Ok, I have a small piece of realestate on my layout that can be serviced by a single spur.
I don’t have a whole lot of room, maybe one square foot at most, any ideas on a small industry that might fit into this small a space?
Thanks
Gordon
What era do you model?
Modern era (say post 1970s) you’re limited to a rather types of industries like propane/LNG dealers, real simple team tracks (like a platform/ramp aside this siding - or just back up a truck to the siding and make a mini-transload center (e.g. refrigerator truck unloading a refeer, or a stakebed unloading or loading recycable scrap, or a pneumatic-tanker truck next to a covered hopper, and so on and so). Maybe a simple MOW yard (throw a few railroad-owned vehicles, perhaps have a tanker truck to fuel up loco and a utility bodied truck for fixin’ things, and plenty of track and roadbed maintance supplies - rail, ties, ballast piles, etc.) - oh, and big floodlights…
Another thing to do would either be the backdrop concept (like a side of a major building, perhaps with a roll-up freight car entrance over the siding), or the ultimate hidden industry (once featured in MR decades ago) - just a gate across the siding, an industry sign, and a lot of fencing, trees and bushes hiding the siding as it curves away to nowhere…
Now the olden days you have lots more leeway, but I would be partial to a coal/lumber distributor (with those cool concrete coal silo which there used to be a lot of around these parts (Long Island, NY))
What type(s) of cars do not go to any of the industries already on the layout? Do you want to model any of them? Is the space on an edge of the layout?
It’s in a spot where I I can squeeze out about a square foot of real estate & not compromise any other scenery connected to it.
Right now I have an auto parts plant & a food processing plant planned.
It doesn’t matter what type of cars, I can work around that aspect.
Maybe a newspaper printing office?
Gordon
One idea would be a pet food mfg. facility. You could have a daily switch of one or more cars - empties in, loads out. Where I worked, depending on what we made, we could produce up to 10 carloads a day, requiring switching services twice a day since we oculd only handle 5 cars at a time. The facility could be represented by something such as the DPM Smallman Street warehouse.
Good luck.
Tom
A square foot doesn’t seem that small for an industrial building–just about any sort of small factory, warehouse or manufacturing facility could be put in such a space. Most of the industry structure kits I have seen would fit in a foot square or thereabouts.
A team track is always a nice one, that calls for a lot less than a foot square! Of course, I suppose team tracks aren’t that common these days, but I still see them from Amtrak once in a while.
if you have industry there already how about ,a building,like melissa’s deli ,they might need somewhere to go for lunch???
To be totally honest, I would have to see your layout and the space you mentioned to really be able to give you any advice. So far, you’ve been given a number of good ideas, but finding the one that’s right for your layout is the main thing. I myself have a lumber mill on a spot on my layout where nothing else would have worked, but it has nothing to do with the railroad meaning, everything to and from it would be brought in or taken out by truck.
Good luck.
trainluver1
Don’t worry about trying to model a entire facility. Either just model the loading dock, or build two walls that run off the edge of the layout, which will suggest a much larger facility.
Best industry there is - TEAM TRACK. Takes up very little room and you can spot most any type of car.
Somewhere in the forum I posted about sidings that serve more than one industry and mention a plastics plant on a UP (former CNW) siding in South Milwaukee WI.
The plant itself is across the street from the rails and would not need to be modeled at all, or with just a flat.
But the Center Flo covered hoppers (like the kind Athearn makes) are unloaded from a steel box with hoses at intervals so the plastic pellets (about the size of aspirin) can be unloaded. The plant makes clear plastic bags – big ones, not sandwich bags. They often have two cars at a time.
All you’d need are the hoses (which attach to something like very small fire hydrants) and the bright steel box, maybe 4 ft high by 4 ft by 1 ft.
dave nelson
If its against a wall build a building fron maybe 1-2" deep. A lot of my complexes are only a few inches deep, the key is to add plenty of small details. have fun.
As others have noted, without knowing anything about your layout it’s hard to say. My suggestion would be a Molasses Mine - AHM used to make a kit for it, IIRC based on an article by E.L. Moore. It’s a funky looking thing and you could probably called it a turpetine works, a distillery, etc.
Enjoy
Paul
I don’t have anything built yet in the space I have alloted.
In fact, right now the plan is open for ideas which is why I’ve enlisted help form you guys!
The spot it’s in is in the middle of a field of plywood.
I guess I’ll take some pics of the area & post it to the www.
Thanks for the suggestions.
If you have any more thoughts, feel free to contribute.
Gordon
A monumental mason - tombstone manufacturer - could be fun. Single wagonloads of dressed stone in, and empties out.
A basic shed, and handcranes. In fair climates, a lot of the work is done outside.
If you’ve got the possibility of a dairy farm or cattle ranch somewhere nearby (not necessarily modeled) in your layout reality, you might look at a transloading facility…
Covered Hoppers with soy meal and corn distillates in, boxcars with cotton seed in as well. if you wanted. We’ve got a couple nearby that I’ve photographed:
Next to a team track, it’s about the easiest industry to model I could think of.
The Old Dog would note that the industry does NOT need to be located in the space, only it’s loading and/or unloading facilities are needed. The main plant (not modeled) could be reached by pipelines or conveyer belts in a tunnel under the other trackes.
Have fun