire practice tower http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/fire/images/firstdrill.jpg The tower is an actual 80 feet tall. In N scale, that would be 6 inches (which I also chose as the height of the trees dividing my East Texas piney woods layout in two). Six inches is also the length of a typical N-scale full length passenger car, for comparison. Hints for modeling…you might print out the web picture to the appropriate scale and cut it out. It is a corner view and a “straight-on” view would be more accurate for the angle depicted on the layout. A good computer artist could draw and construct a straight-on view in scale and with brickwork, and toned down to “weather” the drawing…. These are the interesting prototype things that fit on the model scene just in the block around the depot. We will explore more ANOTHER DAY.
Well, I have to say that your layout is looking real good. On that code 55, how does the ME work with the Atlas? I may have to try some of that. You have a big flat yard area yet you've laid down thick foam. Are there going to be relief sections lower than the yard tracks? That track plan kenneth posted is your track plan you are using, correct? If so it looks really good on paper. I would dearly love to see the layout from a eagle eye view. If you could do an overall shot of the layout room from a step ladder it would help put it all together for me. During the design did you ever consider building a helix for another deck, or just using the turning balloons on the ends to get a continuos run?
Geeky, I am using the top plan that Kenneth drew for me, but just along the Downtown & West Austin sides. The ME works with the Atlas just fine. There will be relief sections below track level (the Colorado River, for example).
More Austin Texas 1950 prototype features for layout. There was a block between the 1888 IGN passenger depot and the NP freight station, but I put them in adjacent city blocks on the plan to condense and squeeze in the most important features. The MP freight station was long and narrow, 120 to 180 feet long, 20 to 30 feet deep and one story tall, running most of the distance between LaVaca and Guadalupe. As near as I can read the Sanborn’s plan, it looks like it says “…(something 3 letters) ‘cl’….” I presume “cl” is an abbreviation for “clad”, a metal clad building, such as a wood frame building with corrugated metal sheet over it. I would buy freight doors and doors and scratchbuild this structure, either with Evergreen brand styrene with corrugated metal pattern. or with Campbell’s aluminum siding over a cardboard, wood or styrene underbody. The last one-fifth of the length of the freight station building on the west end was used as a produce warehouse. Presumably the amount of LCL freight house business had declined by the 1950s and that portion of the building was rented to allow another client for the railroad. It gives us something more for operation-- a place to route a refrigerator car, and the business would be about one car-length long. My guess is that this building was not insulated the way cold storage is for meats and frozen foods, the kinds of refrigerated loads that would go to the cold storage warehouse. It would be more fruits and vegetables for local markets, probably mostly in ART/MoPac reefers from the Rio Grande Valley and the Winter Garden areas of South Texas. A warehouse building belonging to Walter Tips Co. was on Second street, in what would be the background of the downtown Austin scene on your layout as I drew it, between Colorado and LaVaca Streets. (I did not include that block on the plan because I was concentrating on the railroad buildings along 3rd street. However, one could put the Tips Building on the background in the block behind the station, effectively condensing the scene with part of one actual block in the foreground and something from the next actual block on the background.) The Sanborn’s map shows the Tips Company as 28 feet high but apparently one story, a tall warehouse type structure. It shows the building as having asbestos siding over steel frame. I can see it as the kind of building that has a straight-topped wall that extends slightly above the roofline, so you do not see the roof from any side of the building. Asbestos shingle siding walls (just ONE big wall will do for a flat background building) might be modeled by using plastic sheet material that is made for roofs. I have not seen any pictures of this building, but I picture it as one of these asbestos-siding clad buildings that is dirty white or grey or light tan brown or “institutional green”. I consider it important to include in the background with the name “The Walter Tips Co.” on it, even though it is not important operationally or scenically, because it ties in with the Tips Iron and Steel spur a few blocks west, and because the Walter Tips name is so much a part of the heritage of Austin local business history. On Second Street in the block south of the MP freight station was a three story office building belonging to the Calcasieu Lumber Company. It ran from LaVaca Street most of the way to Guadalupe. That would be on the background of your Austin downtown scene. This was built in 1947 and was new at the time the Austin 1950 railroad scene is set, and as it turns out, there is a photograph of this building available from the approximate angle it would be seen on the layout. It is on the City of Austin’s web site because, (quote) “The former Calcasieu Lumber Co. office served as the City Hall Annex and home for the City Council Chambers for more than two decades. Photo taken Spring 2000 before demolition in June 2000.” www.ci.austin.tx.us/cityhall/images/annex_1.jpg 640 x 350 pixels - 53k Since for once there is a picture available to copy, AND because this ties in with the lumber yard in the next block that is an actual part of the modeled operation, it might be suitable to have as one of the building flats. This is only a small of the interesting prototype features to fit on this layout. More to come including an old-time flour mill, tracks through a lumberyard, a power plant, and more.
Kenneth (and Matthew), This is GREAT STUFF! You guys consider publishing this info as an article about the layout? Even as a "Planning the MoPac Austin Sub" article it has merit, regardless of the progression of the layout. And of course a layout article could follow later as well. I think it has potential, but (as much as I'm enjoying this) you might want to "hold back" some stuff to maintain interest for a publisher. Just a thought.
Quote: you might want to "hold back" some stuff to maintain interest for a publisher. Yes, I thought about that, but Matthew wanted to get the track plan out on trainboard so I put it up. I think it would make an interesting article about the DESIGN PROBLEM of fitting a prototype into a restricted layout, and some of the alternatives, maybe with three or four very different track plans, all small, of different ways of approaching the problem. See my own personal trackplan at http://www.trainboard.com/ultimatebb.php/ubb/get_topic/f/33/t/000725.html#000000 [ February 10, 2006, 09:40 AM: Message edited by: Kenneth L. Anthony ]
The track along Second Street serving several industries on the layout is connected to the depot lead by an S-curve that runs through a lumber yard of the Calcasieu Lumber Co. This is based on a real arrangement. The Sanborn’s maps show 3 tracks running for two blocks across Calcasieu lumber yard, used both for Calcasieu and for reaching other customers. Calcasieu storage and warehouse buildings covered four city blocks in addition to the Calcasieu office building shown in a previous post. The Calcasieu lumber structure appear to be fairly plain shed and warehouse buildings with ONE EXCEPTION that can make for some interesting modeling. The buildings fit in the space left by the railroad tracks, so rather than being uniformly rectangular and boxy, the complex of buildings is broken up along its length into a series of trapezoids, each wall a different length and each section of the building at a different angle to the front of the layout. Shouldn’t be especially difficult to build one section at a time, and will be visually interesting. I drew Quality Mills flour behind some of the Calcasieu sheds. It is actually a couple of blocks further west and closer to Third Street. I squeezed it in back to condense features for the layout. Quality Mills appeared on the 1930 Sanborn’s maps. A warehouse for Austex Foods (Chili) was built on the same spot in 1953, and shown in the 1960 map. Was the flour mill still standing and operating in 1950, the time period for the layout? I don’t know for sure, but it is an interesting contrast to all the boxy warehouses, with its cylindrical silos and oil tanks. The map legend says the mill used a “crude oil engine” for power to operate. “Crude oil” probably means it burned a low grade of oil in a boiler (“Bunker C”?) to generate steam, as opposed to an internal combustion engine. Was that power still used in 1950? It probably would have been simple to convert the operation to electric motors and keep the old oil boiler on site but no longer operating-- but who knows? The legend also says electricity was used for lighting and gas for heat in the office only. Rest of the mill must have been unheated. And open flames around flour dust could be dangerous. Flour dust, in the right (or wrong) combination with air can be explosive. I have not been able find any pictures of Quality Mills, but the layout shown in the plat suggest what it may have looked like. Two silos about 4 stories tall, oil tank and small boilerhouse, some square enclosures for machinery. I found a picture at the Library of Congress website with some similarity to a quesstimated appearance of Quality Mills, Austin. It is a large panoramic photo of flour mill in Springfield, Ohio taken 1908. Go to http://www.loc.gov Click on American Memory/ then click on “Architecture/landscape”/ then search for “Springfield flour” I don’t know whether Quality Mills shipped flour by rail or milled only for local customers. Because of the date of the layout, 1950, it is too early for Airslide covered hoppers for flour, and even regular covered hoppers were not used much for grain before 1954 or 1955. Quality Mills probably received its wheat by boxcar.
This is an electric power plant I created in the computer and e-mailed through cyberspace to Matthew Roberts. I needed to squeeze some representation of a power plant. It takes up an L-shaped space about 3 inches long, an inch and a half deep at one end and three inches deep at the other. The very slight reduced depth on the right side is to allow for some very token representation of the Colorado River (of Texas) behind that side of the power plant. Rather token representation. And if that is not squeezed enough, I let the footprint of the building do double duty by running a track inside where a car with electrical equipment being shipped to the plant could be spotted. I didn’t have a photo of the plant that was replaced beginning in 1951 so I based a representation on recollections of several plants from the first half of the 20th century. I drew a paper cutout for walls of a powerplant in Photoshop and emailed the file to Roberts. He has been busy laying track and I don’t know if he has had time to print out the file onto cardstock and brace and assemble the building. I assembled my own test print-out and set up a quick mockup of the scene towards the back of the shelf layout. AFTER drawing my power plant in the computer, I discovered a source for what the power plant may have looked like. A railroad painting by John Winfield, “Missouri Pacific First Generation Diesels”, shows a view from the Lamar Street overpass in Austin looking toward the wye where the line to the downtown MP depot cut off from the mainline. In the distance in what appears to be the power plant at the far right margin of the picture, just above the Lamar Street bridge railing. The painting shows the power plant as a beige masonry structure with a gable roof, the long direction of the building running east and west, and a much bigger taller smokestack. Prints of the Winfield painting are sold by Rail History Prints and their website has a picture of the painting: http://www.railprints.com/rrprints/prints/mp-first.htm
Ok,I admit it.I am greedy for progress shots on peoples layouts. they fuel my own layout progress and inspire me to work more.
Mathew, I know this is layout design land, but I have to say I like that passenger train lots. Did you paint it up yourself or is it a ready made train? The consist looks very believable. I like your car weathering also. Kenneth, Have you ever considered copyrighting your track plans? All you have to do is submit a form VA to the library of congress along with 40.00$ and copies of your work. It is possible to enter the work under a title as a collection "kens 2006 track deisgns." Once you have a copyright on something you are always allowed to send changes to be added to that item. You could keep adding track plans all year long since it is a collection. I believe you get up to five or seven years, better check that, for submitting old not yet protected work. Just because it has been shown on the web does not mean you still cannot copy protect it. Geek.
Geeky, thanx for the complements. They're just Con-cor passenger cars led by a Atlas GP7TT. New pictures, not much, but this was my layout progress:
Doug- There will be some time tommorrow, I finally recieved the 15 Peco Code 55 turnouts I've been waiting for. This means trackwork can finally be completed!
