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Southern Railway's Slate Fork Branch (N)

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    Scenery work on the Slate Fork:

    Click image for larger version

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ID:	33465 West portal of Dismal Tunnel

    Click image for larger version

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ID:	33466 East portal of Dismal Tunnel
    Southern Railway Slate Fork Branch: https://realisticmodelrailroading.ne...-fork-branch-n

    Old magazines can still be fresh sources of hobby information!

    Comment


    • Allen
      Allen commented
      Editing a comment
      Looks good Paul.
      Coming along nicely.

    • Russ C
      Russ C commented
      Editing a comment
      As Allen said, looks good!!

    One of the challenges I encountered with the Slate Fork, due to a commitment for maintaining reasonable aisle widths, was sector-plate staging consisting of just two tracks. This situation runs afoul of Tony Koester's rule of 2n+1* when planning for stub-end staging (minimum of three tracks). The two staging tracks had become storage tracks, and this was interfering with operations.

    I solved the issue by purchasing two pre-built shelves, painting them black, and installing them underneath the layout within easy reach of the staging yard.

    Click image for larger version  Name:	20240928_123242.jpg Views:	0 Size:	70.1 KB ID:	34028 The walls need a good wipe down with a damp cloth, I see.

    *Twice what you think you (2N) plus one more.
    Southern Railway Slate Fork Branch: https://realisticmodelrailroading.ne...-fork-branch-n

    Old magazines can still be fresh sources of hobby information!

    Comment


      Good Idea Paul, although the open ends concerns me (unintended roll aways coming to grief).Could you make those shelfs into movable cassettes? Possibly to butt up to the fiddle yard tracks, in effect removable sections of the fiddle yard?

      Comment


        Originally posted by Russ C View Post
        Good Idea Paul, although the open ends concerns me (unintended roll aways coming to grief).Could you make those shelfs into movable cassettes? Possibly to butt up to the fiddle yard tracks, in effect removable sections of the fiddle yard?
        I've become a little wary of removeable cassettes for N scale, Russ. One jostle and at best those light little cars have derailed. An errant jerk and they are flying everywhere. I think cassettes work better in larger scales where more mass is an advantage.

        So far no issues with rollaways or attempted rollaways, fingers crossed.
        Southern Railway Slate Fork Branch: https://realisticmodelrailroading.ne...-fork-branch-n

        Old magazines can still be fresh sources of hobby information!

        Comment


          I like the easy to reach shelves for off layout staging where tracks are not available. I don't care to be the one working the "Hole or Mole", but it solves a problem without modification on the viewable layout. This could be used to exchange empty for loaded cars at industries.
          Southern Pacific in the Inland Empire

          Comment


            Something long-missing from the Slate Fork has been station signs. So I finally sid something about it: call it a "Dollar Project," if you recall the old MR feature.

            Simple to make: design in Excel, some stripwood and tie stain for posts.

            Click image for larger version  Name:	IMG_0457.jpg Views:	0 Size:	266.1 KB ID:	34331 Click image for larger version  Name:	IMG_0456.jpg Views:	0 Size:	374.1 KB ID:	34332 Click image for larger version  Name:	IMG_0455.jpg Views:	0 Size:	189.3 KB ID:	34333I followed Southern standards as best I could, referring to a standards plan from 1948. I also made a sign for Koester.

            The sign for Slate Fork is a bit wonky, and I'm thinking I"ll redo it.
            Southern Railway Slate Fork Branch: https://realisticmodelrailroading.ne...-fork-branch-n

            Old magazines can still be fresh sources of hobby information!

            Comment


            • Russ C
              Russ C commented
              Editing a comment
              They look good Paul. They follow SRR colour?
              You could do one or two as non standard as leftovers from Slaty Fork RR days.

            Originally posted by Paul S. View Post
            So I finally sid something about it: call it a "Dollar Project
            This must be a typo? I can't see Sid having anything to do with this.....
            The Little Rock Line Blog

            Rule #1 of model railroading.
            It's probably responsible for the greatest number of shoddy layouts because no one feels compelled to improve themselves. Meh, good enough...

            Comment


            • Russ C
              Russ C commented
              Editing a comment
              Poor Sid, a grossly misunderstood person.
              Most people can't see Sid....

            • Allen
              Allen commented
              Editing a comment
              "Most people can't see Sid...."
              Which is probably for the best? 😂

            • Paul S.
              Paul S. commented
              Editing a comment
              Hahahahahahaha!🤣🤣🤣

            One area that's been problematic on the Slate Fork Branch is the Hercules Powder spur, located just south (timetable east) of Slate Fork. This industry receives ammonium nitrate in covered hoppers. When mixed with an oxidizer, such a diesel oil, it's a powerful explosive. Think Oklahoma City in the 1990s.

            The trouble is that execution never met the expectations of planning. Initially, I had kitbashed a typical AN train-to-truck loader. But this structure was located at the front edge of the layout. As the photo shows, the loader was too fragile. So I protected it with Plexiglas.

            Click image for larger version  Name:	IMG_0459~2.jpg Views:	0 Size:	61.1 KB ID:	34507

            However, the Plexiglas was obtrusive and detracted from the scene.

            But I plowed ahead for years with this arrangement. Last year, I decided enough was enough, and I started converting the site to a pulpwood yard. That idea soon fell by the wayside, as did revamping the site into the old Slate Fork Ry. engine facility.

            I finally decided that Hercules Powder would remain, but not the loader. Instead, just a spur where covered hoppers would be spotted, the towed by HP to the off-layout loader. The spur, aided by short length of roadbed nearby, would appear to a repurposed leg of a wye.

            Click image for larger version  Name:	20241019_170454.jpg Views:	0 Size:	196.5 KB ID:	34508So there you have. I'll add a small scale house and signage to the scene, and I'll also actually have room for an era-appropriate bulk trailer to round things off.

            More to come. ...
            Southern Railway Slate Fork Branch: https://realisticmodelrailroading.ne...-fork-branch-n

            Old magazines can still be fresh sources of hobby information!

            Comment


            • Russ C
              Russ C commented
              Editing a comment
              Well I think it's a good idea Paul. In fact, all your ideas for this location had potential but this idea works in a 'minimalist' way.
              You still have an active industry without the actual industry structures, as Allen said.

            • Paul S.
              Paul S. commented
              Editing a comment
              Thanks, Russ C. Less might be more here.

            • Tim R
              Tim R commented
              Editing a comment
              That reminds me of a small Purina feed dealer in Ruth, NC (on the SB line between Blacksburg, SC, and Marion, NC). The biggest difference is that they had more bins in the tower and a scale below the discharge shuts to weigh the grain before loading it into the truck. It was adjacent to a very large pulpwood loading yard.

            Good question, Allen. Hercules Powder only gets a couple cars a month, so the inbound load will get spotted, and then pulled the next ops session, as if the AN had been offloaded into an overhead bin for truck loading, then the car moved "back on scene" by Hercules Powder. I figure they'll use a pair of winches.
            Southern Railway Slate Fork Branch: https://realisticmodelrailroading.ne...-fork-branch-n

            Old magazines can still be fresh sources of hobby information!

            Comment


            • Russ C
              Russ C commented
              Editing a comment
              Yep, the car doesn't have to actually move, kinda 'loads in, empties out' setup. I've also seen a front end loader used to shove cars in sidings, justsomething to get it rolling and a company brakeman to brake it when needed. Could even use a truck with a tow rope.
              The thing is Paul, you don't have to model anything, just say it happens, the car got moved, unloaded and respotted outside the company grounds between ops sessions.

            Russ C said: "The thing is Paul, you don't have to model anything, just say it happens, the car got moved, unloaded and respotted outside the company grounds between ops sessions."

            Yep, that's the idea, Russ. It's the ops part that matters more in this case.
            Southern Railway Slate Fork Branch: https://realisticmodelrailroading.ne...-fork-branch-n

            Old magazines can still be fresh sources of hobby information!

            Comment


              The spur to the offscene AN loader needed something to anchor the scene, and a small scalehouse fit the bit.

              Click image for larger version  Name:	20241028_134201~2.jpg Views:	0 Size:	142.4 KB ID:	34656

              Click image for larger version  Name:	20241028_134212.jpg Views:	0 Size:	122.7 KB ID:	34657 Just something I cobbled together from odds and ends, with help from plans in the January 1981 issue of Railroad Model Craftsman.

              I've some about trains registering as they enter and depart from the Slate Fork Branch. Well, here's where those register cards go!

              Click image for larger version  Name:	20241028_134429~2.jpg Views:	0 Size:	91.0 KB ID:	34658 Just bits of styrene and brass tubing, based on a feature in the December 1979 issue of RMC.
              Southern Railway Slate Fork Branch: https://realisticmodelrailroading.ne...-fork-branch-n

              Old magazines can still be fresh sources of hobby information!

              Comment


                You could also make a junk area behind the scale house, maybe some plant machinery and railroad junk from the Slate Fork days.
                Maybe an old wood boxcar used as a storage shed?

                Comment


                  This! > "Maybe an old wood boxcar used as a storage shed"
                  Good call Russ!
                  The Little Rock Line Blog

                  Rule #1 of model railroading.
                  It's probably responsible for the greatest number of shoddy layouts because no one feels compelled to improve themselves. Meh, good enough...

                  Comment


                    Russ C and Allen , while there's not enough space for an old boxcar, there's space for old rails, etc., in the weeds!
                    Southern Railway Slate Fork Branch: https://realisticmodelrailroading.ne...-fork-branch-n

                    Old magazines can still be fresh sources of hobby information!

                    Comment


                      The new Hercules Power spur is open for traffic.

                      Click image for larger version  Name:	IMG_0465.jpg Views:	0 Size:	227.8 KB ID:	34775 Need to add another vehicle or two, and whatever other plausible small details come to mind.

                      The whitish film is gloss medium still drying.
                      Southern Railway Slate Fork Branch: https://realisticmodelrailroading.ne...-fork-branch-n

                      Old magazines can still be fresh sources of hobby information!

                      Comment


                      • Allen
                        Allen commented
                        Editing a comment
                        Excellent Paul! And you couldn’t have chosen a better hopper for the first scene!

                      • Russ C
                        Russ C commented
                        Editing a comment
                        Looks good @Paul S.
                        I like the mobile scale test unit, or is that the plant switcher?
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