The Little Rock Line

[Blazeman]

. My prototype has this situation and it looks like a great detail.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Parker,+AZ/@34.1412414,-114.2841022,586m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x80d1830127f1e51d:0xf8e550e83a59eddc!8m2!3d34.1500162!4d-114.2891177

Is that "industry" the Superior Rail Transfer location?

[Bendtracker1]

Finished up the realignment and got a few trains running to test the new track.

[davefoxx]

Looks like mission accomplished with the track realignment project.  Kudos!

DFF

[dmidkiff]

Is that "industry" the Superior Rail Transfer location?

Yup, that's the one.

Doug

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Thanks Otto!
The song in that last video was by Chris Joss, the name is Tone Down.
It was used as one of the opening soundtrack to Better Call Saul

Lol, no kidding. He does great ambient stuff.

[Bendtracker1]

Lol, no kidding. He does great ambient stuff.

Yeah!  I've got several of his saved for future videos.

[Bendtracker1]

Looks like mission accomplished with the track realignment project.  Kudos!

DFF

For this section at least, thanks.
I have few more ideas in the planning stage.

[Bendtracker1]

Late this afternoon I finished up with the last of the realignment project on the south side of the layout.
I had a visitor stop by after he attended a local train show in Omaha; rodsup9000.

We ran a cleaner train for a bit then sat around and chewed the fat for a few hours before he headed out.  My creative juices were still flowing so I took on a few small projects.

First I removed the siding on the ICG trackage and shortened it a bit.

 

Then I added a new spur for a house track at Ruston.



Of course then I had to test it.



With this done, the realignment project for the south side of the layout is now complete.

A bit more on the blog...

[migalyto]

Well done as always Allen

[Bendtracker1]

Well done as always Allen

Thanks Mig!

[GaryHinshaw]

Very nice Allen.  There is nothing like running trains early on to expose deficiencies in the plan, while it's still relatively easy to make changes.

[Bendtracker1]

Thanks Gary.
I'm sure glad I only tacked the lines in place. I've made a lot of changes over the last four years. 
Nothing worse than to have to tear things up and do it over. 

[Bendtracker1]

I'm in the process of adding the last major industry on the line, some sort of a fertilizer plant and trying to decide the track arrangements so I'm looking for some input. I'm not trying to follow any specific prototype but I have found a smallish plant that would serve the purpose.

This will be placed in Haskell, AR. and will be served by the Rock Island via a Shoofly connection. The premise is that the road that served the plant has pulled up stakes leaving the plant without rail service.

The Rock was asked or decided to add the connection from the left end of their siding in Haskell. The track that crossed the Rock main on the right side will be modeled with the diamond ripped out and the other end the line was severed where the connection was made but left in and weeded over.

Below you can see the whole layout. When the Haskell Turn makes it's run, it leaves El Dorado and runs North through Calion and Fordyce, and winds up in Haskell on the center blue siding. When it arrives in Haskell, the power would be in position to work the Fertilizer plant and the hoppers and tank cars would be blocked accordingly in El Dorado and would likely be switched first. When it's work is done, the power runs around the train and heads back to El Dorado making stops in Fordyce and Calion if needed.



Here are a couple of thoughts I've drawn up. One with two single spurs, the other with a double ended siding, which could have the spur coming off the siding as well?

On the first siding or double ended siding is where 2-3 hoppers would be spotted, the far right spur is for two tank cars. The buildings are about where they need to be so they fit the area. The large round circles are large storage tanks. There will be from 2-4 large tanks.



How would you arrange the tracks and why? Likewise how would you work this industry.
Thanks for looking and any thoughts.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

If you're going for the history aspect, I'd orient the tracks more toward the old connection, angling the industry a bit more so the "old line" is the straight through.

I like the concept though!

[Bendtracker1]

If you're going for the history aspect, I'd orient the tracks more toward the old connection, angling the industry a bit more so the "old line" is the straight through.

I like the concept though!

Oops, I shouldn't have drawn the connection in RED.
Let me add this, these two roads never connected, they just paralleled each other (in my book) and in reality, they only crossed each other, sorry.
Which is why the dashed RED line runs off the edge of the layout.

I just thought I'd make the Shoofly there as it was handy.