Crawford & Cherokee - Robert J. Thomas

[KansasBob]

The Crawford and Cherokee is an HO scale layout set in Southeast Kansas on the Weir-Pittsburg Coal Field. The layout is a (mostly) prototypical representation of the intersection of the St. Louis & San Francisco RR (Frisco) Afton Subdivision and Parsons Subdivision in the town of Cherokee, Kansas. The layout includes a branch line to the town of Weir City, Kansas. A second small branch to a coal mine (the Lightning Creek Mine) is also represented. While the era is the late 1920s, I also have built several models from around 1905-1910 as a alternate era operating session option. The layout is the size of a two car garage (~18X18ft) and is built with torsion box (waffle) benchwork in sections that can be stored if needed.

[KansasBob]

The current trackplan. (As of June 2023)

[TimMoran]

Have enjoyed seeing this railroad grow. Love the addition of the creek between town and the mine. Thanks for sharing your work here!

[KansasBob]

Thanks TimMoran, I need to get back to this layout. I have been working on some, ahem, Free-mo modules. I'll post the project here in the next couple of weeks...seems like something you might be interested in seeing. If you are on FaceBook, look for "Wichita and Northwestern in HO Scale" and follow there.

[KansasBob]

I'll make a few posts from around the layout, referencing locations in the track plan above....



A northbound train in the town of Cherokee.

[Paul S.]

Coal in Kansas. That didn't compute until I recalled all the sedimentary rock just under the prairie.

[KansasBob]

Read more about the Weir-Pittsburg Coal Field: https://www.kgs.ku.edu/Publications/...4/06_mine.html

[Paul S.]

Thanks for the link, Bob. I'm a bit of a student of geology, and what I've read of the paper, especially the Weir-Pittsburg portion, is interesting.

I think I'm a bit envious, actually: you can have coal traffic without modeling the Appalachians, thereby saving yourself the trouble of preparing hundreds of seafoam trees!

[KansasBob]

Train approaching the Lightning Creek Mine. Note this was prior to building the "negative space" section separating Cherokee and the mine sections.

-Bob T.

[Steve H AC&Y]

While my model subject could not be more different (the gritty industrial side of Akron, Ohio) your photo illustrates the overall "rightness" of a modeled scene that I hope to achieve. Well done.

[KansasBob]

Thanks Steve!

[KansasBob]

Bridge and mining camp at Lightning Creek...I have since this photo added some detail to the banks of the creek.



-Bob T.

[KansasBob]

Train at the MoPac Interchange....



-Bob T.

[Paul S.]

Bob, how do you operate the railroad? Does everything run as an extra?

[KansasBob]

Paul,

I run as a schedule/sequence where all are essentially extras. The switch lists are generated by JMRI, including "virtual" trains which move cars on/off the interchanges and the yard track in Cherokee. Mostly, I am the only operator, so I just generate a train and run here and there. A better operating scheme may materialize someday such that you have to meet a departure schedule in Weir City prior to another train's arrival. We'll see as things evolve.

You might infer from my posts that I enjoy mostly building models and photography. I am down to modeling three or four kind of signature scenes and mostly focused on building the Cherokee station, a brickyard from photos, and representative mine from an aggregate of old pictures. A few other structures as well that are fictional other than business names.

Hopefully this makes some sense.

-Bob T.

[KansasBob]

A bit of Weir City along Vogel Street at the wye...

[KansasBob]

Dropping off a few boxcars at the Weir City Brickyard. I am still working on structures for the brickyard, but have a drawing and some 3D printed kilns in the paint booth....

[KansasBob]

A prized brass Frisco consolidation from Don Wirth's collection....

[Paul S.]

Is that the Hallmark model of the 1306 class, Bob?

[KansasBob]

Yes, that's correct. Don may have made some modifications, but I am not sure.

[KansasBob]

The latest Bachmann Decapod arrives for the power pool, June 2020.

[Paul S.]

That's right! I remember now that the Frisco really liked the Decapods. Maybe "really liked" is too strong a phrase, but they had several.

The Frisco sure had some handsome steam power, Bob.

[KansasBob]

I agree. The Frisco 1630 resides at the Illinois Railway Museum and is still operational. https://www.irm.org/gallery/Frisco-1630-Restoration/aaa

[Michael Whiteman]

Absolutely fantastic pictures Bob! and thanks for including the track plan. I see that the "Y" is the only way to turn your loco, so half of your running must be tender first. Surprised to not see a turntable at the opposite end.

[KansasBob]

Yes, a near-term goal. I would have liked to add a wye south of Cherokee, but not enough room in the garage. On the prototype, the turntable and engine house were just northwest of the diamond in Cherokee.

[cduckworth]

Bob
beautiful layout and nice track plan.

[KansasBob]

OK, a few posts on historical stuff for this new thread...

The town of Cherokee, c.1906 showing the basis of that portion of the layout. As mentioned above, it would be nice to have some room to add the turntable and roundhouse which appears just northwest of the diamond.




-Bob T.