Definitely interested...

Dear Dave,

I'm definitely interested in talking CCT, esp RE contemporary ops around the Port of Stockton (love those SW1500s), and the Lodi Industrial District (quick checks suggest it might fit at full-scale size in N on approx 7x 4x1s, and a squzzed HO version wouldn't eat much more, same track arrangement with less linear capacity).

Happy Modelling,
Aim to Improve,
Prof Klyzlr

PS Don't ask how I know this, but the "Sweetener Co" spurs in Lodi form the basis of a very cute little proto-nook in HO in 1x4...

PPS search Youtube for "central california traction", a significant ammount of 90--> Now era clips available for research purposes...

company web site   

CCT company web site    http://www.cctrailroad.com/index.html      A Fan site http://www.trainweb.org/tractionco/    A great book  http://www.amazon.com/The-Central-California-Traction-Company/dp/193001306X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383982832&sr=8-1&keywords=central+california+traction+company

"published 2002" = ??? era

Dear Highway,

What era does that book cover up to? Does it include the arrival of the SW1500s? The Gensets?

Happy Modelling,
Aim to Improve,
Prof Klyzlr

"What era does that book cover up to?"

  Hi Prof, It ends at about 2003 when the 1500's had been there for a short time. Not too much about the later era. Lots of good stuff about the building era and the electrified operations in Sac and Stocktown, quite a bit about the transition to diesel era and the changes up to 2003. Definitely a good read and especially useful to the trolley era modeler. For the more modern era I've found youtube helpful and google earth maps and streeview for the track and scenery  planning. That sweetener track you speak of is one of the questions I've got. I'm wondering if the sweetner is inbound or outbound and I see hoppers at the facility and can't figure out what they are doing there? I'm hoping a local will see this and clue me in. BTW if you look at google maps there's a new larger sweetner facility over across from the old Roma wine building.......DaveBranum

CCT on DVD

Great Shortlines West, one of the Charles Smiley Productions collection features some CCT footage include early 60's scenes, haven't watched it for awhile but I think there's several minutes of CCT action. http://cspmovies.com/dvd/great-shortlines-west

"Great Shortlines West, one of the Charles Smiley Productions"

thanks., I'll check it out.  There's a nice 39 minute youtube video of the Traction with a Puccini sound track that fits it well.......DaveB

Sweetener Co

Dear Dave,

I'll have to dig up my previous info,
(and if we do hear from a local, I'd also be very happy to hear their 1st hand wisdom on this),

but IIRC Sweetener Co takes inbound covered hoppers of sugar and similar, and inbound tank cars or syrup. They act as a break/transhipment point from rail> road.

https://www.sweetenerproducts.com/website/Index.aspx

https://www.sweetenerproducts.com/website/Products.aspx?noLogType=NoLogType

This view from this year http://goo.gl/maps/hGTeV shows what I interpret as:
(L> R, W> E)

- Covered hopper unloading track, possible directly to truck?
(Note the one hopper under the unloading covered area, and one at the sth end of the track)

- tankcar unloading track, (note the pipework, and the tankcars distribution along the track Nth<> sth. As Syrup is in various grades, spotting cars relative to existing grade-handling pipework = car-spot/proto-nook ops

- I thought this was originally an "offspot" track for switching Sweetener Co, which would have made a virtually perfect proto-nook.

However, those 2 covered hoppers appear to have pipework connected to them, and the industry to the Right (Schaefer Systems?) has a few vertical storage tanks close to the track.

Possibly this tracks started life as a "off spot" track, but Schaefer offered to use it as their spur?
I don't think it's an "extra Sweetener track", with pipework running under it and back W/to-the-Left to the Sweetener Co property, as they appear to have more-than-enough track capacity on the "covered hopper track" to handle "2 more"...

Consider:
- if #1790 was shoving a rake of hoppers and tanks towards Sweetener,
and had to do-se-do around any cars that were already speotted there,
a "spare track" such as the one paralleling the Schaefer property would be, I would thing, a very valuable thing to have.
(The alternative is, assuming the inbounds aren't magically already "in perfect spot order", to:
- get all the outbounds on one of the Sweetener tracks,
- use the other for the inbounds
- drag the Outbounds out
- then use the outbounds as a "extended handle" to correctly-spot the Inbounds as required)

If we rotated this view 90-degrees clockwise (IE so we were standing in Schaefer, and looking West accross the tracks towards Sweetener), I see a simple but engaging 4x1 squzzed proto-nook (possibly with a single-track cassette/staging track to the right, forming the trackage/lead north of Thurman St),

maybe a larger 8x1 with the full scene modelled?

Happy Modelling,
Aim to Improve,
Prof Klyzlr

PS do you have a Maps ref for the Rona Wine buidling?

Maps ref for the Rona Wine buidling?

 Hi Prof,  The old Roma wine buillding is about one half mile north where the mainline crosses E. Victor Rd. The Roma building is in the NE quadrant of the crossing.Across the track to the west is the new sweetner facility visible on google maps. It looks to be 4 tracks wide and all tank cars, no hoppers in sight.   I checked the spur at Schaefer and it definitely has a hopper unloading pipe running into their bldg.  Their lot looks like they make some kind of  bins or garbage cans so I guess the hoppers are plastics related.  I'm going to design my scene based on the hoppers at sweetner being something sweet and the hoppers at Schaefer being something plastics related. I can refine it later. I'd read somewhere or had seen on youtube that the CCT train  had picked up an empty tank car at the interchange that they had to take to sweetner so that made me wonder  if the traffic was inbound or outbound. Next time I go to Sac to visit my son I'll take the side trip thru Lodi and check it out in person.I haven't been thru there in years......DaveB   

Sweetener's "New" plant

Dear Dave,

You mean here?

http://goo.gl/maps/fAetE

Honesty compels me to admit I'd never "Googlemapped" any furthur north than where the line curves west to head to the Lodi Industrial District, (which I note is just within Lodi city limits, the cemetery to the north of the curved track is explicitly not included in the Lodi limits boundary!),

http://goo.gl/maps/l1mv4

so I'd not seen this area before. I also thought that the curved Lodi Industry Jct was the "end of track" when the line Lodi <> Sac was closed...

I also note an abandoned spur curving East off the Main at the same location as the "new" Sweetener plant,
(thru a metal scrap yard?),
http://goo.gl/maps/cqzwV

and at least 1 "turnout to nowhere" in the Googlemaps view of the "new" Sweetener plant
http://goo.gl/maps/zPZ6A (let's see someone model that... it's not difficult... ).

Soo many things to find... What era/equipment of CCT are you looking to model?

Happy Modelling,
Aim to Improve,
Prof Klyzlr

"What era/equipment of CCT are you looking to model?"

Hi Prof,  I'll probably do the recent era since I like those sweetner cars and the large covered hoppers. The earlier GP7/caboose operations era also would be neat. Did you check out the 39 minute video on youtube, that's the vibe I'm looking to create..DaveB

Great idea

Dave,

I just stumbled on this blog and it sounds like a great idea!! Any progress or new ideas?

Any progress or new ideas?

Nothing material to report. I pretty much finalized the track plan but am waiting for Atlas to re-stock their code 83 track line. In the meantime I've gotten side tracked by a new TTscale loco Saz model produced and working on some TT track to run it on .....DaveB

Atlas Code 83 shortage

...Is no excuse to procrastinate

it works for me :> ) .......DaveB

Dear DK, I don't have the

recreating the "low structure horizon line"

Hi Prof,  Did you use streetview and check out the Lodi scene?  I found some pretty good views of the sweetener plant and the other industries around there, most of the streets had coverage using the google site. The valley is pretty hazy so the backdrop need not be too detailed, maybe some far away trees and a few distant indistinct buildings. As far as the locos go the GP9's need dynamic brakes and the GP18 is non dynamic, I found some lifelike models that look useable, haven't bought one yet though. The CCT ex ATSF caboose has different cupola window placement than the common available models so will need some work. There's a CCT HO model caboose available with nice paint( I forget the manufacturer right now) but it might get ruined doing the windows so the plain old Athearn and decals might be just as good a start. ...DaveB

CCT Caboose #100, variable height horizons, etc

Dear Dave,

I have one of the Ath "Collection" series cabooses (#24 IIRC) which I was intending to "forward date" based on 90's era pics, but Caboose #100 is a significantly different animal

http://www.trainweb.org/tractionco/cctcaboose100.html

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/rspicture.aspx?id=608351

As an ex-SP C40-4, the Ath BB bay window cabooses are a logical starting point, and as a "newer era caboose" modelling #100 would place my CCT rendition in a more-recent era/timezone, (which is a comfy place for me... ).

Yes, I've walked much of the StreetView-available streets around the Lodi Industrial area. (Love Streetview, that and "Birds eye view" are invaluable for modelling almost anywhere from this distance... ).

The thing that I find when looking at pics of Lodi, Stockton, and the LA switching areas is that when one looks up from street-level to the structure roofline, which commonly appears to be rarely more than 2 storeys tall, it's "straight to blue sky".

As a modeller who has spent much time modelling NG logging, 
and often has a lot of "hill/mountain" landform/tree line rising above "eye-line"
(thus "raising where the ground finishes and the sky starts"),

such relatively low "horizon lines" take some getting used to. That I tend to build my layouts at or near my "eye height", using relatively shallow-depth shelves, throws the onus on me to really get the ground> structure> "horizon line"> clear blue sky relative heights/horizontal lines sorted out...

As a live fire comparison, consider modelling the scene,
and presenting it in an "up close and personal, standing at street level" perspective,
of Sweetener Co @ Lodi on the CCT

http://goo.gl/maps/mVhsK

(note that the horizon is far away, and is relatively close to eye-line.
Apart from things like the Sweetener Co silos, most "buildings" in view are low and flat, barely 2 storeys tall)

VS 

the Blue Herron Papermill at Oregon City, Ore

http://goo.gl/maps/ojebS

(note the cliff-face backdrop and taller buildings. This artifically "raises the horizon line" relative to the typical "standing trackside viewing the scene from a 6' optical altitude",

IE one has to consciously look UP to "see the sky",
and con-incidentally naturally limits the scene depth,
thus making for a nice match with "shelf layout" form factor)

I have toyed with the engineering required to build a "backdrop-less proscenium module" which would allow "endless sky" visual, but structurally it is a headache, and presents serious transport and storage issues.
(can't multi-stack modules if there is no supporting structure to protect the scene...)

Ah, the fun of "modelling what one can see"...

Happy Modelling,
Aim to Improve,
Prof Klyzlr

such relatively low "horizon lines" take some getting used to

Hi Prof,  I think the main difference is the sky should be much lighter down low and probably more hazy or indistinct. The valley horizon is often just a silhouette of far away trees and buildings with little color difference showing at that range. Other tan breezy spring days or middle of winter storm aftermath the sky is never very blue over there, more likely a shade of gray or dust color.                                                                                                                            That caboose #100 would be a pretty recent addition to the CCT roster, I don't know when it was added but probably within the last ten years, I know they didn't have any bay window cabs when they were still using them on freights. The two ATSF cars are in most photographs in the GP7/GP18 era....DaveB

Modern era CCT, as rare as?

Dear Dave,

So when do you think we'll see a model of the CCT Brookville gensets?
(Have to admit I prefer Brookville and Corman/RP gensets over the NRE units...
they look more "EMD husky" than the NRE efforts...)

Do you have any fave sources of "modelgenic" Port of Stockton location pics?
(gotta love a switching location called "Rough and Ready Island"... )

As above, I'm in the Heart-VS-Head quandry that I have on-roster, and am a big fan of, the 4x SW1500s,
but despite much (virtual) wandering around P.o.S. via GoogleMaps and Bing, have yet to find any viewpoints, industries, or images which "grab me" the way that Lodi has...
(and as noted, the SW1500s making a run to/from/for Lodi from Stockton is not-the-norm AFAIK...)

Happy Modelling,
Aim to Improve,
Prof Klyzlr

PS CCT is also my nemesis insofar as, I love weathering locos and rollingstock, but I have to battle to keep those CCT SW1500s reasonably clean, as the proto CCT apparently goes to quite significant lengths to keep their clean, esp in the current era...
(guess I can vent the weathering and graffiti modelling urges on the SP and UPY 1500s on the roster... )

PPS do the SW1500s get stabled somewhere in P.o.S, when not working,
or do they run back to the Stockton enginehouse?

do the SW1500s get stabled somewhere in P.o.S, when not working,

 Hi Prof, I'm not sure, I think I saw something about a new facility in the port but it might have just been offices. Did you check the CCT website, they post news about the equipment and operations on there occasionally. Do you know what that caboose #100 was doing with the UP loco in Bakersfield and where ever that other photo was taken?    I also don't find the Port as interesting as the Lodi line from a modeling point of view, the port is pretty industrial looking without the scenes that create the shortline feel for me. The scenery would also require a lot of heavy structural modeling and need a lot of industrial detail parts where the Lodi line is more basic buildings and facilities plus some crops and other vegetation, it just seems more relaxing to me. For the locos either the GP7 or GP18 shouldn't be too hard to model using a lifelike loco and available Micro scale decals (the set also includes caboose decals). If you want an even more classic scene you might look at the older Lodi photos when the line ran more to the west with a neat freight house on a curve and a smaller industries. The locos used in those days were GE 44 tonners and other switch engines, might be easier to fit into a small space.

PS , They can keep their locos clean but they still have to haul all the tagged freight cars so you'll have plenty of weathering to do.

PPS, I think my favorite CCT era is the video with the Puccini soundtrack on youtube, I'd love to re-create that scene... ...DaveB

Just Found

something in particular you would like a photo of

  Hi Dan,  That's very kind of you to offer.  I live in Santa Cruz but my son lives in Sac so I do get to drive thru the area occasionally. Roseville is a great place for a modeler or railfan to live,great big rail yard and a nice hobby shop.  The ST&E MP15 from Atlas is a very tempting loco, I might get one and say the CCT borrowed it :> )   I just got CCT caboose #24 and #25 models so I'll have to detail them up and weather them soon. The big problem with them is the cupola windows are wrong so I gotta cut and paste some new ones into the cupola sides....DaveB

Hobby shop in Lodi

Dave,

Don't forget Roger's hobby shop in Lodi. It's right across the street from the new transit center on the old SP line. Railroad Hobbies in Roseville is great (as is The Train Shop in Santa Clara) but Roger's might have a leg up on modeling Lodi.

Just my $0.012...inflation...

Mark C.

Oroville

Roger's hobby shop in Lodi.

  Hi Mark, Thanks for the tip.  I'll have to look up their hours and stop by on a future trip over that way. Maybe they've been around long enough to give me some insights into the operations there before the tracks were cut back to the east side of the highway..DaveB