OK now I'm in for it, now with pictures

[jnevis]

I'll start by saying I grew up on the West Coast and lived a few blocks from the WP main, then the SP main through town.  Spent a great deal of time in Portola, since my grandparents lived there through high school.  Most of my engines are yellow, green, or grey.  I go on travel to LA, San Deigo and Reno for work and get plenty of SoCal and Reno Sub shots.  
Yesterday we spent the day wandering around Harpers Ferry and Brunswick and got a lot of CSX comings and goings.  The youngest has decided her road is Chessie, since it has a cat.  A CSX Road Slug went by and while taking pictures decided it wasn't that hard to try and model.

Am I becoming a traitor?  I guess it's time for an intervention  Or another trip to Portola and Donner. ;D

Or a link anyway
http://www.trainboard.com/grapevine/album.php?albumid=1314

[wm3798]

Harpers Ferry is a grand and glorious location.  The bridges and tunnel would make for a dramatic scene, and can easily be worked into a simple point to loop track plan, with Brunswick yard as the point, and a foobie line to connect the Winchester Branch to the Main somewhere behind the town of HF.  As a scenery guy, I'd love to figure out a way to work that into a set of modules...



I would discourage the display of any cats, though.   

Lee

[GaryHinshaw]

I was in the same boat as you, born and raised in CA, then lived in MD for 20 years.  Harper's Ferry was my favourite rail-fanning spot in the mid-atlantic.  Its compact scale makes it very attractive to model, and Lee's concept for a layout is a good one. 

In fairness to Lee, you should also check out the 'other' Blue Ridge line in MD: the MM/ex-WM line out of Thurmont to Sabillasville and Blue Ridge Summit.  While the trafic is light, the setting is positively intoxicating.    I would have loved to have seen that line in its heyday.

-Gary

P.S. Has anyone done Harper's Ferry in N?

[jnevis]

I looked ath the track arraingment on Google and it could be done.  Looking at the model of the area in the Visitors Center in town got the wheels turning for a real "throwback" mid 1800's layout but I'd have to scratch all the buildings and I'm not that ambitious yet.

I would discourage the display of any cats, though.   
Lee

I keep saying I thought I raised her better than that.  Kids today...

[wm3798]

I've got a book titled "Harpers Ferry - Time Remembered" that I bought at the visitor center decades ago (when it was still downtown and you could actually park on the street).  It's basically a then and now photo essay, juxtaposing current views (well, 1980 current) with historic images.  The volume of industry that was located on Virginius Island was amazing, and would make a great historical model whether or not the trains run or not.

[sirenwerks]

FWIW - the Library of Congress (http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/habs_haer/) has photos and drawings of numerous HF structures, including the station. Next time you go make the trek up to Maryland Point (the lookout above the painted-on billboard on the rock face) and get a reverse perspective on the town and the tracks. Not such a bad hike as the girls can't make it and they'll enjoy the perspective too.

[POVC]

Harpers Ferry is a grand and glorious location.  The bridges and tunnel would make for a dramatic scene, and can easily be worked into a simple point to loop track plan, with Brunswick yard as the point, and a foobie line to connect the Winchester Branch to the Main somewhere behind the town of HF.  As a scenery guy, I'd love to figure out a way to work that into a set of modules...

(picture snipped)

I would discourage the display of any cats, though.   

Lee

Lee,

You need to talk to Martin (Myers).  He was going to do a multi-module set on Harper's Ferry that could work for either Ntrak or OneTrak.  He got the frames built and some rough terrain laid in, then life intruded and the frames got put in storage.  I think they're still floating around somewhere; maybe if you talk nice to Martin you can get them.

Tim

[absnut]

Lee, from what point did you take that picture at HF?  Been there several times but don't remember that view.

[jmlaboda - RIP]

"The youngest has decided her road is Chessie, since it has a cat."

My daughter did the same thing... some 32 years ago.  And she still insists that Chessie is her favorite.

[jnevis]

Lee, from what point did you take that picture at HF?  Been there several times but don't remember that view.

Looks like it was taken on the hill near the root cellars, just below the chapel.  Caught a train on the opposite bridge from the chapel, but the pic isn't that good, tree in the way to the left of where Lee's photo was probably taken.

[ArtinCA]

Sorry Lee, but Cats are cool... My daughter is the same way..

If I were to pick an eastern line, it would be something like L&N, Clinchfield, Seaboard or ACL. At least something not modeled to death..  ;D

Of course, I'd also consider BN right in the mid 70's with all that dogs breakfast of power they had.

[Packer]

Sorry Lee, but Cats are cool... My daughter is the same way..

Of course, I'd also consider BN right in the mid 70's with all that dogs breakfast of power they had.

My sister likes NS instead of chessie... lol

Hence why I chose it, but I run it into the mid 80s to cover some of the tiger stripe units.

[davefoxx]

For the record: Lee has no less than three cats residing with him, his wife, the children, and two dogs. 

[mmyers]

Lee,

You need to talk to Martin (Myers).  He was going to do a multi-module set on Harper's Ferry that could work for either Ntrak or OneTrak.  He got the frames built and some rough terrain laid in, then life intruded and the frames got put in storage.  I think they're still floating around somewhere; maybe if you talk nice to Martin you can get them.

Tim

I was looking at them just this afternoon. They are in my shed. Somehow I have to scale it down a bit. The whole works makes up a 10 x 10 corner with a cutoff for the Winchester line. Too big to store and transport. I have to get Mark to burn me a station in N Scale.

Martin

[eric220]

Or another trip to Portola and Donner. ;D

Any time is a good time for a trip to Portola!  I have to admit that when I saw the photos of Harper's Ferry, I momentarily mistook them for the Keddie Wye.