I remember the expanded version track plan. I copied it for reference since I am interested in paper mills. This plan looks manageable for one person but with great operating potential.

The mill I am considering is based on the former Ecusta Mill in Pisgah Forest, NC. It was served by Southern then Norfolk Southern. It made fine paper for bibles, etc and also cigarette paper. Did not have a Kraft mill on site, they received pulp and flax in boxcars, coal for power house, chemicals in tanks and covered hoppers and shipped in boxcars. Incoming boxcars mostly GN, NP, SP&S for flax and CP and CN for pulp.

Bill Michael

I like paper mills as well (an old HO layoutof mine, the Olympic Railway, served a paper mill and interchanged via a car float). This looks like a great theme and design for a layout. 

I also am modeling a paper mill. Mine is a combination of the Domtar mill and Lignotech Chemical plant in Rothschild, Wi. Your plan looks great and I look forward to following your build.

TomO

Thanks all. Started the bench work on the bottom three sections yesterday. I'll post some photos and explanation in  another thread. It's always fun and rewarding making things better than they were before.

Joe,

Your plan interests me immensely!  I would like to use it with only a few changes.  Can you tell me how it was created, what software, would you share the plan, etc., etc.?  IT'S GREAT!

Bart

The plan was drafted in XtrackCAD. You can download this software for free on the internet. Just google XtrackCad. If you haven't used it before, there is a bit of a learning curve with XtrackCAD but you'll find lots of support in the help tutorials of the program or online in the MRH forums. I can also help.

Feel free to use the plan for a personal layout. If you're affiliated with a magazine or website and are building a project layout, I would only ask that you include my name as an original drafter of the plan.

Send me a private email message by clicking on my name in the forum and selecting the 'contact' tab and I'll email you the xtrackcad file.

Development:

I read several online forums about paper mills, researched the paper making process, readthrough a few Kalmbach books like "Track Planning for Realistic Operations" and "Industries Along the Tracks" that included paper mills. I also spent a significant amount of time on google earth looking at various paper mills with satellite imagery, and I have the CN car control manual for a DOMTAR paper mill that operated near my home town.

The biggest help was putting a trial version in a forum here in MRH for feedback from the people who really know the business of railroading.  

Operations:

The mill is an integrated pulp and paper mill producing finished white paper for printing. It receives all of its raw materials by rail. It receives incoming pulp wood in gondolas or flats to make wood chips and wood chips in large gondolas that are unloaded by a rotary dumper. It also receives a variety of chemicals (listed in the track plan) to produce pulp and finish the paper. It ships finished paper and the by-product tall oil. Although I don't have a full operations concept worked out yet, the ratio of raw materials in to finished product out is about 2:1 (or so I've read). So if I'm bringing in about 20 cars of chips and chemicals from the interchange yard, I'll ship about 10 box-cars of paper and a couple cars of tall-oil.

Admittedly, I'm not an expert on paper-mills and the plan / operations may not be 100% realistic, but it suites my needs. One possible substitution you might make would be to remove the rotary dumper and use that track as another pulp wood unloading track. Many paper mills (even small ones) often have multiple tracks for this. Or remove the pulp wood unloading track and use it for storage of wood chip cars that are in line to be unloaded by the dumper. If you  don't have a doorway near the top-left corner of the plan like I do, you can add about four more feet and model the other side of the interchange yard for added flexibility, or to include as part of a larger layout.