Coal Tipple and Forest

The Paducah and Lake Erie was conceived as a coal-hauling short line set in southwestern Pennsylvania, and this is the first and primary loading facility on the railroad. The tipple was purchased several years ago at a sale in which the modeler was getting out of HO scale.

The forest behind it was created with a combination of Scenic Express Super Trees, MicroMark poly fiber, and Timberline Scenery Co. ground cover/foliage, all mounted on the pink insulation foam board. This process is very similar to that described by outstanding modeler Dave Abeles on his blog about building his Onondaga Cutoff.

The rock walls in the scene are carved into the pink insulation board material, and then painted with acrylics. Ground cover is a combination of Woodland Scenics fine ballast cinders, Scenic Express fine natural soil and dirt, and the ground cover/foliage as used in the forest. Mounds are made by carving stacked pink material. The track is painted with black semi-gloss Rustoleum.

To the right of the top photo is the entrance to the helix, which will be covered primarily with forest and several company houses.

Building Three

Building three at "friends corner"is named for good friend Allan Silverberg of Lexington, KY. Note the building name is "Silverberg" and the date of the building is 1938, his birth year. Although Allan and I have known each other only about 10-12 years, through happenstance we found that we were born a year apart in the same hospital in Hammond, Indiana! And to further the irony, we discovered our fathers both worked at Sinclair Oil Refinery in East Chicago, Indiana, at the time.

You should also note the sign for the business identifies "Silverberg Estate Jewelry". Although he spent a major portion of his working life as property developer for fast food chains, in the last few years, Allan delved into estate jewelry, specifically antique cuff links. In my "make believe" world, Allan owns the building. named for his family, runs the business, and lives in the second floor apartment.

Silverberg Estate Jewelry joins "Nancy's Diner" and "Heyl's Classic Cars" at "friends corner". There remains a fourth building on the corner to be named. This corner is just behind Freytag Engine Shops, built by and named for the late MMR Dean Freytag.

"Friends Corner" addition

I outlined in a previous post my thoughts about "friends corner" and started the area with Nancy's Diner. Now comes a second addition to the area behind the Freytag Engine Facility, Heyl's Classic Cars.

Ken Heyl is a good friend from Ashland, Ohio, and largely responsible (or to blame?) for my getting involved in building a model railroad. His first love is railroading, but a close second is classic cars. Ken owns both a virtually-all-original '68 Plymouth Road Runner, and a '40 Buick funeral car which has the body by the Flxible Company of nearby Loudonville, Ohio. He shows one or the other of the cars at "cruise ins" once or twice weekly throughout the summer. Ken is also the "designer" of Heyl Interlocking on the lower level of the Paducah and Lake Erie. Featured in the window here is a '55 Chevrolet Bel Air. Two buildings remain to be named in this small area.

These "named" places join previously introduced James Creek Railway, named for David James, owner of Brecksville Road Transit (BRT) of Brecksville, Ohio. In a previous P&LE iteration in Ohio, the James Creek was a short line to the coal mines. Here, the mines are off line, and the two power units will work the coal tipple and yard.

"Friends Corner"

Like a lot of towns, my version of Paducah has an informal area that is known by a
identifying name recognized by the residents but not shown on any map. It can sometimes be a street, or a block, or even several blocks. Here, it's known as "friends corner", and will have several businesses named after friends. The first to take shape is Nancy's Diner (shown here).

The story behind Nancy's is that shortly after we moved to St. Louis in 2008, Nancy and her husband Bob stopped by on their way home to Ashland, OH from a western trip, and brought to me an HO scale vintage baggage car. In recognition, I wanted to make a diner and name it for Nancy. But, it didn't look right (not enough windows); thus, I got a diner, repainted and changed the signs, and here it is. There is still some detail work and window treatment to go, but it looks good. The baggage car will become a tool shed at CP Tipton (Nancy's maiden name), and other buildings are in the process of being finished for "friends corner."

IntuiSwitch controls

I am changing to IntuiSwitch controls for my turnouts, and am in the process of installing them. This is a product of ESELCO, from Lenexa, KS, (info@intuiswitch) and developed by Sheldon Levy. As you can see from the photos, they are push button operated, and flush mounted directly to the fascia, a primary reason I am making the change. In addition, they come with the route marked, red and green lights indicating the divergent and main routes respectively. They have been relatively easy to install, and early on, I am most happy with them.

In addition to the individual switches as shown above, the company makes custom panels to handle yards or multiple tracks, with the route lighted, once set.

I am using the IntuiSwitch connected both to Tortoise and SwitchMaster turnout motors. Since on the P&LE, I originally had installed toggle switches as controls, the change over was simple, changing just four wires from the original setup. One note of caution, these switches require more power than my original toggles, and I am installing additional power sources (wall transformers) and removing the switches from the Digitrax track buss.

Painted Fascia Adds a Lot

The latest addition to the P&LE is painted fascia, painting thanks to wife Sue. The reason for adding and painting fascia at this point in the project is the pending installation (starting Friday) of flush-mounted IntuiSwitches to operate the turnouts. More on the IntuiSwitches in a future post.

Obviously, there is a great deal of work to do, but we are making progress. We are in the process of completing a diner, named for a friend, and a retail store, also named for a friend. Hopefully, in the next couple of weeks, we'll be ready to show photos of those completed "businesses."

Another view of the fascia; I'm quite pleased with it. While far from finished, it does give the look of a real model railroad. The fascia is Masonite and five inches wide. We first applied an undercoat of Kilz grey primer, and then painted it Hemlock Green. Both coats were applied with a smooth (as opposed to the normal fuzzy) 6" roller. This scene is overlooking the Paducah Engine Facility, and the engine house is thought to be the final major project of late modeling icon Dean Freytag. It was built specifically for the P&LE.

Paducah Hotels Progress

Paducah is starting to take shape.The three hotels in these photos are (from left) Hotel Paducah, Irvin Cobb Hotel, and the Jackson House. None of the buildings are prototype, but the Cobb Hotel and Jackson House names are authentic to Paducah.

This view provides a better look at the hotels themselves, the street in front, and the stone retaining wall. Signs and lights on the hotels, the street and sidewalks, and the retaining wall which is carved into the pink foam material and painted, are all the work of John Ellenbracht. The trees in the park, which for the present is being called Paducah Park (compliments of Ken Heyl) are Scenic Express, and I think they look great. I was aware of the material, but John recommended them highly and about the same time, outstanding modeler Dave Abeles also was most enthusiastic about them on his Onondaga Cutoff. The three hotels are from the late Dean Freytag's railroad; the fourth building obviously needs some work to fit into the scene. People and vehicles are next.

Paducah coming to life

With the efforts of outstanding modeler John Ellenbracht, Paducah is starting to come to life. The first of the four photos shows the "base" upon which the hotels will be placed. The scene includes three hotels and a park in front of them. To the right in the photo are the locations for the hotels, and the area in front is the boulevard (unfinished). In the second photo, John is putting the final touches on the fence. Next, he's placing the fence that separates the park from the railroad and the Paducah Engine facility, and finally, the location on the bench work where this all fits. The hotels are not prototypical, but the names of two -- the Irvin Cobb Hotel, and the Jackson House -- are authentic to Paducah. Signage for the hotels is complete and lights are being added. There are numerous details to come in the park, including a statue of Chief Paduke, for whom the city is named.

Also happening in the progress of the P&LE is the addition of fascia, followed by the installation of Intuiswitches, flush mounted turnout controls. We are moving forward, and finally getting into areas that lend themselves to progress pictures.

It's not all modeling

As mentioned previously in this blog, not all my time is spent modeling, but rail fanning the real thing. A number of us - Ken Heyl, Allan Silverberg, Jim Martin, and Stan Swope - travel to The Horseshoe Curve area in western Pennsylvania two or three times a year to photograph the prototype. We've just returned from such a trip with several unique photos.

Showing up early one morning was this Norfolk Southern heritage unit remembering the Southern Railroad. It's one of my personal favorites. As part of its 30th anniversary celebration two or three years ago, Norfolk Southern painted one each of some 20 engines in the colors of railroads absorbed through mergers and acquisitions. Each of the heritage units is used in regular daily service, and have become highly sought "targets" by rail photographers throughout the NS territory. They even enjoy their own section as a part of the NS website.

We also spent a day "chasing" the Everett Railroad, a short line that originates in Hollidaysburg, just outside of Altoona, and travels to Martinsburg, switching several industries along the way. In the photo below, it's seen returning from Martinsburg via Roaring Spring, and passing the historic Roaring Spring station.

It was a great week, and now back to work on the P & LE.

Adding a small industry

On the Illinois side of the Mississippi River, just across from the famous St. Louis Arch, is this small oil unloading industry. It has the storage/office building of some sort, an oil unloading platform, and a series of storage tanks. It can be seen from I-70 just before the highway turns west back on to the bridge; however, this shot was taken from the St. Louis-Chicago Amtrak train about a month ago.

The second photo is my effort to replicate the facility; the building, oil unloading platform, and storage tanks are placed here simply to check space parameters and perspective. Obviously, there is a great deal of work to do in terms of adding piping, possibly more tanks, painting, detailing, and weathering. But I think when completed, it will make a nice scene in a corner at the entrance to Paducah.

The four white tanks in the foreground are from a Walthers kit; the four large tanks behind are scratch built from Plastruc materials. I may add 2-4 more; undecided right now. The unloading platform and building are from an estate sale.

Little Steps

Sometimes in model railroading, progress is measured in little steps. Such is the case with the track bumpers seen at the right.The bumpers started as a four-part Walthers kit. After they were put together, I spray painted them with Tamiya brand yellow (a bright color). Next, in a learning process, I worked for the first time with Pan Pastels, a makeup-like powder product highly recommended by well-known modeler Tony Koester. Using Burnt Sienna Extra Dark (nearly black) and Burnt Sienna (rust) from their Rust & Earth palette, I experimented with using first one and then the other first, with "wiping" and "dabbing" the colors on with makeup sponges, and finally, decided the best result -- for me, at least -- was wiping on the rust color and then dabbing on the dark color. I finished by lightly spraying with Dullcoat. Sharing the experience with Tony, he assured me that I really didn't need to use the dulling spray at the end. The thing I especially  like about the powders is the ease in wiping them off and starting over, plus the fact that I do not airbrush. These little detail items add a lot to the P&LE. It should be noted I have not yet done anything about ground cover, so this scene is far from finished.

Paducah Yard Gains Structures

I just realized it's been more than three months since my last post, but rest assured I haven't been idle during all that time. A lot of the work has been track work and wiring and not leant itself to photos, but some has been around the Paducah shop area (above). The warehouse in the foreground is an addition to the P&LE, as is the car shop farther back. The warehouse came from the late Bob Buschart's railroad; the car shop was a purchase several years ago in Ohio. The two box cars at the warehouse are models I finished in the past week, and yet to be weathered. The two tracks to the immediate right of the warehouse have to be moved, along with the warehouse, to the right about two inches to allow for more space for the tractor trailers on the other side. A corner of the Dean Freytag-built engine shop can be seen at the far right.

Allegheny Mountains taking shape

The Allegheny Mountain range as a backdrop for the P&LE is starting to take shape as seen here behind the coal loading facility. First, I cut two sheets of 3/4" pink insulation board freehand and glued them together. A two-inch piece was too thick to allow clearance on the outside track.

Next (below) came covering the insulation boards with plaster cloth, using the Woodland Scenics product.

(Below) Testing the look ... so far, so good. The next step, from a suggestion by professional model builder Tom McKenzie (a member of our Thursday night group, the Gandy Dancers) is to cover the entire surface with dry wall mud. That will be followed by paint, the addition of rock outcroppings, and finally trees, hundreds of trees.

I've got a long way to go, but I'm enjoying finally starting on scenery, and since the reason for the P&LE to exist is primarily hauling coal, the coal facility seems to be the logical place to start.

Signature photo

This photo, which will become the signature photo of the P & LE on the NMRA Gateway Division website, is the result of experimenting with camera settings and some long range help from expert Richard Schumacher, the developer of the website. With the Dean Freytag-built engine house as a backdrop, the photo shows the P&LE engines, engines painted to represent the James Creek Railway (named for fellow modeler David James), and a Buckeye Western engine, from the railroad of the late Dave White. The website is undergoing an extensive renovation by Richard, and while not complete, there is enough finished for him to put it up on the web, and it's outstanding.  The site includes a number of St. Louis-area layouts--complete with descriptions and photos, a long list of "how to" articles by a number of fine St. Louis modelers, listings of events, the division's newsletter, and much more. With its new platform, the website is much more flexible, and becomes more evolutionary. You can access it at www.gatewaynmra.org. Take a look!

Starting scenery at coal yard

Just starting the coal yard scenery with landforms to give a distant Allegheny Mountain appearance. This shows two sheets of 3/4" insulation board carved to represent the mountains on the horizon and then glued together. A 2" insulation board thickness did not allow enough clearance between the wall and the track, and the two sheets together provided the added advantage of allowing for slightly more contour. Next, this will be covered by plaster cloth, painted green, and finally trees and rocks will be added. The plaster cloth and painting will be done off site of the railroad, but trees and rocks will be added when the landforms are in place. It just keeps moving forward.

Coal Yard Installation

Brian Post, who has been working the past several weeks on the electronics of the Paducah and Lake Erie, is helping install the coal yard that is a major feature of the railroad. It will be a four track yard, each capable of holding six coal hoppers, which will be shuttled around the corner to the loading facility. Once loaded, they will be returned to this yard, awaiting make up into the train to be sent out behind power coming from Paducah, Attica Yard, or Ashland Yard. Note, we are using the pink insulation material here.

New Amtrak power on P&LE

Patience pays off. I have been looking for one of these engines for more than seven years, but saw only a very few and all were in the $200 plus range; and I'm not yet ready to pay nearly $300 for Kato's recent release. Tonight ... tonight at the Gateway Division monthly meeting and annual swap meet, this beauty was there. It's an Athearn, complete with decoder, Kadee couplers, slightly weathered, and IT RUNS WELL! And best of all, I paid less than $100 for it. I now have my version of Amtrak's Pennsylvanian running through my southwest Pennsylvania railroad. Yippee!

P&LE Business Car

The P&LE Business Car was a gift from Kenny Heyl and the late Dean Freytag, both of Ashland, Ohio. Freytag, a Master Model Railroader, always said a railroad needed a business car, so the two collaborated to provide the "Sue K. Howard" - my wife's maiden name - for the Paducah and Lake Erie. The car is shown here in front of the Freytag Engine Facility, kit bashed specifically for the P&LE, and thought to be the last structure the internationally-known modeler built before having to go to assisted living. (Photo by Ken Heyl)

Tractors, Tractors, Tractors

Those rail fans who frequent Tom Davis's establishment, The Station Inn, in Cresson, PA will hopefully recognize this scene (minus the benchwork, of course) on the P&LE. A common site on the NS line between Harrisburg, PA, and Pittsburgh are trains with multiple flat  cars of tractors, being passed by the Pennsylvanian, Amtrak's daily Pittsburgh-to-New York City passenger train. The building is an excellent replica of the Station Inn, kit bashed by Kenny Heyl of Ashland. The tractor train is always one that most photographers try to catch as it heads east on almost a daily run. The Station Inn is a B&B that caters to rail fans, and is an outstanding place to stay while checking out the busy railroad between Johnstown and Tyrone, PA. Innkeeper Davis is extremely knowledgable about railroading in general, and railroading in this area in particular; and one will have to travel some distance to find better breakfast fare than that provided by Sandy.

Time for kudos ...

It's been a great weekend. Friends David James of Brecksville, OH, (front) and Ken Heyl of Ashland, OH, have been in town and we've spent a dozen or more hours on the Paducah and Lake Erie, doing all those things one needs to do to make the railroad run as good as it can. Sunday was spent running trains, BUT, making immediate fixes such as getting wheel sets in gauge, couplers changed out from McHenry to Kadee when necessary, tracks cleaned, engine wheels cleaned, appropriately routing of trains - the long juice train, and coal train, have to travel up the helix on the outside track - and just discussing and planning next moves. It's the type of thing railroad friends bring to the hobby, and without which many of us would not have the model railroad we enjoy. I am forever indebted to Ken and Dave for this, and a previous, model railroad.

Power in Attica Yard stands ready for operating session. From the left, UP on the point of a Tropicana juice train belonging to David James and making an appearance on the P≤ CSX in charge of a unit coal train; a James Creek engine at the head of a unit Peabody coal train; and a N&W leading a mixed freight. The James Creek Railway was a branch line on the previous (and larger) P&LE and will work the mine load out facility on this iteration; the N&W came from the late Dean Freytag's South Ridge Lines.