L&N #5600
I have always had a fondness for Alco power, especially the C-430. Alco only built 16 examples of the C-430 including 3 demos which ultimately ended up on the L&N. An L&N version finally showed up on ebay and I decided to buy it regardless of cost. Here it is, fresh out of the box, at Preston Miller, on the head end of a trackage rights train bound for the L&N at Tullahoma, TN.
A Bit More Scenery
During my recovery, from the accident, I managed to ballast most of the Preston Miller Yard and add a bit more scenery along the backdrop between Reinhart Foods and the freight house.
Pace Chemical - Part One
Over the last couple of months, several changes have been made to the lower level of the layout that freed up some space for additional industrial development. During this process, I remembered a few pictures I took of the Univar facility in Kent WA. Univar receives various chemicals, primarily in tank cars, and
distributes them in the form of acids, essential chemicals and
additives, oleochemicals, oxides, polymers and resins, silicones,
solvents and process aids in both liquid and granular forms. Most of these
products are shipped to local end users by truck. As a result, I decided that a similar complex located along the Madisonville Sub would make a great destination for tank cars and possibly a box car or two.
The actual location is on the L&N Bowling Green/Smith Grove portion of the layout behind the Southern Kentucky Transfer. I have about two inches to work with for the main building, behind the tank cars in the following photo, between the far track and the backdrop.
Getting access to the Kent, WA complex for additional photographs is just about impossible. Instead, I turned to the internet. Here is an overhead view looking north. The BNSF main line is off to the west (left) running south to north. The spur curves around a 90 degree curve from the south, passes through a empty lot, a gate, and into the complex. There is a loading rack for tanker trucks just to the east (right) of the main structure. The large building is pretty typical of the other "tilt up" style concrete structure in the area. Due to the lack of skylights, vents, fans, ducts, or air conditioning units on the roof the building appears to be nothing more than a warehouse/distribution center. There is an attached office building on the north side of the main structure.
When I originally explored the site, there appeared to be pipes running the length of the building. I thought the tank cars were unloaded along the entire length of the structure. From my vantage point, near the single tree in the center left foreground of the photograph, I couldn't see the yellow loading/unloading racks. It was only after I studied the aerial photographs that I realized that the six cars on the left along with another five or six cars further down the spur to the west were off spot waiting for the cars on the right to be unloaded and moved.
There are four loading/unloading racks. Three of them show up in this photo, again looking south to north; one on the near track, two on the far track. The track arrangement is obviously a time consuming challenge for the local switch crews.
The fourth loading/unloading rack, viewed from the east, is located at the end of the spur.
The Model
Due to space limitations, I am only modeling the area on the south side of complex (below the red line). I also had to flip the structure horizontally and have the complex accessed from the east (right). Three Walthers kits (933) can be used for a majority of the complex. The tilt up warehouse will require a rather simple kit bash; the loading racks can probably be used as is. The storage tanks, from a number of sources, along with a Pikestuff kit bash will also be required.
Aerial photograph flipped horizontally:
The main or east end of the warehouse building was assembled using parts from the Walthers Modern Concrete Warehouse. Assembly of the main portion was pretty simple.. The modules can be used to adjust the overall length, depth, and door or window types and location. The only modifications I made were to the side walls. I cut the width of the two corner panels down to 2" and glued them in place. The building has no back wall or roof at this point.
Assembling the west end of the building was a little more complex. The prototype has a covered, open sided, loading dock that encompasses most if not all of of one end. Since I only had two inches of depth to work, my model couldn't be quite so open. After given it a evening of thought, I decided to cut a portion of the side wall in half, horizontally, recess the lower portion, and add a loading dock. The gray panels were left over from a previous kit bash. Four end panels were cut down and glued back to back to create the end sections.
Here is a picture of the back side. It illustrates how the modular side panels are held together. I normally add styrene strips at the corners to increase strength and stability.
Other Projects - The General Motors Assembly Plant
Over the last month, other changes have taken place on the Madisonville Sub. I decided switching industries was a lot more rewarding than having a bunch of trains running across the subdivision from staging yard to staging yard. The Bowling Green General Motor Assembly plant moved around the corner and now occupies what had been the visible portion of the lower staging tracks. The small L&N locomotive servicing facility also made the move. Pace Chemical will be just out of view on the left. Moving the GM plant freed up about 10 feet along the north wall of the room for another new project.
The Accident(s)
A number of people have called or emailed to ask how my recovery is going. After about a month, I am back to about 80%. The doctors told me a full recovery will take about 2 months.
To summarize, I managed to fall off my 1947 8N Ford tractor while trying to avoid a large stump. I struck the stump with the right front tire, the tractor tipped to the left, my foot slipped off the clutch and I fell beneath the left rear tire. Luckily, I managed to turn off the tractor as I fell. While the tractor didn't go over my knee replacement, it did go over my ankle and come to rest below my knee on the inner side of my left calf... "ouch". Luckily, my daughter was visiting and she new how to drive the tractor. She started it up and managed to free me by backing off my calf and over my ankle for the second time before the medics arrived and took me to the hospital. Luckily, nothing was broken but I did suffer extensive deep bone and soft tissue bruising, scrapes and abrasions.
A week after the "Predator" ran over my leg, my weenie dog Gertrude managed to slip a disk while chasing after Cooper (Pam's cat). Six hours later she had back surgery to the tune of $8,000.00 and my $200 a month train budget was wiped out for the next 5 years! After 3 weeks her recovery is going well but she will be confined to a 2'x3' crate for most of the time over the next 5 weeks. I guess both of of will get back up to speed about the same time.
Fortunately, Pam agreed the cost of Gert's surgery shouldn't have to come out of my train budget.
As always, your comments and suggestions are always welcome
sdepolo@outlook.com
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