Modular Nickel Plate Road in Bellevue

[btrain]

After not having an operating layout for several years while I attended college, and working at several internships, the model railroading bug has started to bite me again. My first layout was a small 2' by 4' based on Tony Koester's HO scale Wingate, Indiana plan that I built in high school. I was satisfied running a 2-8-2 around with a local and making sure I was out of the way when a passenger train was scheduled, but it left a little to be desired. After a life long obsession with the Nickel Plate Road, running the famous bekshires with only seven reefers didn't leave me the same impression as watching old movies about the Plate, or seeing the 765 strut through my area. 

The goals of my new layout are to have it be easily storable with a small footprint (by stacking them), be able to take it to shows and exhibits in my car and to get a general feel for what operations were like 60 years ago in the heart of Ohio.

I was really inspired to tackle this as a modular layout after seeing the Galesburg City Job at the Ohio N scale Weekend this past summer, and then seeing Modutrak at Trainfest in November. It's amazing what detail and design is demonstrated in both these layouts!

Attached is the plan for the layout. It's 10' 7" by 6' 3" and is divided into six modules, all of which are rectangles except for the one on the bottom right that is a lopsided L. On the top part is Bellevue yard with roundhouse, coaling tower on the left, and the Ice House skirting the southern end of it. The main line in the yard and the staging tracks on the lower half can accommodate 17 cars with a berkshire and caboose. All the track is Atlas code 55, with No. 5 switches in the yard and No. 7 on the mainline. 

[nickelplate759]

Anything Nickel Plate is already good!

I presume this is meant to be viewed from the outside and operated from the inside?  Is 30" (estimated) inside enough space for you to be comfortable?

George

[OldEastRR]

Wha --? Another NKP layout thread? And there's only TWO for the NH!?!?...it ain't kosher, I tell ya...

[seusscaboose]

a few questions initial questions

do you have the Kellogg grain tower and do you have the stock yards?


also, is it an 18 bay roundhouse?


p.s. your trackplan needs building names

[btrain]

Thank you everyone for the feedback! I think 30" should be big enough, but I will cut some cardboard out and place it on the floor to get a better idea if it's a comfortable area to turn around in.

  You could say I ways inspired by Koester, but the two closest railroad museums to where I was growing up was the Lorain & West Virginia in Wellington that has a NKP 0-6-0, and the Mad River & NKP in Bellevue. 

This layout will compress a lot of the yard. The Kellog grain tower will be a Walthers ADM grain kit, and the roundhouse will be also a Walthers Modern six-stall kit. Later on when my scratch building (hopefully) gets better I'll change it into the modern concrete roundhouse that is similar to John Colombo's but with less stalls.

 

[seusscaboose]

the lower left corner (houses) needs to be developed into the diamond and the NYC Sandusky branch to Toledo.
you can put a station in there.

for your reference... if you envision the current Mad River museum... they have storage tracks on the other side of the main line (today) that are next to a brick walkway.
that brick walkway is the old NYC Depot footprint (google earth it)

this will give you an operational variable and keep things fun.


also.. .put the PRR interchange behind the roundhouse... . gives you another operational variable




Eric

[seusscaboose]

also
check your PM's

[MRLX1020]

Agreed with Eric - the PRR and NYC Interchanges are as much a part of the Bellevue scene as the roundhouse and elevator.

I was amused by the current track plan when I was there with the 765 in 2012, and thought that this must have been amazing back in the day...

One other thought, leave yourself room to expand this layout (would be "down" in your drawing) so if you ever have the space to add filler modules, you can.

Between the awesome Bachmann Berks and AMB wooden caboose kits, this should be a fun endeavor.

Justin
MRLX1020

[seusscaboose]

the prr interchange should wrap around the back of the roundhouse


check out this link
http://www.railsandtrails.com/TC/NKP/Cleve1963/index.html

find the pull down menu that says Bellevue -53


enjoy

[btrain]

Hmmm, the link to the software to view the document gives me a error page, but I've seen from historic aerial photos that the PRR lake line snakes right behind the roundhouse. If I move the roundhouse closer to the coaling tower, I'll be able to model the connection and put a siding on the PRR for interchange traffic.

You guys are very right about the PRR being a big part of railroading in town for the Nickel Plate. I was looking at a physical data book from 1955 published by the NKP. According to it, the NKP delivered 1,111 cars in 1953 to the P company, but received 11,034 cars!

Modeling the interlocking tower that controlled the NKP, PRR, NYC and the Wheeling District should be easy since it's a simple brick square. I do have a NYC RS-2 and a kitbashed NYC 19000 caboose to honor my great grandfather who used to work the Norwalk Branch.

I'll have to search for the drawing tonight of my future plans, but I hope to expand more to the lower portion of the layout. The present staging area will be replaced and moved to the west end part of Bellevue, in it's place will be Kimball with an interchange with the B&O. After Kimball will come Shinrock, where I'll have a section branch off to connect to the W&LE huron branch and create a 2' by 4' module of the dock with a lake boat and hullet ore loader with a loop of track.

[seusscaboose]

here it is

[btrain]

That's a sweet looking map right there! 

[seusscaboose]

yup

[btrain]

Here is an updated portion of the left side of my original plan. The Pennsylvania railroad branches off by the roundhouse with a siding that will be used as an interchange, and the crossover has been moved further down. The brown square to the left of the PRR connection is the depot (which is now in it's prototypical spot!) which will be an Atlas Maywood station. While the circle to the right of the connection will be a steel water tank.

With the Pennsylvania Railroad connection, does anyone know what was typical power for the western region on coal trains in the late 1950s? I know PRR leased AT&SF 2-10-4s that were there in the summer of 56', but I keep hoping that Broadway will make a PRR J1 2-10-4 (hint, double your money BLI and make a C&O T-1 from 90% of the same tooling, hint ). Would it be far fetched to have a M1 slug through town, or would a geep suffice? 

[seusscaboose]

You're right
Station location is spot on