David Popp’s Editorial (FEB-08) spurred me to seek some feed back on my basic layout concept.
In my fictional world the NYC (or some other company) did what no railroad would, they cut a tunnel through a mountain to pull 50 cars loaded with logs out each week for 30 years. The logging company never really got going and went under in the 30’s. The new owner had a longer term perspective so he clear cut some land to the north and sold it cheap as farm land and used the proceeds to build a saw mill. Next, he started cherry picking trees along the side of the nearby big lake then sold off the tiny lots at the dawn of the cabin era. With the drop in volume and the NYC more interested in hauling equipment and material for Ike’s American Autobahn, the NYC approached interests in the valley.
The railroad I’m going to model is born.
I’ve got to model some sort of interchange. At the opposite end I have to have an agricultural based town. They are unimportant for the moment.
Andy Sperandeo’s way freight pieces along with RMC’s piece on Columbus, WI got me over my block. You come out from the interchange area and into the first town with the saw mill. I’ve got that, a lumber yard/hardware, a fuel dealer, a general freight depot and a passenger station. Now, if you’ve got a sawmill, a lumber company and a cabin building boom it’s a nice place to start building kitchen cabinets and custom furniture for the valley and beyond.
The center piece of the point to point layout is the town in the center.
It’s now the middle of July in 1962.
What equipment? I’m leaning GP7 and NW2 for motive power. Where do I find information on rolling stock for that time period?
If I have a community difficult to reach by road but easily accessible by rail, what other industries would the railroad serve?
Any other advice or comment