I did mention that I had Frisco motive power in HO scale- well, in the real world this became part of the Burlington Northern, who, in a fit of line-shedding, sold off the A&A and Arthur Subs to the Kiamihci Railroad in 1987 (which is now a RailAmerica subsidiary). I am friends with the fellow who was the Chief Mechanical Officer of the Kiamichi, and was able to model two GP35Ms (one in KRR burgundy, the other MP), one chopnose GP9, and a GP7 and GP9 in Texas Northwestern colors. With these diesels, I could spin the clock ahead say, 10-15 years or so, completely bypassing the era of Bad News, and run this layout as part of the Kiamichi. Of course, the cabooses would be gone, and I'd have to have the train (nicknamed the Soup Job by KRR crews) come out of staging (which represents Hugo, OK) to do its work in the Betner yard as well as the Paris area, but by & large the buildings would remain the same. Why no BN? I don't have any BN power, and everybody and his dog models BN, so why bother?
For that matter, I could model the whole thing as a freelance shortline (the Paris Belt), but I'm getting ahead of things here.......for now, I'll focus on matters Frisco as close as I can.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
And the sawdust begins to fly...........
Can't remember if I mentioned this earlier, but I am working with a 6-foot by 11 1/2-foot room, with a door at one end. Not a lot to deal with, so mainline runs are out. However, as I have mentioend earlier, modeling communities the Frisco served is quite doable- in this case, Paris. Here's what I have so far for desired statistics:
NAME- SLSF Arthur Subdivision, Paris, TX
ERA- 1975-1977
SCALE- HO
SIZE- 6' by 11 1/2'
TYPE- Walk-in shelf, around the room, liftout section at door
HEIGHT-54 inches
MINIMUM RADIUS- 22" main, 18" some spurs
TRACK- Code 83 and 70
GRADE- none
SCENERY- Summer, typical northeast Texas foliage (oak, pecan, elm, bois d'arc)
CONTROL- DC for now, but will be wired for future DCC purchase.
GP7s were prevalent on the A&A and Arthur Subs at this time, until 1977 when the GP15s came online. Since I have 5 of the former and 2 of the latter, I have no shortage of Frisco diesel power. I also have 2 of the 1100-series cabooses (the ex-Santa Fes), so my, er, rear is covered.
Did I mention DCC? Why, yes, I did..... :).....I've had the opportunity to run on layouts that used DCC, and I'm impressed with the ease of operation. After seeing how one can install the system on one's own layout, I said to myself "Self, if they can do it, I know I can- and I'm an electrical idiot". Unfortunately, I have no system in my possession, so I'll go with DC (Digitally Challenged) control for now, but the layout will be wired for DCC. Ground throws will be used to control all of the turnouts.
I'm a big fan of Atlas track, and having converted to their code 83 line, I'm a happy guy. However, I've looked at Micro Engineering's code 70 track, and after having purchased some from Internet Trains, I'm pleased with the rail size. After all, I AM modeling a remote outpost of the Frisco, and the track was never up to Class 1 mainline standards in the 1970s. Had I the funds and time, I'd go strictly to code 70 and 55 track & turnouts for better realism, but I'm staying with code 83 and 70. If I get any staging track, it'll definitely be code 83- I'll keep the 70 for sidings & spurs.
Paris has a lot of trees, even though they're kinda sparse around the major shippers I'll be modeling. However, I like the oaks, elms & bois d'arcs that grow in that town, so I'll have them represented. Nope, no mesquite- that starts showing up about 60 miles west, close to Sherman. The tracks will show what minimal maintenance can look like, with some weed growth along and between the rails in some places. In the real world, this area was listed as yard limits, and IIRC there was a 10 MPH speed limit on most tracks. That will be represented as well.
As for benchwork, hollow-core doors from my remodeling projects are being used. I am also using the 27 x 80" HCD I used for my N scale layout, cutting it down to fit along one of the 6-foot walls. I'll attach the narower doors to the wall & support them with shelf brackets, and for the wider door I'm going to use angled 2x2s from door to wall, fastened to the studs. The doors will be overlaid with 1" thick foam sheets, upon which the roadbed (N scale, cork or foam) and track will sit.
I already have the first 19"x80" door up on brackets, and have been test-running some locomotives using the code 70 ME flex. So far, so good.........later I'll tack on a foal overlay, and move on to the rest of the door sections.
I'll have a trackplan posted here soon, I promise.....
NAME- SLSF Arthur Subdivision, Paris, TX
ERA- 1975-1977
SCALE- HO
SIZE- 6' by 11 1/2'
TYPE- Walk-in shelf, around the room, liftout section at door
HEIGHT-54 inches
MINIMUM RADIUS- 22" main, 18" some spurs
TRACK- Code 83 and 70
GRADE- none
SCENERY- Summer, typical northeast Texas foliage (oak, pecan, elm, bois d'arc)
CONTROL- DC for now, but will be wired for future DCC purchase.
GP7s were prevalent on the A&A and Arthur Subs at this time, until 1977 when the GP15s came online. Since I have 5 of the former and 2 of the latter, I have no shortage of Frisco diesel power. I also have 2 of the 1100-series cabooses (the ex-Santa Fes), so my, er, rear is covered.
Did I mention DCC? Why, yes, I did..... :).....I've had the opportunity to run on layouts that used DCC, and I'm impressed with the ease of operation. After seeing how one can install the system on one's own layout, I said to myself "Self, if they can do it, I know I can- and I'm an electrical idiot". Unfortunately, I have no system in my possession, so I'll go with DC (Digitally Challenged) control for now, but the layout will be wired for DCC. Ground throws will be used to control all of the turnouts.
I'm a big fan of Atlas track, and having converted to their code 83 line, I'm a happy guy. However, I've looked at Micro Engineering's code 70 track, and after having purchased some from Internet Trains, I'm pleased with the rail size. After all, I AM modeling a remote outpost of the Frisco, and the track was never up to Class 1 mainline standards in the 1970s. Had I the funds and time, I'd go strictly to code 70 and 55 track & turnouts for better realism, but I'm staying with code 83 and 70. If I get any staging track, it'll definitely be code 83- I'll keep the 70 for sidings & spurs.
Paris has a lot of trees, even though they're kinda sparse around the major shippers I'll be modeling. However, I like the oaks, elms & bois d'arcs that grow in that town, so I'll have them represented. Nope, no mesquite- that starts showing up about 60 miles west, close to Sherman. The tracks will show what minimal maintenance can look like, with some weed growth along and between the rails in some places. In the real world, this area was listed as yard limits, and IIRC there was a 10 MPH speed limit on most tracks. That will be represented as well.
As for benchwork, hollow-core doors from my remodeling projects are being used. I am also using the 27 x 80" HCD I used for my N scale layout, cutting it down to fit along one of the 6-foot walls. I'll attach the narower doors to the wall & support them with shelf brackets, and for the wider door I'm going to use angled 2x2s from door to wall, fastened to the studs. The doors will be overlaid with 1" thick foam sheets, upon which the roadbed (N scale, cork or foam) and track will sit.
I already have the first 19"x80" door up on brackets, and have been test-running some locomotives using the code 70 ME flex. So far, so good.........later I'll tack on a foal overlay, and move on to the rest of the door sections.
I'll have a trackplan posted here soon, I promise.....
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