Author Archives: Jack Shall

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About Jack Shall

I've been a model railroader and railfan for well over 60 years now. My interests lie in the steam era and the early diesel era. My modeling has been in HO, but I do have a closet interest in Fn3 :-) It's been a number of years since I've done any layout construction, and the new Louisiana Central pike under construction is by far my most ambitious effort. Follow along with me on this new adventure of the Louisiana Central.

Changes in the Model Railroad Press

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An Opinion by Jack Shall

Those of you that have been in the hobby for a number of years have no doubt noticed changes in the model railroad magazine industry.  It’s obvious that the printed magazines are struggling.  The number of pages per issue has been reducing for a number of years in spite of the hefty cover price increases over the same period.

But the content has changed significantly over these years as well.  Most of the popular magazines have tried to have a balance of content to appeal to the different skill levels and interests of their readers and for the most part, they did a good job at that.  That is, until recent years.

While I don’t consider myself anywhere close to being a fine craftsman, I do enjoy (in fact prefer) to read articles on scratch building, and advanced methods and techniques.  I’ve noticed less and less of this content.  Indeed, many of the magazines that catered to the higher level modeler (such as Mainline Modeler, for one) have long ago met their demise.  Sure, there are still good articles being printed, but they are becoming scarcer by the year.  Some have lamented that it’s a sign of the times, where one doesn’t need to spend hours and hours scratch building or kit bashing when there are so many exquisite models available that are either ready built or easy-to-assemble kits.

At any rate, I’ve dropped subscription after subscription, the most recent being Model Railroader.  I had been buying that magazine monthly since 1962, but the last two editors of the rag have taken it in an entirely different direction . . . one that simply doesn’t interest me.  I would dare make the statement that the magazine died when Andy Sperandeo stepped down from the editor’s helm.

That leaves me with one sole print subscription, that being Railroad Model Craftsman.  I’ve also been buying their publication since the early 60s, and yes, it has slipped somewhat as well.  However it still usually has something each month that interests me, hence I’ll continue buying it for the time being.

The new kid on the block is Model Railroad Hobbyist.  If you’ve not heard of these guys, you should take a little time to check them out.  It’s an online publication that’s been around for 3 or 4 years now.  It has grown into a monthly issue, and the content is getting better all the time.  They’re still experiencing growing pains, and they have a limited number of resources and contributors at this time, but that is steadily improving with each issue as well.  But what I really like about their magazine is the resurgence of the craftsman type articles.  I may not be up to that skill level, but the articles do tend to inspire me anyway.

I’m somewhat excited by this magazine simply because it is fresh and growing, and it seems headed in a direction that I like (quite refreshing considering what I’ve said above about their competition).  I hope their “subscription” base continues to grow because that will ultimately benefit all of us that read the magazine.

Oh, and did I mention that it’s free?  Yes, that’s right . . . free.  It is ad supported, and while advertisements usually aggravate me, in this case they don’t.  After all, the ads are all about trains.  To be fair, I read the ads in all model railroad magazines, not just MRH.  Also associated with the magazine is an online forum, which I’ve enjoyed reading for the past year.

Check them out and see for yourself:  Model Railroad Hobbyist.

You can read the magazine online, or download it to your computer as a PDF file.  The price is right, and the worse you’ll lose is a bit of your time reading it.

-Jack

Navigating the Roadblocks

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I haven’t posted anything since April so I thought perhaps I should report about what’s going on.  Unfortunately I’ve made very little progress since my last post.  If you recall, I was going to paint some scrap Masonite panels Sky Blue, then use that to practice some techniques for painting clouds.  Not long after my last post, I procured the paint and rolled it on the Masonite practice panels.  Now I was ready to start painting clouds.  Well, not quite.  I discovered that my old airbrush hose had dry rotted and was leaking, so I ordered a new hose.  I went ahead and ordered a 10 footer so I would be able to move around better.

In the interim, I had to get into truck buying mode as my old 1998 F-150 was definitely showing its age and I decided it was time for some new wheels.  I spent the next three weekends checking out the local car dealerships offerings.  I couldn’t find a single vehicle that even came close to being what I wanted, but fortunately my local Ford dealer was able to locate a new F-150 at an out-of-town dealership that was almost the perfect match for what I wanted.  A week later, I had my new ride.

I had arranged to be off work for four days during Memorial Day weekend, and I had planned to do my practice clouds that weekend.  Right before my vacation time, the next roadblock occurred . . . my back went out!  And it went out without any warning or provocation on my part.  I had a similar back “outage” back in late December through early January.  I had scheduled two weeks of vacation for the Christmas and New Year’s holiday and that happened on the second day I was home.  I was unable to do anything in the train room the entire time I was off . . . a real bummer.  To have this problem again during this, my very next vacation was extremely disappointing and aggravating to say the least.

But there is a little positive news to report.  I wanted to establish a baseline elevation around the train room to aid construction of the layout, so I built a water level to accomplish the task.  I picked up a 20’ coil of 3/8” clear vinyl tubing and found an old small plastic trash can out in the garage.  I drilled a hole in the side of the can near the bottom, then stuck the end of the tubing in the hole.  A liberal coating of GE silicone caulk around the joint on both sides produced a water-tight seal.  I set the can on a stool in the middle of the room, filled it with water, poured a bit of food coloring and a few drops of dishwashing detergent into the water, and I was in business.  The coloring made the water easy to see, both to verify there weren’t any bubbles in the line, and to see where the water level was when the tube was held up against the wall.  The detergent helped break the surface tension of the water so it stayed level in the tube (didn’t creep up the sides).  It worked great!  I made marks on the walls about every 8 feet.  Then at one mark, I measured 47” up from the floor (that was to be my benchmark elevation).  I measured the distance between the water level mark and the 47” mark.  Finally, I went around the room measuring this same distance above all the other water level marks to get my 47” benchmark all around the room.  The whole project went quickly and smoothly.  Yes!

And there’s more…

I had ordered some cloud stencils back in early May and after examining them, I determined that the cardstock from which they were made was just too flimsy to hold at the wall while spraying.  So I ripped some ¼”x1-½” strips from a 2×4 scrap, then stapled a strip to the top of each stencil.  That added the needed rigidity so the stencil could easily be held up near, but not touching the wall.

This past weekend I got a little cloud practice in.  I didn’t feel up to making-up the spray gun, hose, regulator and big, ole’ air compressor.  But I did have an old rattle can of white paint sitting in the garage, so I thought “I’ll just shoot some of that for the heck of it”.  And I did.  The first panel I shot came out so-so.  I studied it for awhile and decided on a few corrections I should make.  I shot the second panel with much better results.  A few things I learned from this:

  • Keep the spray moving.  Don’t hesitate even for a second, or you’ll get a “blob” of paint that will destroy the translucent look you’ll get from the moving can.
  • Don’t use the same stencil a second time anywhere close to where you first use it.  Don’t even use a little piece of it close by.  It’s amazing how quickly your eye will pick up on the repeating pattern, even if ever so slight.  Keep rotating through the stencils for each and every shot.
  • Don’t let the stencil touch the backdrop even in one place.  The resultant cloud will have a very sharply defined border at that point.
  • Don’t paint long rows of clouds, then move higher and paint another row, etc.  When you step back, you’ll see that you now have long parallel rows of clouds . . . not at all realistic.  This is something I’ll really have to work on when I do my next set of panels.  Even my second panel shows distinct “layering” of the clouds.  Much more randomness of cloud elevation will be needed.
  • If the spray can “spits” or sputters, even for a second, that section of backdrop is doomed.  Trying to spray paint over the specs just doesn’t work.  Maybe you could use blue and white paints with a  small artist brush and disguise them, but I didn’t try that (not much point since it was just a practice panel anyway).  I hope that my spray gun won’t have that problem.

Overall though, I’m relatively pleased at what I’ve done.  But I want to get in significantly more practice before I tackle the real backdrop.

As I write this, my back problem is still significant, but I hope I can at least take short and easy steps to keep things moving.  I have simply GOT to see benchwork and track this summer!

-Jack

And More Painting…

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OK, the view blocks have been installed and the overhead work is done!  I took a bunch of photos of the completed valence and view block installation . . . head over to the website if you’d like to gaze at them (the link is over there to the right).

So next up is my practice backdrop painting project.  This past weekend I dug out several hardboard background panels that I had used on my last layout many years ago.  I have about 32 lineal feet of 2 feet high backdrop to practice with.  Tonight I dropped by the Walmart and bought a quart can each of sky blue and flat white.  I’ll roll the blue on the panels at the end of the week and may even get some time to start spraying a few clouds on.

I’ll try a couple spray techniques using the stencils, and I’ll probably also try using an old paintbrush, sponges and anything else that I spy that may contribute to a credible cloud.  My plan is to just do a rather sparse sprinkling of clouds around the room; a group here, a group there.  I can always add more later if I decide I need more.  The main point here is to try to get some of the higher up painting done prior to putting up benchwork just to make things easier while painting.  I know I’ll end up sitting or laying on the benchwork later to do detailed painting such as hills, trees and such, so I plan to build a substantial framework to carry my portly self without fear of crashing through to the floor.

-Jack

Lighting Valence and View Blocks Complete!

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That’s right, they are primed and painted.  Actually, the view blocks still have to be re-hung, but that is a 10 minute task.  I will tend to that next weekend.

Next up is to paint some practice clouds on scrap Masonite and then use whatever technique works best to apply some clouds to the sky backdrop.  I’m chomping at the bits to get some layout construction going, so I may focus on the back wall initially and then I can start erecting the first of the L-girder benchwork.

I’ll be posting a few photos of the completed overhead work on the website soon (have to find time to take the pictures).  Look for them.

-Jack

Another (interim) Update

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Painting continues on the overhead appurtenances.  The valence has been primed and the backside has the finish coat applied.  I hope to get the finish coat(s) brushed on the front side this coming weekend.  The view blocks will be next.  Since these are simply suspended on hooks, it should be a bit easier and less time consuming to get them painted up.  I’ll likely just take them down and stand them up against the wall and roll on the paint.

As a break from the painting, I took a few weekends to build the desk for the train room computer and accessories.  The computer was temporarily sitting on an old kitchen table in the train room and I wanted that table to pile tools and stuff on during the layout construction.  So the computer desk is now designed, built and (sound the trumpets) painted!  It even has a nice Formica top.  It is on casters and will be rolled under the layout at a planned location.  The casters will allow me to easily roll it out of the way during construction of that section of the layout.

I haven’t done the “practice” backdrop yet, but I’m leaning toward the stencil method of painting clouds due to my total lack of artistic ability.  Wayne Robichaux and I employed this method some 18 or 20 years ago on a layout at my former residence.  Bill, I may indeed borrow your stencils if the offer holds, as I think mine are so coated in paint that they can barely support themselves any longer.  Or heck, if they’re still available, maybe I can just order a new set.

I’ve been checking out the spray paint selection over the past couple months.  While flat white is widely available, bluish gray colors are not.  I was thinking of this color to add bottoms to the clouds.  I’ve seen some flat gray paints (primer, ugh!) and one place had some flat blue, but it was more of a light baby blue.  So to hopefully solve this dilemma, I purchased a Paasche spray gun that is somewhat bigger than an air brush, but much smaller than a full size paint sprayer.  It’s very basic in construction, and only the air volume/pressure is adjustable, but I think it will ultimately be more controllable than spray cans.  This will give me the ability to mix paints to whatever color I want.  Since it was only $25, I think I can offset the cost with the savings in paint (rattle cans vs. quart cans).

That’s it for now.  I hope I can have a benchwork progress report within a month or so.  Having time only on weekends to get things done greatly slows down the construction schedule as I’ve learned.  I’ve also learned that getting old greatly slows down the construction schedule.

-Jack

Room Construction Update

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The construction aspect of the valence and the view blocks is complete!  The final task is to prep and paint everything.  A long, tedious and often frustrating task is finally winding down.

Meanwhile, I’ve done a bit more in preparation for the benchwork.  The L-girders themselves have long been fabricated, and the legs and bracing have been ripped to size on the table saw.  I ripped this material from larger size lumber as it was cheaper than buying the material the proper size to begin with.  Ripping material is easy and goes quickly so I found the time worth the savings.  This weekend I got all the gussets cut out for the leg braces.  When benchwork erection starts, it should go pretty quickly since all the materials are present and ready.

Aside from painting the valence and view blocks as mentioned above, the only task that remains is to paint some clouds on the backdrop.  I’ve been reading about all the various techniques in the various magazines, and I’ve seen a couple You Tube videos on the subject.  I have some scrap Masonite that I think I’m going to paint up Sky Blue, and then I’ll have something to experiment with, trying out various techniques.  If you want to suggest something that worked for you, please post it…I’ll try anything in my quest for a technique that works for me.

-Jack

Finally…Progress!

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After an incredibly long delay, things are again moving forward on the Louisiana Central.  As I’ve bemoaned in a couple of posts, the big hang-up has been the lighting valence.  Well, significant progress has been made on this.  The hardboard warpage is now in check thanks to the 1×2 strips that have been glued to the base of the panels.  The specially cut blocking for the outside corners of the 45 degree joints is working well, and about half of those joints have been completed.  There are a number of inside 45 degree and odd angle joints that also have to be made, but I’m confident that the special blocking that we’ve fabricated will handle those nicely as well.

All in all, I’m pleased that the room prep is moving along again.  While there is still much work ahead, most of the hardest work has been completed, and further work sessions are tentatively scheduled to get ‘er done.

–Jack

So What’s the Problem, Jack?

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The fall is almost upon us and the “traditional” modeling season is about to begin.  I’m looking forward to the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday season, which will be enhanced by the fact that I’ve got almost 3 weeks of vacation scheduled during these times.  The last time I made really significant progress on the train room and layout was during this same period last year.  As I’ve mentioned in earlier posts, I’ve done some work during the summer, but I’m not anywhere close to where I thought I’d be at this time.

As I’ve also mentioned, my biggest hang up has been the light fixture valence.  Several of you have asked why such a long delay due to a simple thing like a valence.  OK, I’ll give you the story.

The construction plan was to attach 2×4 lumber to the ceiling, with the edges flush with the future layout edges.  Gypsum board was to be applied to the bottom to meet the fire code, and the fluorescent strip lights installed to the sandwich.  This was done, and turned out reasonably well.  Photos appear on the website.

The next step was to cut 1/8″ thick hardboard panels (Masonite) to the proper width, then screw them to the sides of the 2×4’s to form the valence.  That’s when the problems began.  It became apparent early on that the hardboard panels alone presented a rather unfinished appearance.  The joints between panels were just too crude. To make matters worse, the ceiling had several undulations in it (not apparent when simply viewing the ceiling) and this created places where the hardboard panel didn’t fit tight to the ceiling leaving big gaps in a number of locations.

I searched around and found what appeared to be an excellent solution for the joints.  Home Depot had some plastic moldings that were used for the joints in 1/8″ prefinished panels that are typically used in bathrooms and kitchens.  There were moldings to trim exposed edges, others to join panels end to end, and yet others to create corners.  I bought an assortment of all this.

When I tried to apply the moldings, I encountered my next problem.  I had already primed and painted the hardboard panels, and the additional thickness added by the paint wouldn’t allow the moldings to just slip on the panel edges as they were supposed to.  After much agonizing, I decided to pull the panels down, then using a router, I was able to shave off enough material on the ends and bottom edges of the panels to allow the moldings to slip on.

The panels were re-hung, and the ends had molding slipped into place.  Everything good so far.  The only joints that were still a problem were at places where the panels met at other than 90 degree angles.  There were no moldings for this type of joint.  I figured I would think about this awhile while continuing with the installation.

To solve the ceiling gap problem, I simply bought inexpensive shoe molding, and nailed it to the junction.  This worked out fine.

By now another problem began to surface.  Some of the panels were beginning to warp, particularly the longer ones.  By warping, I mean they started getting wavy, which was very pronounced at the bottoms.  I wasn’t prepared for this sort of thing.  The panels had been primed and had two coats of paint on both sides.  They are in a centrally heated and air conditioned room.  But they still warped.

As an experiment, Wayne and I clamped a piece of L shaped sheet metal that I had on hand to the bottom of one of the panels, and that easily pulled it back into alignment.  So for the (hopefully) permanent solution I’m going to glue 1×2 lumber to the bottom inside edges of the panels to pull them into alignment.

The odd joint angle problem has been the hardest to solve.  I looked high and low and found nothing suitable for these joints.  Also, because of the warpage, many of the panels don’t naturally meet well at the corners, and will therefore have to be pulled back into alignment.  This means that the joints will have to have some structural integrity.  I have a tentative solution now.  We cut some special 5 sided strips of wood on the table saw, and I think that these may work to make the joints.  They will be glued into the backside of the joint, so the outside will remain clean.  I’m thinking of applying a bent strip of thin styrene over the outside just to cover the seam.

The last steps will be to slip the bottom molding on the edges, then apply another coat of paint to the entire assembly.  As a side note, the panels were pre-painted so I could lay them flat on the floor and use a roller.  Even this was fraught with frustration as the little bit of paint that ran down the edges caused the panels to stick to the plastic sheeting on the floor, requiring a whole bunch of trimming and sanding between coats of paint.  In hindsight, had I known at the get-go that I would be applying all this molding, I would have skipped painting the panels initially and done all the painting at the end.  This would also have eliminated the need for the tedious and time-consuming routing session with the panels.

So, to answer the question: since I had no clean solution, I did little work on the valence during the summer.  Instead, I did other things around the building, primarily in the shop area.  And I also spent considerable time doing things not directly related to the railroad, but nevertheless, things that had to be done.

I’m hopeful that this remaining valence work will be completed during my holiday.  We also have to fabricate and hang some view blocks down the center of the peninsulas, but I don’t think they will be any particular problem (the view blocks are simply to keep the lights on the opposite side from being visible).  They will simply hang on hooks from the ceiling, so the work on them can occur at ground level.

That pile of benchwork lumber in the center of the room should be well seasoned by now!

-Jack

The Era

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The Louisiana Central will usually be running in the year 1964.  I say usually because the software that I’m developing for car routing will have the flexibility to “run” in any year that you choose.

The year 1964 was selected for a number of reasons.  I was a teenager back then, and I had been interested in trains long enough that I was beginning to pay closer attention to the railroad infrastructure, and I liked what I saw.  I could find a spot near trackside in a “railroady” area and spend hours there.  Even without the benefit of a bunch of trains running by, I could be perfectly content just studying the infrastructure around me.  While finding spots like this has become much more difficult, when I do come across one of these places, I’m still perfectly content.

1964 saw almost all railroads fully dieselized with large fleets of EMDs, ALCOs, Baldwins, etc., and these first generation diesels had lots of character.  I especially liked the ALCO and Baldwin brands because of the way they sounded and the way they were built.  It doesn’t take a trained eye to recognize that the techniques used to build them were an outgrowth of building a steam locomotive.  In fact, in many ways it handicapped their efforts to build a competitive product.  But to study an early ALCO…that was the way to build a diesel like a steam locomotive…literally!

In 1964, the freight cars still tended to be smaller, seldom more than 50′ in length.  And much of the railroad infrastructure was still intact, even if some of it was no longer used.  Turntables and roundhouses, towers, track speeders and sheds, and steam cranes were commonplace.  Depots, offices, shops and sheds were built of either brick or wood…metal buildings were not a common site (except for the original corrugated metal ones).  And there were so many buildings, facilities and details!  There seemed to be a lot more activity around rail facilities, not surprising since the railroads were much larger employers than they are nowadays.  I loved being around all of this.  I even loved the smell of it all; diesel exhaust fumes, brake odors, kerosene (from caboose heaters)…even the smell of creosote is pleasant to me.  In short, 1964 to me is just like being in the late steam era, sans the steam locomotives.

Initially I will be running with diesel power because, for me, it is much easier to get a large fleet of diesels running smoothly than a fleet of steamers (or at least the fleet of steamers that I have).

Eventually, the Louisiana Central will roster some steam locomotives.  I already have a steam fleet (roster) of about 9 or 10 locomotives, but even though they all run, none are truly operational in that they have been in storage for many years, and must be cleaned and lubed and have decoders installed.  A few are already painted for the Louisiana Central, but most have to be stripped and repainted.  And the older brass engines will probably have to be re-motored to bring them into the modern age.  Since I’ve been bitten by the sound bug, the decoder installations also include the mods required to install speakers.  Going back to the previous paragraph, this is why I chose to run diesels initially.

When the steam does finally appear, I may keep the year at 1964 as it wouldn’t be too unlikely that a little shortline would be still running steam then.  But I also can easily backdate the operation to 1958 or so if I feel it is important to do so.  I’ve even considered the possibility of changing eras periodically much as my friend Lou Schultz does on his C&O railroad.  In backdating, a few freight cars would have to be pulled, and I’d remove any vehicles from the roads that were too new and add a few older ones.  Billboards would have to change and maybe a few industry signs.  But as I build and detail the layout, I’ll keep anything that dates the layout “portable” to facilitate this change.

I doubt that I’ll ever move the railroad era forward though.  I just enjoy the older scene so much more than the present one.  There is plenty of modern stuff to get excited about, but not enough to tempt me to update the layout.

-Jack

(What appears to be) Lack of Progress

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I know that there appears to be little or no progress on the railroad this summer, and with respect to layout construction, that is true.  The last apparent activity was back in the late spring.  I’ve run into unexpected difficulties with the lighting valence.  In fact, the valence, as simple as it is in concept, has turned into a nightmare of problems.  Undulations in the ceiling itself, thickness mismatches with materials, warpage of the Masonite valence material itself, and some joinery problems at the odd angles of the panels have conspired to make the valence a real headache.  If so much time and money had not already been poured into the thing, I would probably rip it out and start over with a new concept.

Most of the problems have been overcome, and I have a couple potential solutions for the remaining problems.  However my able bodied assistant (required for the overhead work) has generally not been available this summer,  Also the constant threat of thunderstorms (typical of southern Louisiana weather) keeps me from dragging the table saw outdoors for the day and setting it up to do the required cutting.

Instead, I’ve stayed busy doing plenty of unseen “support functions” such as completing and arranging my work bench, building a paint bottle rack and computer desk, working with software, “decorating” the shop and rest room, and several other projects.  While none of these things are doing anything to build a layout, most are essential in the overall construction.  I’ve also spent a good bit of time making minor alterations to the track plan, making sure that the buildings I plan to use will actually fit the spaces where they’re supposed to go (and rearranging them as necessary).

The summer will be winding down shortly and cooler, dryer weather will be here.  I have almost three weeks of vacation time that I’ll be taking this fall, and that will give my available layout time a great shot in the arm.  As I’ve mentioned on the main website, the benchwork lumber is ready to go; the L-girders are fabricated and the bracing and joist lumber has been ripped to size and is ready.  Upon completion of the fascia (and a couple view blocks that will be suspended from the ceiling), I’ll paint the clouds on the backdrop.  THEN benchwork will commence, and I expect that it will go fairly rapidly.

It’s been a MUCH slower effort that I expected to get this project going.  Actually finishing out the building interior was a major hurdle, time wise and financially, and disappointingly the layout still hasn’t taken shape.  But I’m confident that things will start rolling again soon.

-Jack

Planning the Louisiana Central Right-of-Way

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The Louisiana Central is a fictional railroad, but I will be attempting to model a railroad that “could have been”.  The route was established quite a few years ago after I dismantled a smaller bedroom layout.  Using Louisiana and Mississippi road maps, I tentatively sketched out a route, while simultaneously working on the rationale for the railroad.  My friend, Wayne Robichaux and I headed out one Saturday morning, maps in hand, and drove to the bank of the Mississippi River up above the town of St. Francisville, Louisiana.  We located some relatively straight high ground near the river and determined that this would be a great place to locate the western end of the line.  I decided that I would create an interchange with the Texas and Pacific Railway at this location.  The T&P would arrive here via a car ferry operation.  Of course, the T&P never had a ferry in this location, but the Missouri Pacific system did have other ferry operations both upstream and downstream from where we were, so it didn’t seem too far fetched that we could have one here also.

With this point established and appropriate notes entered on the map, we headed generally northeast.  While the towns featured along the Louisiana Central are fictional places, most are located very close to actual towns along the proposed right-of-way.  For example, the town of Monterey is a bit north of St. Francisville, Whitcomb is above Woodville, Mississippi and Willis is just north of Gloster, Miss.  Two intermediate towns, Oneida and Maynard, aren’t stand-ins for real places, but they are located along highways following the railroad route.  The only actual place on the Louisiana Central is Bude, Miss.  However this won’t be modeled on the Louisiana Central; it instead will be represented by hidden staging track.

We will interchange at Willis with the Illinois Central (an expansion of the line that actually served Gloster), and at Bude with the Mississippi Central (an actual railroad in Bude during the modeled era).

Returning to our travel, after leaving Monterey, we just headed to each place, in order, as best we could.  Along the way, we made short detours at minor roads as were available so as to get close to the Louisiana Central “track”.  It all worked out rather nicely, with few adjustments having to be made to the original sketched out right-of-way on the road maps.

We’ve since repeated this trip a couple times, checking out the terrain, scenery and structures along the way, and I’ve taken quite a few photos.  No doubt, another trip or two will be in order as the scenery stage for the model railroad comes into play.

One of the reasons for the initial selection of this route was because of the terrain.  The west end of the line is in the heart of the Tunica Hills.  Most folks don’t equate Louisiana with hilly terrain, but this area is not only hilly, in places it is downright treacherous!  There are several narrow two lane roads running through this area, and where possible they tend to run along ridge lines.  During the summer with all the heavy, lush growth, it is difficult to see much past the edge of the road.  But in the late winter when the growth has died back somewhat, it isn’t uncommon to observe the ground steeply plummeting down at the edge of the road for a hundred or so feet.  Near this location is the Louisiana State Prison (Angola).  It is generally considered escape proof as it is bound on one side by the Mississippi River, and surrounded on the other sides by the Tunica Hills.  On the rare escape attempt, the convict doesn’t usually get very far due to the extremely harsh terrain he has to traverse.

As the rail line moves to the northeast and into the State of Mississippi, the hills get much larger, though generally more gentle in their nature.  This is gorgeous country, and seeing a train working its way through this landscape just thrills me.  The forests also turn into predominantly Southern Pine, and that is precisely the reason the Spencer Lumber Company will exist.  This region was a huge timber producer in its day, and had a number of companies working these forests.  One of the biggest was the Crosby operation, and Spencer will be in direct competition with this giant.  The Spencer mill will be located in Oneida (named after Mr. Spencer’s oldest daughter, and whose very existence is due to Spencer).

I hope this little treatise has helped explain the rail line a bit better.  There is much more that can be written, and I may share other tidbits with y’all from time to time.  Feel free to comment or ask any questions, or even to offer suggestions for the line.

-Jack

The Southern Forest Heritage Museum

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“The Southern Forest Heritage Museum, located in Long Leaf, Louisiana, is the oldest complete sawmill facility in the South. This complex is unique in that it is a complete sawmill complex dating from the early 20th century, and that it has the most complete collection of steam-powered logging and milling equipment known to exist. The museum is spread over a 57 acre area. On the property is the commissary, providing an entrance to the museum, the Planer Mill, the Planer Mill Power Plant, the Water Pumping Station, the Round House, the Machine Shop, the Car-knocker Shop, the Sawmill, the Sawmill Power Plant, and Storage Sheds. Railroad equipment that can be seen at the museum includes three locomotives, a McGiffert Loader, and a rare Clyde Rehaul Skidder.  In addition, one can see many artifacts that were left in place when the mill closed February 14, 1969.”

The above paragraph comes from the opening page of the museum’s website.  These words don’t come close to describing all there is to see at this place.  The mill complex was family owned and operated as the Crowell Long Leaf Lumber Company.  As stated above, the operation started in the early part of the 20th century, and abruptly shut down one day in 1969.  What is really unique about this is the way many ongoing activities there were literally caught in time when this happened.  To me, the most obvious thing was the logging flat car under construction in the car shops.  The partially constructed car is still sitting there exactly as it was left in 1969 when everyone walked away!

The mill complex is relatively complete.  The sawmill, planer mill, kilns, boiler house, sorting sheds…all are still there.  Some of the machinery still operates.  Originally the mill was steam powered, and there is an elaborate system of shafts, pulleys and belts to operate the equipment.  In later years, the mill converted to electric motor power, but the belt and pulley infrastructure is all still there.

Parked under a big sorting shed is an array of vehicles and machinery that were used by the company: trucks, lumber carriers, fire break machines, bulldozers, and much more.

Of course, for me, the crown jewels are the remnants from the logging operation.  The Crowell family owned and operated the Red River and Gulf Railroad, and three steam locomotives are still on the property.  The roundhouse (which is actually a rectangular engine house), the car shop and other facilities are all open for inspection.  There are a couple logging cars, a pair of McGiffert loaders (one of which is being restored), and the Clyde skidder.  The skidder is unusual in that it is double ended, with a centrally mounted boiler, and operating machinery on either end.  Even the vast array of “junk” scattered in the nearby woods is interesting.  There are pieces and parts of all sorts of machinery, and the remains of several steam locomotives that were scrapped, including some Shays.

The museum folks have been slowly, but surely stabilizing the property from further deterioration, and have been doing a limited amount of restoration work.  The mill superintendent’s house has become the museum office, and the company store has been restored and is used as the entry point, museum and gift shop for the complex.  The original trackage at the back and side of the property has been extended and now forms a loop around the perimeter, where rides are occasionally offered on the company’s speeders or their recently acquired motor car.  The motor car, numbered M-4, was formerly operated by the Fernwood, Columbia and Gulf Railroad, and was donated to the museum by Louis Saillard.  It is in operation, and is being restored, bit by bit, to its original glory.

I could write pages about this place, but it really has to be visited to be fully appreciated.  It is a great way to spend a day (and it will take that long to really see everything at a leisurely pace).  Long Leaf is located about 24 miles south of Alexandria, Louisiana.  The town of Forest Hill is just a few miles north.

Here’s a link to their website:

http://www.forestheritagemuseum.org/

-Jack