The L&W,a 1950's Georgia shortline

[Tove]

Hi guys,

 

Welcome to my construction thead of my new home layout,and first post on this forum.

 

First a bit of background..........

 

I became interested in Georgia shortline railroading after reading through Steve Flanigan`s 'Georgia Southern' layout article in the April 01' edition of Model Railroader.Whilst the railroad is fictitious it is based on the Georgia railroad for it`s equipment.

Now between reading this in 2001 and last year it could be said that i`ve gone through quite a lot of prototype railroads and various scales in which to model..humm,but then last year i came across a link to a layout that Steve had built a few years back.

 

http://www.railroad-line.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=8458

 

Interest re-kindled again!!.

 

After finding this,i contacted Steve and started to plan a layout based on the Louisville end of a ten mile branch from Wadley Ga. (the L&W)

Now at this point i was modelling in O scale/P48,

But i soon reliased that i could`nt do it justice and began selling off the O scale to fund the new HO layout.

 

The Layout.

 

 

This the final plan and the Louisville end follows the prototype fairly closely,though a couple of industries are missing because of the width.

The Wadley side is made up and is partly based on the Central of Georgia/Sylvania Central junction at Rocky Ford,Ga.Here i was going for a more small town backwoods Georgia look with a small engine house for the branch engine.In reality the real Wadley was a junction for the CofG,Wadley Southern and Louisville & Wadley railroads,at which point an engine service facility did exsit.

For the track i`ll be using Peco code 83,perhaps a little heavy for a shortline, but then most of the L&W`s track was buried in either dirt or grass!!.

 

When i get permisson from Steve Flanigan to use some photo`s,i`ll go into the prototype in a bit more detail,but for now a couple of progress pic`s.

 

 

So far the bench work is complete save for the facia and valence.The back scene is painted blue and track laying has started. 

 

This is the Wadley side of the benchwork.

 

Here will be a low trestle over a river and swamp (train for show!)

 

And finally the Louisville side of the layout.

 

Hopfully i can post some pic`s in a week or so,by which time i hope to have all the track laid. 

In the mean time if you have any question`s,then please ask away and i`ll try an answer them.

 

Thanks for looking,

 

Brian.

[298]

Nice work Brian, I'm looking forward to seeing this one progress.

 

 

Andy Gautrey.

[dave1905]

A 4-4-0 or 4-6-0 would be a cool addition.

[shortliner]

Brian - you really need to join TrainOrders.com and contact the guy who posted this http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?3,3129090 A search will bring up previous posts by him. As a non-member you will probably only be able to see his illustrations as thumbnails, but I believe that his decals are availablethrough Highball Graphics. He has a great "back story " for the line and is about to start building his layout

Good work on your layout - shall keep an eye on it

Best

Jack

[Tove]

Hi Andy,

 

Hopefully this one will get further than previous layout`s.......!!.

 

Hi Dave,

 

Are you thinking something along these lines?,

 

http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/misc-w/ws-s053jpb.jpg

 

This for the companion Wadley Southern line,but they did use each others engines and (Jim Crow) combine`s to run both railroad`s.

Bachmann made or makes? a Baldwin 4-6-0 which is near perfect,and with a few mods will do very nicely.

I do have one to re-letter/modifiy for the L&W.I`d like a seconed one for the WS loco,but they don`t come cheap with sound!.

 

Hi Jack,

 

Thanks for the link,have`nt been through the site yet but from what i`ve seen it`s a really well thought out concept.

The freelancing side of model railroads is one thing i`ve never been able to get my head around,so i`ve tended to stick to prototypes myself. 

But when they are as well thought through as the Georgia Road they can be really convincing.

 

Cheers, Brian.

[shortliner]

You'll find he has covered loco conversions (Stephens Railcar), trucking, MOW, Loco leasing, and associated roads - a real "integrated bussiness empire" concept!

[298]

 

 

Bachmann made or makes? a Baldwin 4-6-0 which is near perfect,and with a few mods will do very nicely.
I do have one to re-letter/modifiy for the L&W.I`d like a seconed one for the WS loco,but they don`t come cheap with sound!.

What size driving wheels/tender would be suitable...? Mine is a C&NW with a large tender and 63" drivers, and came from the "Sold as Seen" pile on the Bachmann stand for £30. It might be worth looking out for others appearing as seconds.

[Tove]

I had`nt thought of the Bachmann stand,thanks Andy.

 

The loco i have is the 'Maryland & Pennsylvania' 52" drivered engine with the small tender.

Another one of these would do,but in addition to some body and tender mod`s the loco would have to lose the outside vale gear.

[Tove]

.

 

 there is quite a bit of useful information on steamlocomotivedotcom. You do have to do a bit of digging, information on #41 relies on knowing that it came from the WT, for example, but there is a reasonable number of photos which turn up via an on-line search, as well as those published in books such as "Slow Trains Down South, vol 2".

 

 

Thanks for the link Simon.

I`m not too clued up when it comes to steam locos,and i when i brought my Bachmann Baldwin the driver size did`nt come to mind.So i`m quite happy that i brought the  slighty under sized version.But to me it`s going to be the overall look rather than accuracy that i`m going for.

 

Another good book is the "Georgia Short line album" .(out of print) It deals with the some of the history to do with  various Georgia shortlines including the ones owned by the Central of Georiga. (L&W,W&T,SC and WS)

Unfortunely it does`nt come cheap,$50 for the copy i have!.

Also of note is the classic book "Mixed Train Daily" by Lucius Beebe and Charles Clegg.This contains some nice story`s and factual information as well as a lot of photographs,and it covers the entire USA (standard and narrow gauge lines)It was first published  in 1947' but re-printed several times since and is quite freely avalible from various on line sources. 

Another must have is the book "Rails Through Dixie" by John Karuse with H Reid. (1965)

I don`t have this one yet,but i`ve been told it is one to get.

 

I do have some pictures of the L&W/WS engines which i hope i`m able to post at some point .(permission pending!)

 

Brian.

[Tove]

.

 

 I cannot fit a model of anything other than Aldreds or Moxley into my space, so will be creating an extension on from Louisville.

 

I notice, though, that you have no turntable (nor space for one, really) at Louisville, so question if you need one at your interpretation of Wadley (you may just be able to fit a wye in there). If you took the table out, you would be able to get a two-road shed, like the one at Wadley, into the space. Just a thought.

 

Whilst i was pondering how to model portions of the L&W at Louisville, (in P48) i kept coming back to the loop at the very end of the line.This struck me as a small layout in it`s own right,and could be built as is or flattened out and still retain some of the backwoods nature of the line.

 

But i do like your idea of an extension,more freedom on traffic types but still using the prototype to model from.

 

 

The turntable i`ve added at my version of Wadley is there more out of neccesitiy then anything else,because there is is`nt really enough room to include a wye.

I can however add the two road shed as there is room,i just need to test fit a structure in the space to see that it does`nt dominate that end of the layout.

But for the time being that`ll have to wait!.

 

If i remember rightly are you modeling the L&W in S scale?.

 

Brian.

[Tove]

I did draw up a couple of P48/O scale plans for Louisville,but the most i could get in was a loop and two short sidings.( max,2 x 40ft box cars)

But the other main reason for switching to HO was the lack of a Baldwin ten wheeler.I can`t recall who made one but there was a model that was very close to the WS/L&W engines.And as i found out later it would have been out of my price range as well,provided that i did manage to find one!.

 

Interesting thought on the wooden trestle.

Personally i`d have thought that the loop was there from the beginings of the line, and then taken out of use first  as the buisiness declined.But then again who`s to say that it was`nt used as a coal drop anyway.

They could have simlply moved the hopper out of the way before heading down to the loop,abit like today`s multi spot industries.

 

I`d be interested to what plan`s you`ve got drawn up for your layout when you start.

And even though it`s flat,i`m still supprised at the length of the trestle`s on the L&W and WS !.

 

Brian.

[Tove]

Any progress to report, Brian?

Beware the written word! As the first photo in this thread shows, despite the claims of the above reference site, #6 actually had outside Waelshaerts valve gear...

 

Edit: much better rendition of the picture from this link:

 

Indeed there is progress, but like an idiot every time i go out i, forget to pick up some batteries for the camera... And you know i have pictures sat here of  engine #6 and i never even notice the Waelshearsts valve gear.... .

 

Now i`ve got the nod from steve i can use a few of his pictures.

So to start with the two engines i hope to model and the #6 as mentioned above. 

 

(the following three pictures were used with Steve Flanigan`s permission)

 

 

Louisville & Wadley, engine #6

 

 

Louisville & Wadley, engine #41

 

 

Wadley Southern, engine #53

 

When i get myself together i`ll post some pic`s of the track work i`ve completed for the Wadley side.

Till then..........what day is it!!!

 

Brian.

[Tove]

Right as promised a couple of pic`s showing the track laying progress on the Wadley side of the layout.

 

 

This the end with the exit to the Central of Georiga staging.

And also from left to right,

depot and house track with spur for an industry at end.

main line/loop,and then far loop with two exchange siding`s for the L&W.

 

 

This end consist`s of the flat crossing for the CofG / WS,though in my world the WS line is just a lead for the engine terminal as the WS has been abandoned by now.

The line off to the right is for the branch to Louisville,and straight ahead is the CofG main line.

And also on the left is the spur for the Wadley 'Gin and warehouse', on which is the building that i`ve started to scratch build based on a photo of the real structure.

 

 

And finally, my Baldwin steamer with an a-typical branch train and combine.The combine by the way,need`s quite a bit of kit bashing before it resemble`s the Wadley Southern`s prototype!.

 

Brian.

 

 

[clark33]

Here's an image of that combine. Looks more doable than some of the aged wooden Jim Crow cars I've seen. 

 

 

[dave1905]

I would suggest starting with a coach so you get the steps at both ends and then cut in a baggage door in the center.  Also looks like the windows need to be subdivided into 2 panes.

[Tove]

. Looks more doable than some of the aged wooden Jim Crow cars I've seen.

 

 

 

The wooden combines are`nt as hard to kitbash as they seem,because La Belle Woodworking-

https://www.labellemodels.com/scale-passenger-cars-c-21_23.html?osCsid=f0tn33uppl1r4tv4m5u9hpeiv1

has a nice line of coaches that can be converted in to Jim Crow combines,as is the case with the photo below.

(Steve Flanigan photo)

This was built a few years back from one of the fore mentioned kits by Steve Flaningan.

Brian.

[Tove]

I would suggest starting with a coach so you get the steps at both ends and then cut in a baggage door in the center.  Also looks like the windows need to be subdivided into 2 panes.

That was certainly the way i was looking at kit bashishing the steel combine,and your right about the windows,they also had small wind deflectors added as well .I`ll have to change the Rest room windows as they need to be smaller as well.

I might be wrong but i think the roundhouse coaches are 50ft and the WS combine is 60ft?.Also the trucks in the RH kit look too small as well.

 

(courtesy of steve Flanigan)

 

This is similar to the WS combine all be it a bit worse for wear!.

 

Brian.

[Tove]

A quick update,

Decided to add the cloud`s to the backdrops before i got stuck into anything else.....

Louisville side(above)

Wadley side.(two above,with the light`s on you get a different look)

Very simple to do with a rattle can.

First off i used some old corn flake packets to make a few templates for the cloud`s,which was done by tearing uneven roundish shapes

along the edges.

Then holding up to and not directly on the back scene,i sprayed in a downward fashion with light passes.The more pronounced the cloud the more passes you make,being careful not too over load the paint.

You can also hold the card farther away and get a slightly hazier edge to the cloud.And finally a few were done free hand,mainly the lighter cloud`s towards the top.

 

A word of warning though....

Even with the right mask and the window fully open,this was`nt a pleasant experiance.I was only able to work about five munites at a time,before going out of the room.

I don`t own a hobby spray gun so i don`t know if it would have been better to use  instead of the rattle cans!.

 

Brian.

 

[Adrian Wintle]

The closest starting point for the coach appears to be the 60' Rivarossi coach (available from Walthers), but that doesn't appear to have space for the windows at each end and it has a clerestory roof rather than a baloon roof. The old Walthers 60' kit coach might also work - it has a bit more space at each end - it isn't a current item, though. The other current option looks to be the ConCor 65' coaches, but they are a more expensive option and are also clerestories.

 

Adrian

[Tove]

Adrian,

 

Thanks for the suggestions,i had`nt given any of those a thought.

 

I have however managed to pick up a Roundhouse Harriman coach,(already have the full baggage car) to use for the project.

I`ve made some cusory plans as to how i`m going to go about it....

The prototype combines are 68'-7" over the ends,and have a 18'-3" baggage compartment.

The main problem i was facing were what trucks to use,because there the same as used on the wooden combine in an earlier post.

And as i found out the trucks that Steve F.used were from Central Valley,and these are no longer avalible.

But after a bit of a trawl through the interweb i came up with these from Precision Scale Models.

 

 

#33122
"HO" Harriman passenger car 4-wheel trucks, sprung and equalized, 36" wheels, 8'-0" wheel base (Pullman built), pair

 

These are as close as i`m going to get i,so i ordered  two pairs last night.

Hopefully there be here within the next couple of weeks, so i can make a start soon.

 

Brian.

[Barry Ten]

Sorry not to have seen this thread sooner, Brian - great concept. That original Georgia Southern article is a stunner, isn't it? Probably one of the best layouts ever featured in MR, and it's not even big by British standards.

[Tove]

Sorry not to have seen this thread sooner, Brian - great concept. That original Georgia Southern article is a stunner, isn't it? Probably one of the best layouts ever featured in MR, and it's not even big by British standards.

Hi Barry,

Glad you like what`s here so far.

Totally agree with you on the Georgia Southern layout,it`s what got me hooked on the South`s shortline`s.For me though it`s the overall feel and atmosphere that Steve has managed to convey that really sucked me in,but the trains do help some aswell........

 

It just goes to show that Big is`nt allways best!.

 

Brian.

[Tove]

I`ve been beavering away the past few weeks so i can continue track laying towards the Louisville side of the layout,and this is what i have so far......

 

 

I`m not quite finished yet as you can see,but the hard part is done.(at last!)

There are still the two retaining walls and two short bents for the ends to make,but all the timber for the deck is stained and ready to cut to size. 

Hopefully i can get this done sometime this week,but for now a couple of close up pics.

 

 

Overall the trestle is fourty inches long and has ninteen bents,not including the two needed for the ends.

It`s all scratch built, (bar two length`s of stringer from Black Bear kits,http://www.blackbearcc.com/index.htm)

and stained and coloured by hand,and include`s about 500 nut and washer casting to date,plus a few cup`s of tea!.

For plans i`ve used an article from a 1969 Model Railroader to do with Standard trestles,plus the dimensions and drawings from the Black Bear site

Also i did`nt want to go for a trestle that had next to no variation in colour so i used a couple of pics of the interweb, one i can`t remember where i got it from, doh!.

But the other is half way down the page here..

 

http://www.msrailroads.com/Lou_Midland.htm

 

(If you have an interest in southern shortlines,ie;Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama then this site is well worth a look)

 

I was a bit apprehensive about the colour at first,but as the previous pics show it works when there all together as one.

 

 

When i get round to finishing up the rest of the trestle i`ll sort out  a list of materials used for the build.

 

Brian.

[Tove]

The trestle is now 99% complete,just the area where the sand bin sits need`s to be finished off.

But first,this is the picture that has provided insperation for the build.Whilst it`s not the correct trestle for the Ogeechee river crossing on the Louisville end of the line, it is typical of the trestles used on the L&W/WS lines. 

(used with permission of steve flanigan)

Full length view of completed trestle,

Closer view of trestle,showing the variation in the colours of the trestle,

And finally,what a train looks like on the trestle........

Rather than trying to explain all the what went where bits and bob`s,i`ve included a diagram of a trestle bent and listed all the

various parts i`ve used.

I should also add at this point, that the bulkheads on either end of the trestle were made from the same parts as the main trestle bents,less the cross brace`s.And the planking is a scale 12"x3",which is attached to the piles from the back.This is why there are no NBW castings showing on the ends.

 

Thanks for looking,

 

Brian.

[Tove]

Simon,

 

The top cap is 42mm long with the piles spaced at 7mm/14mm from each end.

 

Brian.