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March 29th, 2014
Ten months later, the ROCK returns! On May 31st last year, the Rock Island: Illinois Division was shut down. It was rebranded as the Rock Island: Ottawa Sands layout with the nickname v2.0. Destruction began shortly after the last op session in May. By the end of July, the layout was completely down and room re-painted.
By August 1st, the benchwork began to rise in the layout room. Progress was slow. It was quickly realized, that the dream of v2.0 was still too big. We needed a more defined focus on the layout while allowing more room for family in the room. The CEO worked over various scenarios. With an adjustment to the 2.0 plan removing the peninsula, the layout could be built around three walls of the room allowing for an open area in the center for family craft projects and such.
On September 11th, 2013, a new vision for the ROCK v3.0 was announced. Here's the original drawing of the proposed layout.
The layout plan worked out to be pretty close as originally perceived with a few minor changes in Utica and over by Libbey-Owens-Ford. Here is track plan today.
The benchwork that had been assembled for v2.0 was torn down and re-purposed in the new v3.0 plan. All benchwork on the new 3.0 layout was completed by the end of September. With the new layout, the owner focused more on technology. Some neat things installed are two operating Boulder Creek Engineering track scales, NJ International Crossing Gates with lights and motion controlled by Azatrax signal controller, Blue Flag LED lights at three industries and (future) LED Signals by BeNScale.
Trackwork was completed in January and wiring of the layout began. Since this time, various electronic components have been installed as well as work on scenery has began. Six months since v3.0 was announced and the layout is up and ready for it's first op session! Not bad at all!
The CEO has been very pleased with progress and excited to continue with scenery and detailing the layout.
Today, the ROCK comes alive once again with a new focus. Moving sand! There are 39 loads of sand and 40 empties ready to be moved on the layout.
Here are some photos of the layout prior to the op session today. Four veteran operators: Steve Holzheimer, Larry Keller, Jeff Lindstrom and Marcus Neubacher will be in attendance today for the inaugural event.
Ottawa Avenue - The Libbey-Owens-Ford plant entrance.
This driveway/parking lot was just added this past week.
Newly added driveway and truck lot for loading flat glass from the Libbey-Owens-Ford plant.
The main mill at Ottawa Silica has risen on the horizon. I really like the large size of the mill.
Here is a small access road from the west to the east side of the Ottawa Silica Plant.
Looking south from Ottawa Silica (the plant road crossing) toward Ottawa Avenue and Libbey-Owens-Ford.
You can see the plant road crossing at the south end of the Ottawa Silica Plant here. There is one more ground sand plant that is on the north end that has yet to be constructed.
On the north side of the Ottawa Silica Plant looking south. The scale track is on the left side of the photo.
The overhead piping moves a sand slurry up to the processing plant to be dried and sorted by size.
A front loader down in the sand pit at Ottawa Silica.
Another view of the sand pit looking south toward the plant (photo taken from yard throat at Ottawa Yard). It looks like the Ottawa Local is entering the plant.
An overall view of the Ottawa Silica, scale track, main mill building and the loadout building.
Ottawa Yard is pretty full with traffic.
The diesel servicing facility at Ottawa Yard.
Utica, IL - Belrose silica is located up against the hill on the left with Philadelphia Quartz (PQ) on the right. New structures at PQ just went up last night.
Dry chemicals are loaded in this building.
A view looking east of the PQ plant. Belrose Silica is on the left.
Many tanks and other small buildings need to be added at PQ.
I made a temporary loader out of scrap wood I had to give the operators a sense of what it will be like in the future. The plant was located on a hill a little higher than the tracks. At the bottom of the plant, a conveyor carried the sand out to an overhoad loader above the cars.
Looking west at Utica, IL. The scenery isn't painted yet, but I added some trees to give a sense of what the area will be like. There are a few homes you will notice through the trees as a neighborhood was located up the hill from the plant.
Utica Station
Mill Street Crossing between Utica and LaSalle
I really like this area. It's one of my favorite railfan spots to hang out.
I like the fall color on the trees.
Belrose Silica spur off Main 2 at Utica.
Looking east at Utica. There is a road that leads up to the mine that parallels the mainline.
Beautiful tree at Mill Street.
There are houses behind those trees on top of the hill.
An overview of PQ and Belrose Silica. The newly installed scale at Belrose Silica.
Who is ready to ROCK?
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Previous NewsFlash:
May 31st, 2013
On Friday, May 31st, the Rock Island Railroad: Illinois Division officially shut down.
The notion to build the Rock Island Railroad: Illinois Division was conceived in April 2010. By May 28th, 2010 construction had begun. In six short months, the layout was operational. For the next two and a half years, the railroad operated eleven times, by eight different operators moving a total of 166 freight and passenger trains.
In late January this year, the CEO of the Rock Island Railroad began exploring ideas of building a new model railroad. As research was gathered, it became evident that change was eminent.
The Board of Directors met behind closed doors debating for some time the viability of a new layout, quickly nicknamed 2.0. It was not an easy decision to make as it met great opposition. In the end, it was decided it was best to focus on modeling the Rock Island prototypically verses having a larger layout that exhibited no real identification of the ROCK.
Congrats!
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