Let's see your coal power plants. I need an industry to justify having a coal train on the layout. Maybe a large power plant that unloads coal, which would also create a switcher assignment! Anyone have any pictures or ideas?
Coal power plants are monstrous huge! A normal sized plant would get up to five 100 car unit trains a day in the summer peak period. Mountains of coal are stored near the plant to protect against any interruption. Whole states are almost totally involved in extracting coal from the ground and transporting it to market. It'd be hard to model something like that even in N Scale. Sorry.
Someday I may figure out how to post pictures I use a Walthers Northern Power and Light Co. power plant to approximate a MUCH larger New York State Electric and Gas plant in Binghamton, N.Y.. I have a branchline with a small coal mining operation representing Blossburg, PA. As in the prototype, there's a run each day to/from the mine to the power plant. Depending on my mood (steam vs. diesel) an Erie-Lackawanna GP7 or an Erie 2-8-0 hauling 5 loaded hoppers initiates the run through the mountains. This smaller scope of operations accomodates my space better than a huge tipple and a massive power plant.
I personally don't have the space for a big power plant, but I'm using these photos I found on RailPictures.Net as a basis for modeling a small private plant. These are of Wisconsin & Southern servicing the heating plant at Uinversity of Wisconsin. Something like this might be interesting to you (and others). http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=151830 http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=147765 http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=147720 (These photos were not taken by me, but I find them quite cool and the inspiration for a small power plant I'm adding to my layout planning at the moment.)
Like Bob Morris I use a Walthers HO power plant to simulate an N scale one. I found one for sale, already built, at the Plano Train show. As if that wasn't big enough, I dropped it off the layout and the glue joints broke apart, so I put it back together as a flat, which works fine where its located. I am debating on just how to do the unloading tipple, between the Western Coal Flood Loader and various metal buildings. The neatest feature is its loads in - empties out for unit trains! I simulate a loop, but instead of coming back around, it goes through the backdrop to staging, and another track comes out. With coordination, I can slowly creep a train around the loop and it goes in full and comes out empty. So far, I haven't matched the locos number for number, but do consist two SD 60's on both ends, all in BNSF paint. Close enough and no one has noticed the difference in numbers. Ditto on the cars. I put the loads and empties in similar color schemes at the front of the train to complete the illusion. The building itself, and a future huge coal pile merely hide the deception even more. Its based on an idea from John Armstrong in one of his layout planning books.
mike you don't necessarily need a coal industry. if i remember right there are always lots of coal cars at revelstoke even if there's no coal industry. depending on the location there are many thru coal trains.
