Planning continues...

It's been a while since I've posted so I just wanted to show that planning is still continuing.  Actually additional modules have been framed but I just haven't had time to post an update ...I hope to show that progress soon!

This is a photo showing the Tarrgona St. module with the full size track plan laying on the module.  I "spotted" a couple of boxcars to get a feel for the scene.  The Railbox car in the foreground is on the News-Journal siding and the L&N car is on the W.R. Taylor siding. 

You can see the street and building outlines on the plan and get a feel for the scene.  Well ...at least I can, but if you've studied the photos in my earlier posts hopefully you can get a rough idea.  As above, I hope to be able to show additional modules in the near future!

Pensacola Port Yard Track Plan

The track plan for the Pensacola Port yard has been added to the Track Plans page. This module will connect to the tracks that cross Main St. on the Tarragona to Port Entrance Module.

This small yard borders the north end of the port property south of Main St.  When being switched the track heading north up Tarragona St. was used as the switching lead.  This line branches off the main line about two miles to the north and only one train occupies this line during normal operation so the only worry is non-rail traffic on both Tarragona and Main St.  Fusees were used so I may look into simulating that for operating realism.

Although the number of tracks on the plan is greatly reduced from what was there during the era I'm modeling it's not far off in length ...and is pretty close to what remains there today in both number of tracks and arrangement.  The plan has the tracks named following the prototype.   The tracks exiting the module on the right side are tracks that enter the port property through gates in a chain link fence.  The arrangement of the turnouts is very close to the prototype and will allow future expansion should I decide to add another module.  It would include another warehouse on the port property and is served by tracks on either side that would connect to the tracks exiting the yard module.

As drawn the yard will easily hold a couple of dozen cars.  Since the interchange yard will hold about a dozen this should work well since the yard job (Y202) always brought a cut of cars down the hill from Goulding Yard to start the evening switching.  On the model a dozen or so cars can come from staging representing Goulding to the north.  Y202 was always a shove using one of the L&N's bay window cabs as a shoving platform.  Following prototype practice the crew will then pull the cars from the Frisco interchange ( a dozen or fewer on the model) back to the Port.  This could easily load the port yard with a couple of dozen cars to sort and make a shove back to the interchange.  Finally the crew will spot the port and Tarragona St. industries before heading back to staging

I am still researching what paperwork I want to drive the operation.  I am considering car cards and waybills although a switch list or work order as used by the prototype would be more realistic in terms of actual paperwork.  I will leave that to cover in a later post once decided.

Tarragona Street Module Plan Added

I've added a separate page for track plans where I will post module track plans as they are developed.

The first plan is the module that will depict "Tarragona Street." The track that runs down the middle of this street is the spur that branches off the CSX main just north of East Jackson St. and runs down the middle of Tarragona St. for nine blocks where it crosses Main St. into the yard at the Port of Pensacola. This module will capture a couple of these blocks between Garden St. and East Intendencia St. where there are locations for two rail customers.

One siding crosses the sidewalk on the east side of Tarragona St. between Garden St. and East Romana St. and serves W.R. Taylor & Co., a local brickyard.

I have a few other photos of this siding made before I had a digital camera so I will have to scan them to add later. I did find a few shots of this location online. A couple of cars spotted on the siding can be seen here: http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=735495. The next view shows the Y202 yard job passing this location on its way back "up the hill" to Goulding yard ...stacks of bricks and a bit of the siding can be seen in the background after the last car in the train: http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=506021.

The other siding, located just south of the W.R. Taylor on the opposite side of Tarragona St. , has been removed but lasted, as far as I know, into the late 80's or early 90's and served the Pensacola News-Journal who received loads of news print there. The siding was fenced and ran parallel to Tarragona St. along side the loading door on the News-Journal building. I've been told by a former L&N/CSX employee that in order to get two cars in there a little gate opened in the fence on the south end of the siding to allow the end car's draw bar to stick through. That will be an interesting detail to include on the model! Unfortunately I have not been able to locate any photos of this siding. I have one photo I took of the building in 2002 after the track had been removed. It is not a digital image so I will have to scan it to share here.