Tuesday, November 3, 2015

The ROCK 3.0: Sand Dump Track Construction Continues

This evening, before and after dinner, I worked on the layout.  I managed to cut all the track and glue it in place.  I didn't mess with the Caboose Industry ground throws tonight as I was getting tired and was done for the day.  I decided it was best to call it quits although I wanted to get this complete.  Oh well.  Life goes on.  Here are photos of the progress:

Ottawa Silica - looking north.

Rock Island U30C sitting beside the loading tower on the new run around track.

New track arrangement off Ottawa Silica Track 1 (OS1)

I'm really happy with this arrangement.  I believe it worked out well.

Sand dump track - not glued yet.  I need to scenic first and then glue the track to the deck.

Rock Island U30C spotting two over tonnage cars.

Spotting two overweight cars.

Two over tonnage cars spotted successfully.

In other news, I got the crackhead idea to ship coal to Libbey-Owens Ford Glass Plant again.  It had a coal-fired power plant back in the day, but it is unknown when they stopped using the plant.  I would assume probably no later than the 60s.  Of course, I model the 70s.  But, this is my world.  So, word on the street is that the Chicago & Illinois Midland will be bringing up a unit train (small - only 11 to 12 cars) of coal from southeast of Springfield via Peoria and Ottawa over Rock Island tracks.  The C&IM will deliver the cars to LOF Track 3.  Previously, this track has been mixed use for receiving various chemicals and such for glass production.  LOF Track 3 can hold eleven 70-ton hoppers.  I'm still pondering this, but figure I might try it for the next operating session.



2 comments:

  1. Steven - I love the thinking behind adding the extra track to dump excess sand. I'm always looking for prototypically plausible ways to move cars myself. But I have to say that I'm not a big fan of the way you've tacked on that piece of pine to support the track. I don't know how difficult it would be for you to remove the fascia, extend the depth by an inch for the entire length, and then reinstall the fascia. But I think that you'll have a much better outcome.

    Regards,
    Ron

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  2. I wouldn't want to extend all the fascia on that wall by an inch. That would be way too much trouble. I may be able to curve the fascia around the 1x2 to make a nicer finish but it is not at the top of my list of priorities currently.

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