Lehigh and Hudson River (sorta)

[asciibaron]

ok, i've bounced around with a few ideas, including using a helix and removing a partition wall.  here's what i've come up with based of the Seaboard Central Model Railroader project layout from the mid 1980's. 

access to the center is done from the right by ducking under the layout.  the layout's minimum benchwork height is 48" with a rail height in around 54"



i decided to stop trying to stick to the prototype and instead am looking to capture the feel of the prototype.  the yard is both Hudson yard in Phillipsburg, NJ and Warwick yard in Warwick, NY.  the switchback is to the zinc mine at Odgensburg, NJ on the former NYS&W.

i'm sure the plan will be modified as i'm building, but this is the starting point at the moment.

-Steve

[wm3798]

I like it.  The only thing I might suggest is the addition of some sort of staging.  Maybe add a track at the back of the yard that dives down below the benchwork to a hidden shelf yard under the right side of the layout.
I've just found it's real important to have someplace for the trains to come from and go to... especially if you want to keep your yard and sidings "fluid" during an ops session.  Also helps you mix up the equipment you see on the layout at any given moment.

I like the simplicity of it.  You can use the "LDE's" you've described to firmly place the railroad's locale without sweating the minutae of track charts.

Lee

[Chris333]

I like the plan, nice and simple. hard to cram more into it without it looking crammed. I would build it and keep rolling stock on a shelf, but if you want it connected Lee's idea sounds good.

[JDouglasFisher]

remember,

other roads locomotives occasionally ran through the LHR, I.E. CNJ and NH for example.

J........

[asciibaron]

other roads locomotives occasionally ran through the LHR, I.E. CNJ and NH for example.

Reading GP30 and 35's pulling run thruogh coal, PRR run through's, the leased RF&P from Precision, EL from time to time, and there were several demonstrators (Sharks!) and the L&NE FA's. 

I get to run my current PRR stuff and will need to pick up some C420's in L&HR paint.  not sure i'll do the RS-3's from Atlas - wrong number boards.

The Boyd/Antz book is a wealth of info.

-Steve

[asciibaron]

alrighty - went and tried to find lumber today - found plenty of stock for hockey sticks at Home Depot.  i'll try the lumber yard near me tomorrow - they better have some better stuff.

made a change to the plan - the switchback is stupid and as such, it has been replaced with a proper industry, the Lime Crest limestone plant.  i'm thinking of making another change and adding in the branch to the zinc mine in Odgensburg - that will probably be a change as i build the layout.



-Steve

[wm3798]

Get a sheet of 3/4" B-C plywood and have them rip it into 4" strips.  You'll pay less than you would for a similar amount of 1x4.

And you still need to figure out where to put some staging.

Lee

[asciibaron]

And you still need to figure out where to put some staging.

the room is the room.

-Steve

[wm3798]

That's why I suggested bending a track around to a slightly lower shelf under the existing footprint.  I had the same problem...


Railroading is railroading.  If there's not a place for the trains to come from and go to, your big donut will again become the victim of your short attention span...    (said in a carefully measured tone with a smile and a wink)

Lee

[Dave V]

Steve-o,

I don't pretend to know much about the L&HR, but I seem to remember it was more of a bridge route than anything else; not much on-line traffic to speak of.  So, that kind of makes the staging all the more important to really capture the essence of the L&HR.

Love those low-nose Alcos, by the way.  The L&HR was a victim of Conrail's slim-down...

[FrankCampagna]

The L&HR was a victim of Conrail's slim-down...

It was actually a victim of the EL merger, the PC merger, and the Poughkeepsie bridge fire. After that the Zinc plant was the only online business, the rest was shuffling cars in Hudson Yard as part of the tonnage agreement.

Frank

[asciibaron]

The L&HR was a victim of Conrail's slim-down...

it was a victim of the merger of the Erie and Lackawanna in 1961.  then it was  victim of the merger of the New Haven in to Penn Central in 1969.  then it was the victim of the LV and CNJ consolidation in 1972.  the final nail was the burning of the Poughkeepsie bridge over the Hudson in 1974 and PC's lack of desire to rebuild it.

they had 2 major on-line customers; the Sterling Hill zinc mine in Ogdensburg, NJ and the Lime Crest lime mill near Andover, NJ - both of which lasted into the Conrail era.

if someone can draw up some staging for me, i'm all eyes.

Frank beat me by a few minutes - i have a 15 month old on my lap who rally needs a nap.

-Steve

[asciibaron]

i priced out the 1x4 lumber and i would need 8 pieces 8 feet long - about $30.00.  i can easily cut these pieces to length.
a 3/4 sheet of plywood comes to about $20.00 and i have no way to rip it down to 4" widths.  if someone in the area can help me with that (John?) i would go that route, but if not, i'll simply dig through the lumber and get the 8 sticks and cut them with the cross cut hand saw.

-Steve

[Dave V]

Steve,

I hear you on the staging...  I'm struggling with what to do for my own staging right now.

But in terms of ripping plywood, they'll do it for you at a place like Home Depot or Lowe's.  I'd offer a tip, though, to make sure they do it carefully.  I've had them rip masonite for me and they're usually off a bit.  You need some pretty accurate cutting to use plywood as dimensional lumber.

[FrankCampagna]

What is the time frame of your layout? Just before the bridge fire, they were down to one train a day each way. Plus a local. Not a lot of staging needed then.

Frank