# New layout thought, paring back a bit



## mtoney (Oct 6, 2012)

My wife and I took stock of what we have for motive power, and what we both would like to do with my layout. The basic track plan will remain mostly the same as it is now other than some rearranging of the sidings as I buy more industries. I am thinking of a small start up shortline, taking over a lightly used, over grown line that a class 1 wanted to abandon but local interests stepped in and bought it. Motive power is a lone ex CNW Fairbanks Morse H12-44 that was sitting dead at one of the grain elevators along the line. A front end loaded pushed the engine into one of the local warehouses where a contracted company overhauled the prime mover and painted the unit. The line serves 2 grain elevators, one is fairly good size, other is small and only ships a couple cars every few days. There are a few other sidings along the line and the company is trying to seek out new shippers. At the far end of the branch is a preservation group with a lone USRA 0-8-0 steamer that is operable. They run occasional excursions over the line and can pinch hit if the FM goes down. The shortline leases a bay in the preservation groups old 3 stall round house to store the FM out of the weahter. This helps during cold weather as the unit can be shut down instead of wasting fuel. Speeds on the are 15mph at best and the bridges over the white river need serious work and are restricted to 5mph currently. In bound grain traffic is set out by the NS in the old Wapihani River passing siding for pickup. The larger elevator gets 10-12 cars every other day during peak harvest and the small elevator gets 2-4 cars a week during fall rush or peak times. A tank car of diesel is brought in as needed along with coal for the preservation group as there is no truck access to the remote location of thier site. 
I like to have a plausable back story to how and why the line exhists and work out the kinks before I do anything beyond buying equipment. Modeling on a shoe string budget but having Cadilliac tastes isnt easy. I love brass engines, but cannot afford stuff like Overland ect. Walthers kits are nice, but not in the budget, but used or older wood kits from estates are. Homasote is great for spiking track but even 2" pink foam is a stretch right now unless I sell a couple of my spare engines. I am repowering the Hallmark H12-44 I got as it runs really nice for a KMT drive engine and the Tenshodo 0-8-0 runs good, just needs weight. I have the 2 grain elevators and the round house. The rest of the work is making the line look like a grown over rickety branch line that needs help. I hope to put a Soundtraxx Tsunami in the FM to give it DCC ablities, working roof beacon and sound. This adds the need to get a DCC system again or a side kick next to my analog throttle. I dont know what color to paint the FM. Heritage is CNW. I am trying to think of what a small line would do, single color with a stripe, 2 tone using basic colors one might find at a farm/fleet store like TSC or Rural King, cat yellow maybe, just dont know. Colors I have on hand are PRR Brunswick green, a medium green, close to spring grass green, C&O blue, BN green, Orange and Silver ala Western Pacific and black. I was thinking of the medium green with silver trucks and silver stacks, probably a yellow stripe on the frame or barricade stripes and the Wapihani Valley loco on the sides of the long hood. Ideas, thoughts, good the bad? Here is the FM that I am working on. Mike


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Check with your local Home Depot or Lowes ... often they'll have some stock of damaged/dented pink-stuff (or blue-stuff) foam that you can buy for a small fraction of the normal price. You may have to go back a few times, but you might save your budget a bit.

Good luck with the project,

TJ


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## sstlaure (Oct 12, 2010)

Those broken sheets are called culls. They're usually around 80% off retail......yes 80%


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

What do you think?
The green and yellow? 

Nice Central Jersey RR colors.:thumbsup:









Another shot.









MTONEY RR?


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## mtoney (Oct 6, 2012)

Nice shots Big Ed, very funny on the rr name! I did get the FM painted today, Hunter green hood and frame, black fuel tank and silver trucks. Silver exhaust stacks, yellow handrails ends, yellow on the hand grab around the long hood, barricade stripping on the frame like a Susquehanna diesel. Working with my decal guy to reproduce the decal on the tender of the steamer I got. Other option is to go with my past shortline using the Turtle Creek decals from the past MRR project layout. I already have those on hand if I choose that route. Not sure which way to go on that one yet. Mike


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Don't like the name?
I went back and looked a 7th time, I didn't see Turtle Creek mentioned.
Is it mentioned?
You ought to break your sentences into paragraphs somehow, it is hard to read through the whole thing.

And.....post a picture already!
Lets see what the brute looks like.

Edit, I went back an 8th time and could not find " Turtle Creek" mentioned.
If it is in there then I need new glasses!


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## mtoney (Oct 6, 2012)

It isnt till I posted that last post. I went thru my decals to see what I have. And I have 2 sets of Turtle Creek, among the others. Pic coming soon, decals are soaked with Micro-Sol, so I cant handle it right now. There is no road name on it right now, just the stripping. Mike


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## mtoney (Oct 6, 2012)

Here is the pic of the FM, pulled her out of the paint shop with the societies 0-8-0. I also swapped out the motor in the steamer with another Tenshodo open frame that I had already fine tuned with a perfectly flat comuntator, so it runs as quiet as an can motor. These two engines would be the motive power for the layout. The NYSW GP18 and GP20 would probably get sold to finance other layout needs.


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