PRR/Conrail Juniata Division Engineering Report

[Dave V]

I've had an offline discussion with a few Asshats about how to replace that coal mine with a more appropriate industry...

I think this came up in discussion several times, but just to reiterate, most of the Pennsy-served coal mines on the mainline were found west of Altoona.  The coal that came from the Middle Division came primarily from interchanges with the East Broad Top, Huntingdon & Broad Top, and mines on branches off the Bald Eagle Secondary.  Besides, that little coal mine of mine is inadequate to serve large trains of Middle-Division capacity.



A more appropriate and useful industry would be something paper-related, such as the JC Blair & Co Stationery factory at Huntingdon or the WESTVACO mill at Tyrone.  The JC Blair facility is a well-known railfan landmark and a kitbash could easily produce a similar feel:

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=117008&nseq=77

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=75995&nseq=95

http://www.woodhavenhistoric.com/media/catalog/product/cache/2/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/1/3/134432pvx.jpg.jpg

http://drmelin.com/images/places/pa/huntingdon/100_8312.JPG

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9a/Blair_Company_Building_A.jpg/800px-Blair_Company_Building_A.jpg

DKS gave me some awesome ideas on kitbashing a similar structure, but the obvious roadblock is the extremely vertical mountain that forms the backdrop of the mine.  So how do I preserve the visual separation between the Lewistown side and the Spruce Creek side?

This is the current arrangement:



Now David K Smith suggested a way to maintain that visual separation and yet provide room for a decent-sized industry and appropriate parking lot.  This is his image:



There are some secondary effects, such as requiring a lower mountain in the corner which will require fascia trimming, etc.  Supertrees on a much smaller hill will provide the view block that the mountain formerly did.

Not sure when I'll be able to pull the trigger on this one as I'm still working on Air War College by correspondence and I also will have at some point to do the shoot for Great Model Railroads 2014 (yes, I'm honored to be the token N scale guy for that one!).  This is a much bigger change than just ripping out the mine, and I'm no Lee Weldon.  However, amassing the structures to bash the facility is something I can start forthwith.  Thanks again, DKS!

[Chris333]

Couldn't you swing the siding and building closer to the street and further from the mainline. There is room between the parking lot and the street.  This will give you room for a mole hill.

[Dave V]

Couldn't you swing the siding and building closer to the street and further from the mainline. There is room between the parking lot and the street.  This will give you room for a mole hill.

I could maybe gain half an inch, but that siding closest to the road ends up along a retaining wall where US522 ducks under the mainline.

EDIT:  Okay, I misunderstood you.  Yeah, I see what you mean.  But actually, since the real deal was pretty close to the main, I'd like to keep this one the same way.

[Chris333]

OK how about this (don't be hatin' my artwork skills)


This way you could keep alot of your rockface inside the curve.

[Dave V]

Chris,

Yep!  As a matter of fact, I was just looking at that this evening while surveying the layout.  If I do that I may not even need to trim the corner mountain.

For what it's worth a similar rock cut existed just outside of Huntingdon on the real Middle Division so it's not without prototype inspiration.

[Chris333]

I always liked that rock cut area because it makes you think the rest of the layout is waaaaay over there.

[wazzou]

Nice collaborating guys.  I think that will look really cool Dave.  I'm anxious to follow your progress.

[DKS]

[Dave V]

FTW!!!

[DKS]

And here's a recommended approach to kitbashing the structure. Caveat: not knowing the sizes of the structures or the space available, this might not work. But it's a starting point.



You can poke around the actual building starting here: https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Huntingdon+pa&hl=en&ll=40.485939,-78.01515&spn=0.001801,0.004128&sll=40.07304,-74.724323&sspn=7.388164,16.907959&t=h&hnear=Huntingdon,+Pennsylvania&z=19&layer=c&cbll=40.485914,-78.01502&panoid=LqvhVFL-ukbAkbQQp47n_g&cbp=12,155.71,,0,-18.01

[DKS]

Actually, it occurred to me as I was studying the proto photos and the maps views that you could do this with minimal layout surgery. The real industry follows the course of the road much more than the tracks. So, why not do the same on the layout? With some careful bashing, the building could bend where the road does; the access/parking would be where the tail end of the mine is now. All you'd really need to do is clear some trees and relocate the siding...

[Leggy]

Also looks like a 2-fer in terms of getting to serve 2 industries (if I'm seeing that right).

[Dave V]

Dave,

That last option is really nice.  It would even allow me to incorporate the building into the retaining wall for the sloping road; something common in older industries.  I like it very much!  Plus, the siding is away from the road, which is a fairly typical setup.

I can add a retaining wall along the siding also, furthering the appearance of the siding being at a lower elevation than the nearby main.

Lastly it preserves much of the rock cut and scenic barrier.

[conrailthomas519]

Dave, If you intend to model the building in huntington,pa. let me know I went out and photographed the entire building. I have a ton of reference shots for this project. If you need, I also have 2 of the walthers modular kits available as well. I gave up on this idea because I couldn't fiqure out where the curved arch window forms would come from. Not to mention the whole layout deal took a turn for the worst... best wishes I'll be watching.

[Dave V]

Thomas,

I'd appreciate any photos you have!  That said, I'm not planning a brick by brick replica at all.  As it is, the building will be in Lewistown with a siding coming off the main at Spruce Creek ( ) so it needn't be exact.  Essentially I'm looking to fill the space with a more appropriate industry than what's there now and that will be a more useful traffic generator than an undersized coal mine.  Close in this case is definitely close enough.