Yup, it can be done

What is your focus, the industry or the mountains?

Rail service at coal mines is incredibly linear. At the Morgantown, WV club, there is one mine modeled. The total depth of the scene ranges between 24 and 30 inches. Of course, this mine represents a deep shaft operation near the top of a mountain, like in Thomas, WV, not a tipple deep in a valley. Check the image here:

http://www.mvrrc.org/layout/wilsonmills.htm

If you want the mass of the mountains, then you will need to work towards that illusion like Howard Zane does on his layout. Feature more vertical in a narrow area. I did something similar on an 18 inch wide shelf layout many years ago. The mountain on the backdrop is cardboard with ground foam glued onto it and the trees are all tall to make the trains look small. These are illusion elements that need to be implemented to convey tall scenery in a narrow space. Check the last image on this page:

http://nmra.org/beginner/vandalia.html

Eric

You get around Eric. It's

You get around Eric. It's been awhile, this is Ed Sumner from Baltimore and Western PA. Last I heard you were in Wisconsin or some frozen wasteland. As soon as I saw Eric H, I knew it was you even before I saw the sig. Good to see you here man.

My situation is I'm living in rental property, but am fortunate enough to have a 12 x 18 space in the garage. Naturally, I want the standard and narrow gauge, but the layout has to be sectional so I can move it should the need arise. I'm operation and scenery oriented (you know that). I'm glad I bought a large sketch pad because I am going through its paper like crazy. I have a coal camp 2 x 12 section in as the end of a branch along the 18' side. It looks fine, but trying to fit what I want into the remaining area is proving to be beyond my ability with sectional benchwork.

Don't let the sectional

Don't let the sectional benchwork hinder your trackwork; FreeMo and other modular groups have a few solutions to bridge the gap.  Lay the ties up to the edge, and use individual rails (about 2" long) can be used so the ballast is uninterrupted.  Or, use 3 or 4 PC board ties where benchwork joints are, with rails soldered to them for strength also work.  I prefer the short jumper rails because rails at the end seem to get snagged and sometimes damaged.

Look up the Coal Fork Extension, if I remember, it's a pretty linear extension with 2 coal mines/tipples.  If you see a layout you like, but it's not linear, sketch out it's features schematic-style (or photocopy it and cut it up) and rearrange it to better fit your space.  Tweak the siding locations/lengths/orientations and imagine switching them (using scale length bits of paper or other methods) to test out operations.  When you get close to what you like, make the sketch more accurate and bigger and 'operate' it again.  During final construction, you will have a very good plan to start with; tweak final siding length and position with the real models.  Don't forget to mock up structures for sight lines too-cardboard, Lego, or the actual models if you have them (or temporarily tape them together-use good quality tape or it might leave residue when removed, which will cause you more work to clean).

The more you plan, the less you will have to build/rebuild; it took me about a year to design my 2x12 modular switching layout and so far it operates just like I imagined...I'm not saying it's perfect, but it's how I imagined.

I'm also a proponent of FreeMo; if and when you decide to, you can take a few modules (or the whole layout if your vehicle is big enough) and be part of a much, much bigger layout.  Do this as soon as the track is laid, before it's too difficult to change, and see how other people work the industries and make changes if you spot anything you don't like.

These are just some ideas that have helped me, I hope at least one of them will help you (or anyone reading this).

Dear Eric, Strongly

Dear Eric,

Strongly consider getting hands on any MRs you can covering Tony Koester's "Coal Fork Extension" branch of his old Appalachia Midland. If you're following a coal shifter branch up a holler, even 12" shelf is do-able, and with suitable staging can emulate a mine-shifter job very effectively...

FYI http://www.kalmbachstore.com/mrpdf054.html

Happy Modelling,
Aim to Improve,
Prof Klyzlr

Pssst, Professor...

It's the Allegheny Midland.

George

Appalachian Railroad Modeling has some ideas

Eric

Here the link to is a 10 by 11 shelf plan from the Appalachian Railroad Modeling site

http://www.appalachianrailroadmodeling.com/tp_rend.html

Bill Michael

"Photos would be helpful as well"

 Photos as in photo backdrops for sure.  Check out Mike Confalone's work to see how photo backdrops can enhance a narrow scene. I'm planning an N scale cement plant on a 6 inch wide shelf so 24 inches wide sounds like a lot to me :> ) ...DaveB

Dear George, You're

Check out Mike Confalone's

Check out Mike Confalone's work like mentioned above. I was trying to figure out how to incorporate a coal fired power plant (such as those at Homer City, Seward, and Montour) without going into all the work of building an actual plant. After seeing some of Mr. Confalone's work it hit me, make a siding that goes in behind a hill and then have a photo backdrop of the power plant from some distant vantage point. That way you can set loaded hoppers off on the siding as if delivering coal to the power plant.

Coal country mining operations are not always huge undertakings, most are NOT strip mines, so there is rarely huge complexes to build. I even recall one mine in Indiana County along 119 was nothing more than a conveyor coming out of the hillside to a tower/silo of sorts on a small siding. They pushed the empty hopper into it and flood loaded the thing and moved on to the next one.

Edna Mine at Oak Creek Colorado

It seems to be the prototype for Walthers New River Mining tipple.  It's located along a creek bottom with the DRGW mainline passing next to the building.  There was a good write up with plan and photos in the December 77 RMC by Jim Boyd.  The conveyor disappears over the hill to where the mine is.  I'm working on a 2' x 6' module for an HO Moffat line layout. The track fits within 2 feet easily.

Coal Country Layout

Give the Reading Modeler web site a look.  There are some VERY talented modelers who regularly post pictures of their efforts on this site.  http://www.readingmodeler.com