My Layout, SWPrr

[eatst14]

Since everyone was posting layout pics, I thought that I would do the same.

Well, this is my Huntingdon Valley RR. Its a fictious branch of an existing branch line: the Southwestern Pennsylvania RR. The SWP runs for about 35mi South from Greensburg, Pa to Uniontown, Pa and was a major branch of the Pennsy, hauling coal from the Connelsville area.

At one point and time the line also ran from Greensburg West to Herminie, about 5 mi South of where my Parents live, and where i lived for 23 years.

The trackplan kind of evolved from the mineral range route, but obviously doesnt resemble the mineral range at all anymore.

This is an overall pic of the layout, if anyone likes it ill post additional photos.
Let me know what you guys think.

Ed
Eatst14@yahoo.com

 

[kettlestack]

Welcome Ed,
Like it? ... LIKE IT? ... are you kidding? ... I love it!!!!!

It looks so functional. How about close ups if the mine? Pleeeese?
I'm looking for inspiration for my N layout (I'm curently working on an HO one at present).

You seem to have got everything in there a RR could want, continuous running, switching operations, motive power depot et al.

Give us the low down Ed, how big is it, do you run steam, etc etc.

Errol

 

[eatst14]

well, right now im using all dieasel, why? because steam ius too expensive for me. Well, also cause i wanted to do something modern. ultra-modern 90's and early 2000's

ok, im mostly running gps. I have a gp 7, 9tt, 35, 38, 40-2
I use these mostly for locals, and switching.

I also have one LL sw9 that i use in teh yard and industrial area exclusively.

I also have an sd35, sd60m, 2dash8's, idash9, and one sd7

Now i have two mines, the first one is visible and is very oldfashioned, the second in on teh other side of the main mountain that runs along the center of the layout. This one is semi-modeled after a truck style depot, where dump trucks would bring the coal to the tipple.

I also have a 4 track hidden stagging behind the backdrop.

Ill post a few more pics as soon as i find them.
unfortunetly, this layout wont be around much longer, at least not in my possesion, im living with my fiancee now, and we dont have room for it. The layout was originally 4x8, but ive added on to it, its about 9.5ftx4ft 2in now


Heres a Pic of the mine for ya.

 

[Catt]

Very nice Ed. Please show us more.

 

[eatst14]

I know i have more pictures...somewhere...i just wish i could remember where.

Ok i found these on another disk of mine, im going to have to learn to be more organized.

Ok this is the mine on the other side of the mountain that i mentioned...It wa originally going to be gravel/sand and not coal. But i found a picture of a tipple very similar in appearance to the Glacier kit from walthers located in Connelsville, so now its coal. Besides I wanted to have more than just one mine.

Below you can see the incline which reaches the old mine on the "east" side of the Layout.

 

[eatst14]

This is a shot of the mainline/interchange next to the Connelsville type mine. At one point i was going to have a tunnel go through the mountain and out the other side to access the Industrial area. But i didnt think it seamed realistic, and the only reason i wanted to do that was to seperate the scenes more.

You can see in the lower right hand corner, a track diaspearing behind a unsceniced mountain, that track continues into a four track stagging area. The hidden stagging is the only place i use powered turnouts, everywhere else u have to throw them by hand.

Im going to draw a track plan over the weekend for the layout and post it either on Monday, or Tuesday, so u can see roughly everything thats on here.

Thanks Kettle, Catt. I hope i hear more good things than bad things. This is the first time ive really shown the layout to anyone outside of close friends and family, and I had to do it because within the next 3 months it will all be gone.

 

[nmtexman]

It's going to be a shame for you to lose this layout. Pack it away carefully; who knows, you might get a chance to re-establish it in the future!

Meanwhile, keep posting pictures for a historical perspective!

 

[roryglasgow]

That's a great layout, Ed! It's a shame that you're going to have to take it down. I bet there are several of us, though, who wouldn't mind taking it off your hands!

I was faced with a similar situation with my layout. When we moved to this house, I didn't have enough room for my layout, so I tore it down. The new layout is smaller and is using the pieces reclaimed from the older one.

-Rory

 

[Tyson Rayles]

Nice layout Ed, sorry to hear about it's impending demise. If you are sure you won't have room for it when you move you might could do like Rory and recyle alot of it into a new smaller version. If your new digs don't have room for a island style you might could build a shelf layout on one or more walls.

 

[kettlestack]

I love your pics Ed, that's one helluva good pike you got there.
If it were mine it would break my heart to demolish it having got that far with it.

Like texman says, post more pics for posterity.

Errol

 

[Drew1125]

Welcome to The Gauge Ed!!
That is an outstanding layout, & I second the concesus that it'll be a shame to see it go!
But you can preserve it in photos, & save all those great structures to use again.
And take heart, it's always exciting planning, & building a new one! (just ask Shamus & Rory)
But anyway, keep those pics coming as long as you can!
That is really excellent work, my friend!

 

[eatst14]

WOW, im really touched. Well id like to say thanks to everyone who took a look at my pics, Im glad you liked them, and im very happy to get such great response.

Sorry I havent posted since last week, but finals are here, and i dont think ill be posting for a short time....Well ok im posting tomorrow the diagram for my next layout, which is going to fit into the corner of our dinning room.

I plan to post pics of this layout as i buld it just as Rory and others have done on here.

Right now im getting the black marker out and making a scthc dark enough to be picked up nicely by the scanner at the lab.

Basicly I plan to follow the SWP proto type more closely ( but not much), I plan to model about 15 mi of trackage from Radebaugh where the swp interchanges with the NS on the old Pennsy mainline, which is located just west of Greensburg, to the Youngwood yard located just south of greensburg, and back up through greensburg's industrial area...if u can call it that.

Most of the industries i plan to model are no longer there, or are now out of buisness, but that doesnt stop me!

Im going to model Hempfield foundries, The old PPG glass plant, a few warehouses, a specialty glas shop similar to Lenox but looking more like the one located in Jeanette called Jeanette specialt glass, a block and pipe cement factory, and a lumber/gravel yard.

There will be stagging representing everything south of Youngwood including teh Sony plant, mills, a refinery, teh interchange at connesville with csx, georgia Pacfic, and plenty others.

I havent picked a name yet, but ill let you know as soon as i do.

Ohh and the dimensions are roughly aroun 5ftx30in, roughly.

Hope you like the diagram when i post it

Ed
Eatst14@yahoo.com

Again thanks for everone who posted so far, and everyone who just looked

 

[mrgooch]

Great Layout Ed

I am curious about the trees in the center mountain. They look solid. How did you build them.

 

[eatst14]

Mrgooch
To be honest i think that this is the simplest way to make trees especially on a mountain. Use Lichen, preferably something with realistic green colors like woodland scenics, i used lifelike at first, for the mine area and i dont really liek it, anyway glue teh lichen down where u want it, then spray with your favorite adhesive, and shake on gound foam, wallah! instant forest.

The biggest promblem with this technique, is that lichen is expensive in large quantities, im experimenting with white ployfiber now, attempting to stain it and use it instead as the same volume of quilter's polyfiber costa about 1-2 dollars verses about 60 dollars of lichen.

The other problem i encountered is that you dont get good coverage under the armatures, but who cares, shake it on sideways or blow it on, no one sees the underside much anyway

Hope this helps, and please forgive my typing errors

Ed
Eatst14@yahoo.com

 

[roryglasgow]

I once visited the layout of a guy named Steve Hay in Georgetown, TX. He modelled a fictional coal mining scene on the Lehigh Valley. The layout (a big duckunder built in the attic of a detached garage) features several tall, tree-covered mountains. For most of the trees, he used cotton balls that he painted green and covered in ground foam. Here are some links to pictures of his layout:

http://www.kingshobby.com/sw1200.htm
http://www.kingshobby.com/228lake.htm

Here's the link to the gallery:

http://www.kingshobby.com/photo.htm#trainmodelphotos

-Rory

 

[60103]

The first time my wife and I drove down the Susquehanna River to Harrisburg, we looked up and both thought "Hills covered with lichen trees"
Now I'll have to see where there's a prototype for polyfibre trees.

 

[eatst14]

Ok heres an attempt to get my diagram posted i hope it works, if so ill follow with text.

 

[eatst14]

Ok it took me awhile to get the picture small enough to fit, but i did it.

Well this is (most of ) my diagram. The setting is modern, Greensburg, Pa. The yard in teh upper right corner represents Youngwood, not all of the yard is shown by teh picture, but it is stub ended, and will have atleast one run around, so that trains originating in teh stagging area can return, by going around the layout twice clockwise.

There will be two backdrops, teh first is a mountain, that will exist on teh layout right behind the four dtore buildings by teh road, behind here will be stagging that represenst connesville and the csx interchange, but also the Sony plant, the Georgia Pacfic planbt, and teh towns of Mountpleasant, and Newstanton where a new intermodal site is being built. It will also interchange here with teh ohio central and W&LE rr.


Also behind the first backdrop/mountain, will be a series of lights, blue for daylight, and violet, red, and orange for twilight. These lights will be controled by a dimmer switch which will also control the above lighting system. The swp handles a good bit of its traffic at night and i wanted to recreate this.

Teh second backdrop therefore serves as sort of projector screen where the light will be focused on, to give teh appearance of the sun setting, the only problem is that on teh prototype this area would be the East, not West...tough!

Ok the industries i plan to model include Hempfield foundries ( does exist-no longer operates...tough!). Greensburg SPecialty glass-DoesNotExist. The PPG plant ( did exist, now its a warehouse), a cement plant, lumber yard, and a few warehouses, some not located on teh layout.

Well I hope you guys like my design, i wanna hear your thoughts on it.

Ohh the dimensions are 30" x 60" for teh main layout area, and an additional 16" by 32" for the yard area.

Ed
EATST14@yahoo.com

By the way if anyone is interested in purchasing my old layout, tell me what you think would be a fair price for it...or for that matter what does everyone here think would be a fair price for it?
its 9.5ft by about 4 ft, with over 40 un-powered turnouts and a double main...just look at the previous pictures of it posted

thanks guys!
The portion modeled is present and past industries of Greensburg that were/are served by the SWP.

 

[WM-N-fan]

In the apprasal, do you want the industries included?

 

[OLDGATORBOB]

FOR CATT

I SEE YOU LIVE IN GR, I LIVED IN SAGINAW FOR 45 YEARS, I MOVED IN 1985. THE LAST 5 YEARS I WORK FOR 2 DIFFERENT DIST. OUT OF GR, I WONDER IF THEY ARE STILL THERE?

1. WAS JAC-VAN DIST. CO, WE COVERED THE STATE WITH SNAPPER, ECHO, AND BUTTON LAWN EQUPT.

2. WAS J.A.WHITE DIST. CO., WE ALSO COVERED THE STATE WITH KITCHEN APPLIANCES AND TVS.

THEY BOTH WERE OUT WHERE THE OLD AIRPORT WAS, IN THAT INDST. SITE.

I COVERED THE EASTERN PART OF MICHIGAN, PLUS THE UP.

THANKS ROBERT.