Large Scale Central

Looking for early rail to water tx yards

Track and Trestles
#1

Now that I have settled on a track plan, I wanted to design in a purpose for the line. On one end of the layout I want to build a Ma & Pa lumbering operation, on the other end I want to model a transfer from rail to a canal or waterway of some sort. (I am thinking a canal operation would be smaller in scale for an indoor layout.)

I am looking for pix or suggestions for modeling the transfer point.

#2

Dear David,

Appendix A from “Track Planning for Realistic Operation, Third Edition” by John Armstrong has some ideas for a car float.

Pgs. 129 thru 137, “St. Claire South Western” in HO.

Hope this helps.

Sincerely,

Joe Satnik

#3

David,

I’m sure someone will immediately prove me wrong, but I’m not sure you will find much rail to canal transfer in the USA. They were very much in competition and I don’t know if they gave each other much business. Now railroad transfer to wharf for loading on a ship would be a totally different thing. And rather you modeled a port or a river loading posiiton would be purely along the lines of what you wanted to accomplish. There are some recent magazine articles that model this exact process, I’ll try to dig them out.

#4
David Hill said:
Now that I have settled on a track plan
The plan...........is it the last one you posted? If not, what is the new track plan?

A port would be very cool to model.
You should be able to find quite a bit of history on ports like Charleston, SC.
Ralph

#5

Yes it is similar to the one on the bottom of page one http://www.largescalecentral.com/LSCForums/viewtopic.php?id=11464

I moved the depot and town to the wall, I’ll use false fronts, the dock area will be where the siding was on the inside of the loop back. Where I have the lower right side loop I’ll have a hill with logging operations and where the tracks run parallel, I’ll put mountain with a water gap with a slight elevation on the back track coming out of and back into the mountain.

I have some drawings I can try to scan.

#6

I am not aware of any RR to Canal transfer points, but there were transfer on many rivers. Some of these probably did move freight to and from some canal systems.

Just Down River from the Frisco Bridge in Memphis was the Federal Barge Line Terminal. Good picture may be found at:

http://condrenrails.com/MRP/Memphis-Bridges/Memphis-river-front-views.htm

Note that the structures and freight cars seen on the postcard are on a floating barge. Moving cars to this barge, would have required the use of idler cars between the locomotive and the freight cars. An interesting additional set of car movements for an operation session.

#7

David,
Being a PA native I’m surprised your not aware of the below link?
http://progressiveengineer.com/PEWebBackissues2002/PEWeb%2025%20Apr%2002-2/25road.htm

This followed old canal lines but no rail canal connection that I’m aware of
http://www.mhrailroad.com/index.html

I’m by no means an expert on either nor do they excite my interests as I’m to busy chasing down 1970/80’s stuff
in the local rail heaven we have but thought they may help your search.
Good luck
:wink:

#8

Thanks Ken. I like the dock and warehouse pix on the bottom.

And Thanks David, I’ll spend some time digging through those pages.

#9

The Allegheny Portage Railroad looks pretty interesting.
But it was toast by the 1850’s according to the link.
The Park Service web-site has a photo of an 1830 locomotive model.
You’d have to model some very early equipment.
Ralph

#10

I may use some of the ideas from the Memphis photos. The canal idea would be kewl since my great-uncle retired as a lock tender on the Lehigh River canal back in the day. He was born about 1880.