I have often thought about having part of a shipyard on my layout but I haven’t been able to find much information on it. I am building an N-scale layout of the northeast, specifically Long Island and thought it might be interesting to have the shipyard receive steel and other related shipbuilding materials. Do you know where I could find out more?
Irv
There is a shipyard in Newport News VA. You might be able to find something during a search. A shipyard is a big facility. If I was going to try and model a portion of one, I would think about modeling a small dry dock with a large boat or small ship in it on blocks. The rest of the facility could be backdrop flats and a background of some industrial type. A large traveling crane spanning the dry dock or immediately next to it might be appropriate. Also, there would be one RR track on each side of the dry dock. I know at least that much because the carrier that I was once on had to pull into the dry dock at Yocosuka (sp?) Japan for some emergency work once.
You might down load
Have fun
You might do a search for words and pix for “bath iron works” in Maine. It’s been building ships since 1884.
Ed
Just did a Google Maps survey of the Bath Iron Works. There were two destroyers and a frigate fitting out, but no indication of current rail service.
Au contraire, the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock facility has an intricate network of rail lines running all over the yard, with spurs going into quite a few of the buildings. Among other things, I spotted two heavy duty well flats sitting on a siding and a number of smaller cars parked in various places. The whole system ties into a CSX yard.
It’s easy to figure out what gets built at Newport News. There’s a Nimitz class carrier fitting out!
The same two sites appear to have been photographed earlier for Mapquest. The carrier was in the graving dock at Newport News, and only one destroyer was afloat at Bath. The other destroyer and the frigate were still on the ways.
While the rail system at Newport News would be a major model railroad in its own right (as big as a basketball court in HO,) finding out details of an appropriate operating scheme might be difficult - and could lead to a visit from some big dudes in black suits with badges in their wallets and bulges under their armpits.
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - dozens of kilometers from navigable water)
Try the boatnerd.com website for pics of Great Lakes ship yards.
For example the interesting Sturgeon Bay WI shipyards until the 1970s or so was served by the Ahnapee & Western. The Green Bay & Western website has photos of the Sturgeon Bay shipyards and other pics showing service by the A&W – and it includes prototype track plans for shipyard service.
http://www.greenbayroute.com/photos.htm
Try this page for example
http://www.greenbayroute.com/1963sb.htm
Dave Nelson
Given that most ships are put together with a series of building blocks (modules are constructed either dockside or in special building and then moved to the building ways) I don’t really need to show the actual ships being built. I do want to show an assembly building or two with steel and other stuff going in and empties coming out. And in case I didn’t say it before, this in N-Scale so I can show lots of traffic going in and coming out in the space available.
Irv
Newport News is the only facility that can build nuclear powered carriers in the world. That’s not what I want to build. I was more interested in doing a smaller shipyard and then just one or two of the assembly building and a small yard to handle loaded cars that have arrived and empties to be picked up.
These yards used to be plentiful in the US. Niw most of them are gone or are just rust and concrete rubble.
Irv
An exceptionally interesting book on shipyards, with track plans, is from the “Images of America” series
http://www.arcadiapublishing.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=0738540021
The shipyards of Manitowoc turned out WWII submarines, lake boats, ocean going ships, luxury yachts, and military vessels. It was rail served. Highly recommended even though it is not east coast. Lots of rail oriented photos.
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Maritime Manitowoc: 1847-1947 ISBN: 0738540021 # of Pages: 128 |
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The Bath Ironworks in Bath ME is rail served by the Maine Eastern. From what I understand they no longer take loads directly at the yard but instead take loads at a nearby storage area. They build destroyers I think.
The Portmouth Naval Shipyard is railserved to the gate by PanAm, formally Guilford, formally B&M. They occasionally move loads of nuclear material. Its rather interesting with a “security” DOE Caboose accomanying a special flat car for the container. I think the yard has/had a 44ton Navy Switcher they use inside, I have seen pictures of it in the Portsmouth Yard being transferred for maintenance. Portsmouth maintains nuclear submarines.
In Massachusetts General Dynamics built ships for quite some time, up until 1985 I think? Currently there are plans to eventually build double hulled tankers there. It is currently served by the Quincy Bay Terminal Company. Its a nice example of a port revitilization.
All three of these pop up rather nicely on google maps. All three were likely VERY busy rail customers 40 - 50 years ago.
Chris
The reference material you wanted were for ship yards. You did not say that you wanted to DUPLICATE a real yard. So what you have to do is look at all the material and references that you received, and draw your own plan based on that data. That’s how model railroading works.
I just ordered the book. Thanks for the referennce.
Irv
<The reference material you wanted were for ship yards. You did not say that you wanted to DUPLICATE a real yard. So what you have to do is look at all the material and references that you received, and draw your own plan based on that data. That’s how model railroading works.>
I am not interested in duplicating real yard. I don’t have a couple of miles of space to do that. I am interested in coming up with something that is believable as part of my N-Scale layout. I am still in the planning stages so I can be flexible with it. The room the layout will eventually occupy is aproximately 20 x 30 and should have northeastern theme, preferrably New York/New Jersey but that can change as well.
Irv
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