I've been working on a coaling tower to go with the station I did for the last challenge. I think I'm going to do a small HO switching layout that is based on the interchange in Avon, NY. This was part of the Erie RR Rochester division, and Avon sat at the center of a fork in the line: coming up from Corning and Elmira in the south, a north branch headed into Rochester (delivering coal from PA and taking out finished manufactured goods and chemicals delivered at the port of Rochester), and a west branch went towards Buffalo. Most of the traffic on both lines was agricultural, raw materials (coal, salt, etc.) or finished goods. There was a write up on this a issue of RMC in 2001, and since I've already done the station at Avon based on plans in an earlier MR article, it seems like a good idea to keep going.
As far as I have been able to tell, there were a couple of big freight houses, a small car shed and workshop, a three stall roundhouse with turntable, a watertower, and a power substation (part of the line was electrified in the 1930s) . I plan to model the late 1930s, just before Erie went through bankruptcy reorganization. I don't know that there was actually a coal tower, but I'm going to use creative liscence. Historic photos of the railroad yards are few and far between, but I've found some.
This particular coaling tower is based on a small 160-ton tower at Nanticoke, PA. I found a picture online: http://home.earthlink.net/~railroad_towers_railroadmania/coal_towers_steam_locomotives/Honey_Pot_Pennsylvania_Railroad.html
You can more or less see the evolution of the structure -- and some real pain in the you know what timber bracing. Still a lot to go on this, but I thought it was enough to start a thread on. More updates as I get more done.
-Joe
As far as I have been able to tell, there were a couple of big freight houses, a small car shed and workshop, a three stall roundhouse with turntable, a watertower, and a power substation (part of the line was electrified in the 1930s) . I plan to model the late 1930s, just before Erie went through bankruptcy reorganization. I don't know that there was actually a coal tower, but I'm going to use creative liscence. Historic photos of the railroad yards are few and far between, but I've found some.
This particular coaling tower is based on a small 160-ton tower at Nanticoke, PA. I found a picture online: http://home.earthlink.net/~railroad_towers_railroadmania/coal_towers_steam_locomotives/Honey_Pot_Pennsylvania_Railroad.html
You can more or less see the evolution of the structure -- and some real pain in the you know what timber bracing. Still a lot to go on this, but I thought it was enough to start a thread on. More updates as I get more done.
-Joe