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Layout Design Dream and design
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Frequent poster 631 posts Moe line Frequent poster 631 posts
Moe line

Earlier today, at work, as I was sitting in the seat of U.P. 1027 (GP-60) waiting for my turn to take a local train into the yard. I had time to draw some more track plans on the graph paper book I keep with me, I was looking at two of the Soo Line subdivisions I want to model, and bemoaning the fact that a double deck would be the only way to fit them in, and these two subdivisions would have the exact same foot print with one on top of the other. Allow me to give a few more details about the prototype subdivisions before I share what I think will be a great idea to model them. Both of these subdivisions originated and terminated at my home town of Thief River Falls, MN, which is a great layout design element, because it is a small 9 track yard, with a small roundhouse and turntable, and was the division point for three different subs. the Devils Lake subdivision was part of the "wheat line" that went West from T.R.F. MN to Devils Lake, ND, and at 83 miles from T.R.F. MN, it split off to another sub at Fordville, ND. The Noyes sub ran North from T.R.F for 80 miles to Noyes, MN and Emerson, Manitoba, Canada, where trains are interchanged with the Canadian Pacific, (C.P. has owned the Soo since 1990, and prior to that always had a controlling interest of ownership.) The Noyes sub ran right past our family farm 7 miles north and through my wife's home town 48 miles north, on the way to Canada. Noyes sub is considered a secondary main line with only around 3 trains per day, in the era I want to model, 1954, Devils Lake sub was a branch line with only 2 trains per day and is now owned by a short line. My new idea is instead of stacking these two subs, I will build only one deck of both subs with certain towns doing double duty since upper Midwest small towns are very much alike, and the topography and scenery are also pretty much the same in this area. The mileposts on these two subs both count up from T.R.F at milepost 306 with Noyes at milepost 386, and Fordville at milepost 389 even though they are on separate subs in different states. I thought I can put labels for the double duty towns that have sliding covers to change the town name and milepost location. For an operating session with TT and train orders, I could run all 5 trains at different times by changing the town names, and the plan was always to have return loops at the far end of both these subs and staging since all runs on Noyes sub are turnaround runs only with two separate trains per run, and the Devils Lake trains returned to T.R.F after an overnight layover. The junction at Fordville is the perfect spot for the return loop, and Noyes has a large WYE track and other junctions and connections that can mimic the loop. Fordville and Noyes would be the double duty towns at the far end of each run. I welcome any input from fellow modelers about this idea to make that part of my future layout do double duty. Thanks, Jim
Reply 2
Bill Brillinger Moderator 4,904 posts
Bill Brillinger

Well this is exciting!

I like your clever concept of name swapping. Neat!

But I'm most excited that somebody else is choosing to model Noyes! Albeit on the wrong CP side of the depot and of course Noyes is a ghost town in my era.

I'll be following with interest!

Bill Brillinger

Modeling the BNML in HO Scale, Admin for the RailPro User Group, and owner of Precision Design Co.
Reply 2
BOK Prolific poster 1,120 posts
BOK

If I can find them I took

If I can find them I took some colors pix back in the late 70 early 80s of Noyes when I was rules examiner for the Soo Line. I remember taking photos of Soo SD-40s and covered wagons, CN, GMD road switchers and BN, Hii nose GPs. If I find them and scan them maybe one of you can walk me through how to post them?

Barry 
Reply 2
Moe line Frequent poster 631 posts
Moe line

Noyes

Bill, when I ran trains for the Soo to Noyes in the mid 1990's there wasn't much there, my main reason for modeling the sub is because both my wife and I grew up in that area, and her uncle was a station agent in Lake Bronson, one of the towns along there that will be in my layout and double as Forest River on the North Dakota side and as a module can do triple duty as two different towns for me and when incorporated into the club's modular layout. I remember a hard trip from T.R.F. to Emerson with a manager riding along in 40 below weather with 88 below wind chill in the worst blizzard I ever worked in up there, we even got the trains stuck and the Canadian crew and us had to make some innovative moves to get unstuck and get the trains moving again. We ended up getting pulled back to T.R.F. by the local crew that had to rescue us with more locomotives, a 17 hour trip that day. I plan to model it in the fall without so much snow, Ha Ha. Jim
Reply 2
Bill Brillinger Moderator 4,904 posts
Bill Brillinger

Ha Ha

Quote:

I plan to model it in the fall without so much snow, Ha Ha

Late Summer for me!   I hate snow

Bill Brillinger

Modeling the BNML in HO Scale, Admin for the RailPro User Group, and owner of Precision Design Co.
Reply 2
Moe line Frequent poster 631 posts
Moe line

Sectional building

I had time to build 3 more 2 foot by 4 foot modules that will be part of my future layout and used at the club modular layout, including the modified one with a little extra 6 inches by 3 foot piece grafted to the outside edge of the module for a better representation of my wife's hometown. They are just raw modules at this point, no track work or scenery has been done yet.
Reply 2
Moe line Frequent poster 631 posts
Moe line

Photos

Barry, sorry I didn't message you sooner, but I am not sure how to post photos on MRH. I don't see an attachment symbol on these forum pages, but it must be possible I just don't know how to do it. I will copy this to an email.
Reply 2
Virginian and Lake Erie Super User 9,223 posts
Virginian and Lake Erie

this should help.

http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/help/how-to-post-an-image

there are other ways. An easy way to access them is to type how to post pictures in the search box at the top right of the page and a list of several will appear. You may then choose the way that appeals to you the most.

I use the icon in the top row of the task bar below the comment line. It looks like a little computer screen and to the right of it is a strip of film. The film is for videos. The computer screen will upload the photo to the web site and allow it to be accessed regardless of what happens to the other source I believe.

Hope this helps

 

Rob in Texas

MRH Blog / Prep for an Operating Session / Delving Into the Past / The Club Blog / Youtube / etmrc.org
Reply 2
CAR_FLOATER Regular poster 382 posts
CAR_FLOATER

T.R.F.

This sounds real neat, as I visited T.R.F. in 1987 on a family vacation to Detroit Lakes, MN. The Soo/BN diamond was just outside of town, and for a boy from NJ who only ever saw blue engines, this was big time railroading! I begged my parents to drive north ("follow that railroad, I know theres a yard up there somewhere!") and got to explore the yard, and a very nice hostler that let me take photos all over the place and pose on engines for shots. I think it helped that it was a Sunday and I was with my parents, too! I look forward to your progress on this plan!
Reply 2
BOK Prolific poster 1,120 posts
BOK

Thanks, for the reply, Moe I

Thanks, for the reply, Moe I know how busy things can get.

I think Joe Atkinson from the proto group posted instructions on how to post photos which I'll lok up and see if I can get to work.

Barry 
Reply 2
Moe line Frequent poster 631 posts
Moe line

Layout design

It's been awhile since I posted on this thread, but I haven't had a lot of time to work on the layout modules, I was able to build three more sections of the portable modules one of which is 2 foot by 4 foot with one end finished off to be the dead end module for the Duluth, MN Soo passenger depot, that had a 6 track stub ended yard built under a hill that required a retaining wall and tunnel to reach the depot. It will span 2 feet wide by 12 feet long across 3 modules with 2 of them for the depot and yard and the third one for the tunnel. As with my other modules they will be designed to work both at home and in the club layout. At the present time I have enough modules to put together a 15 foot by 19 foot layout with the 12 foot passenger depot section as a peninsula in the middle. Only the modules are built, no track laying has been done yet. More updates and information later, Jim
Reply 2
Moe line Frequent poster 631 posts
Moe line

More module sections

I finished the other 2 foot by 3 foot module and one more 2 foot by 4 foot dead end module, which only leaves me with one more set of Kam ends available, so I need to set up these modules to see what else I need to build that will still remain portable. Next month I plan to build, with the help of my Kam Konnect friends, two specialty drop down modules, one pair for a waterfront scene and one pair for an ore dock and ship scene. The drop downs waste a lot of expensive 18mm 12 ply  cabinet grade plywood, and are cut out on their CNC machine. Lacking the resources to build an out building to house my future permanent layout, working on these TOMA type of modules that can also be used at the club is all I can do at this time. Jim
Reply 2
Moe line Frequent poster 631 posts
Moe line
Wow, I had forgotten about this thread from so long ago, I wish I could post some pictures and tell you there's been progress, and I did build several more modules, including the drop down modules mentioned in the above old post. However, life gets in the way, like being injured with a broken leg from a fall at the lake house boat lift, and the passing of my mother from Covid in the fall of 2021, and the passing of my wife just over one year later in 2022 after a two year long illness. I was busy with caregiver duties during that time. While also still working 60 to 72 hours per week on the UP real railroad job as locomotive engineer, leaving little personal time at all.
 
So I really had not done much model railroading at all outside of the modular club, and some steam locomotive kit bashing projects, I built four 30" wide by 4' long modules for use for the hometown portion of the layout that will be modeled with almost no selective compression in length at least, as it being a small town the switching district really only consisted of 4 long tracks, one being the main track, 3 double ended tracks and two more short stub ended tracks. The actual town  will be 16' long including the river bridge scene.
 
It looks like retirement will be the only way to make any real progress, but the current economy is not favorable for retirement at this time even though I am now eligible with my 60 years of age and over 30 years of railroad service on the job. I also want to downsize for retirement and move from my current location in Southeast Texas near Beaumont, to my lake house on Toledo Bend lake in North Texas. The move would include having to build a new garage with a second story as the permanent layout room at around 28' X 48' size, so even more delays since the building does not yet exist, and the sloping topography make building projects more difficult. Wish me luck, Jim.
Reply 5
jimfitch Prolific poster 5,273 posts
jimfitch
Good luck!

.

Jim Fitch
northern VA
Reply 3
David Husman dave1905 MRH Author 9,801 posts
David Husman dave1905
Very sorry to hear about your losses.  That's a lot to happen in a couple years.
 
If there is a way to design the garage with an extra bay or two or a "workshop" in it, rather than a 2nd story, you might want to consider that.  Hauling stuff up and down stairs as you get older will get old.  If there is any way you can keep it on one level, it might be worth exploring.  If the ground is sloping, maybe you can get a ground level entrance to the garage on one side and a ground level or near ground level  entrance to the layout room on the other side.

Dave Husman

Visit my website :  https://wnbranch.com/

Blog index:  Dave Husman Blog Index
Reply 5
Moe line Frequent poster 631 posts
Moe line
Thanks, Dave and Jim, I understand what you're saying Dave, about the garage access, unfortunately the space is very limited at the lake, and the one spot where the garage can be built is only about a 4 foot change in elevation with the much more sloped ground on the opposite side of the lake property from the driveway.
 
I do however have the solution to the stairs already available to me, due to my late wife's condition, I bought and installed a chair lift on the back stairs of my existing two story house, and another one outside on the porch steps and have leftover rails, gear track, and one extra motor unit, all of which need to be removed from the existing house when sold.
 
These chair lifts will be brought to the lake and strategically installed for taking guests, myself, or boxes and materials up to the layout room, and also over on the house itself on the lakeside stairs. The driveway side of the lake house already had a wheelchair ramp when I purchased it 5 years ago which will also be retained so handicap access is assured.
Reply 3
BOK Prolific poster 1,120 posts
BOK
Jim good to hear from you but sad to hear of your losses. Working all those hours and having to be a care giver really wears a person out.  Hopefully, you get some time off to refresh your life.
 
I know in retirement after 50 years of railroading I figured I would have more time on my hands but I did get a rsimple railroad built in our condo within the first couple of years and have enjoyed it. However, now I am a full time care giver for my wife who was diagnosed with ALZ two years ago so my time for the model railroad (while a nice distraction) is  more limited.
 
You mentioned building a one town railroad based on the Soo Line was it on the Fordville Sub. or Thief River ? Either will be interesting and depending on era there was different freight customers than just elevators, fertz. plants and propane. Even in the 70/80s during my time on the Soo they were hauling spuds out of the Red River Valley in both reefer cars and trailers along with some boxes of dried milk , dried beans and a 
bit of lignite coal. Interesting times along with CP traffic made the trains more interesting.
 
Take care,
 
Barry 
Reply 3
Moe line Frequent poster 631 posts
Moe line
It's good to hear from you as well, Barry, and I definitely understand your current situation and hope it gets better, they are coming up with better ALZ treatments quite often.
 
The concept of the one town layout would definitely be the hometown of Thief River Falls,  MN and all of the specialty modules that form the benchwork are already completed save for one Kam Konnect 30"to 24" adapter. The main part of the town would be 16' long, 30" wide from the river bridge by the old former creamery buildings to 8th Street by the O&M grain elevator. 8th St to 3rd St by the depot 12'long.
 
The turntable and round house are on a 3'X3' corner module interfacing with 24" modules on each side at 90 degrees apart, and 11' long by 24" wide would be TRF yard modules, and between 5' to 6' of modules from 8th St on the 30 " wide modules to the roundhouse corner module would be the engine servicing area with coal tower, water tower, sand tower, and ash pit.
 
So before turning the next corner and adding a staging yard, the one town would be 14' on the yard side and 25' on the town side, which could make for a decent layout to operate, with all the switching challenges of the multiple grain elevators,  warehouse, seed and feed store, bulk oil dealer, potato warehouse, lumber yard, coal dealers, and others sharing the double ended switching district tracks.
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