Has anyone ever done a car repair shops as in industry? You could run virtually anything in and out of there. Even run in loads of coil steel, box cars of parts, you name it.
The whole maintenance of the roster is a really interesting "industry", although non-revenue generating from the railroad's point-of-view. Some of the larger roads, with their own shops that actually built locomotives, would require all sorts of supplies. Even just the maintenance of (for example) steam engines requires lubricants, fuel (coal or oil), spare parts, sand, water facilities, washing/cleaning supplies, etc, etc. Andrew
Maybe not a car shop per se but a "rip track" where the loads ger priority but a car shop itself would take a bit of research. Im not sure where Park Hills is at but if theres a rail yard there and you can safely view shop buildings get some pics and then you can model it much better. Theres a car rebuilder/repair shop in Amarillo, Tx and you can see all kinds of stuff going into be repaired/rebuilt/scrapped, Tom
North of Holland Michigan at the Campbell Power Plant, a company runs a car repair shop on site. Spur tracks lead up to a steel building where coal hoppers are delivered for repair. I'm giving some thought to adding a couple turnouts and adding a small building like the Dayton Machine Co. from Walthers - in N scale it measures 5 and 5/8" by 4 and 1/4" so it wont take much space. It will add a little more operational variety.
The closest car shops are on UP's DeSoto sub in DeSoto about 30 minutes North of here. I haven't had time to go up and get any picstures, but from what i've seen they've got a pretty large set-up with a substatial yard to go with it. I'll try to get some pictures next time i'm up that way, I never sem to have any time. Im thinking about doing a small repair and manufacturing shop. I just wish I could afford an OMI trackmobile to do the switching..=)
I have some from a UK magazine of a layout called "Cripple Corner" Shortliner(Jack)away up here in the Highlands
If you have Google Earth, look on Bailey Boswell Rd off of Saginaw Main St in Saginaw, Texas. I know that one of Trinity Industries shops, I used to go by there all the time. I think the do repair and remanufacturing. If you look close, there is even a transfer table at the end of one of the Northern most buildings. Only transfer table I have ever seen.
The Trinity shop is mostly a production facility. They do some repairs I think, but they've spent most of their cycles in the past several years building covered hoppers. They do receive bulkhead flats of flat steel quite often...I'm not sure about coil steel but I wouldn't be surprised...I've just never seen any waiting on their spur. Several miles north is an actual car repair facility, that does get "just about everything". There are often damaged cars there, repaints, you name it. It's pretty busy and I've only noted things doing drive-by's but I suspect that they get still deliveries and outbound scrap among other things. (chemicals, I'm sure) I will be modeling the Trinity plant on my layout.
I don't know if this counts, but it could serve as a large repair facility. It really just hides the return tracks, and has since been doubled in length.
Isn't that the infamous "fire sale" Bachmann kit? Wasn't it like a buck-fifty or something? I've got a few of them. Pete, what do you use that industry for? Is it just a "catchall" for whatever you want to spot there?
Guilford Billerica Yard If you go to: http://local.live.com/ Then look up "Billerica, MA", look for "Iron Horse Dr.". Then click on Ariel view. You will get a nice view of the Guilford (Former B&M) repair facility. Very old and messy. Rusting hulks here and there. Equipment and supplies scattered about. Lots of ideas for modeling.
The Mississippi Export Railroad has a Railcar Shop Facility in Moss Point, MS. Their brochure, http://www.mserailroad.com/pages/railcarmaint.html , has some interior views and an exterior view of one end of the building. It's not much, but it might give some ideas for a generic modern facility. MSE power included two GP-15's and one GP-35 about 10 years ago, but that may have been updated by now. http://www.mserailroad.com/pages/operations.html
Gabriel, you might see if Hemi will post some photos he got when we toured the car repair shop in Cheyenne a year or so ago. That may help. I think this is a great idea for your layout! Gives you someplace to send those cars you like but don't necessarily have an industry to send it to.
Gabriel: A member of our virtual interchange group models the Frisco Engine and Car maintenance and repair shops in Springfield, Missouri. Although I've never seen his layout, my understanding is that there is no functional mainline, just a siding which is essentially a staging track from which cars and locos come onto the layout for repairs. There are no non-RR industries, but lots of movements within the facility between the various shops or locations involved in maintenance/repairs: light or heavy motor repair shops, electrical shop, welding shop, car barn, rip track, paint shop, scale track, sanding/fueling/coaling/ash pits. Traffic comes and goes for maintenance and for repair (some moving on its own power and some being towed), but also for the supplies and repair materials going to each shop, and the fuel and sand coming in for loco servicing. Traffic out could include all the serviced locos, any new/repaired cars and locos, empty cars that have brought in supplies, and loads of scrap or other by-products of all the activities within the facility. Dave H.
HEHE, I just had an idea... Im gonna play with my trackplan and see if I can arrange the car shop up next to the edge of the layout so that I can run cars out the back of the shop onto my work bench test track/rip track...use the modeled industry for real. I may be taking this idea too far, you tell me.
Drat, I knew I should have patented that idea...lol You know, for a large layout, this would work. Keep a beat up road switcher and couple flats handy at the shops, you have a derailment during an operating session, send out the work train to get the cars and haul them back to the shop on flats. That would throw a kink into operations!
Actually I think these were about $2.50 each--whatever, I should have ordered more! I don't use the industry at all--it's a run-through. Rather than a tunnel or hiding tracks behind a ridge, I just used ten of the kits to disguise the "back" or return tracks. The car repair shops were about a buck, with free shipping! I bought 100 of those.
Gabriel: When I was newly married, I had a 9" by 24" N-Scale switching module on the desk next to our bed. No doubt, this proximity brought the N-Scale citizens to a whole new understanding of the song lyrics, "I felt the earth move under my feet..." Dave H.
