Category Archives: Prototype Research

Roundhouse Doors and Floors

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I enjoy thinking ahead about some of my model railroad projects that will be down the road a bit.  Frequently I try to work out all or most of the details way ahead of the actual construction.  Or sometimes I just think about concepts and mull over different approaches to the project.  And some things, I just think about how I would like it to function or look, but don’t go much further than that.

Recently on the Model Railroad Hobbyist forum, there was a bit of discussion concerning roundhouse floors.  While I think most of us assume that their floors are concrete, the prevailing thought in the discussion thread was that back in the steam era, concrete wasn’t the dominant floor type.  Some of the things folks mentioned were dirt and/or cinder floors, brick or stone pavers and large wooden block pieces that were put down with the end grain facing up.  I had not heard of that type floor before.

I’ll have a small roundhouse on the Louisiana Central, and before reading that MRH thread, I just assumed I would be using a concrete floor in it.  But now I’m having second thoughts.  The roundhouse will be located in a small town in southern Mississippi (near the actual town of Gloster).  Any of you “old timers” remember seeing the interior of older roundhouses that were still in service in the 50s and 60s?  I’ve been in several roundhouses and rectangular engine houses, but with the exception of a few, don’t remember anything about the flooring.  I remember an engine house I saw up in north Louisiana that had a dirt floor in most of it, and some wood plank flooring along one side where some machinery resided.  And I remember the steam era engine house that used to be in the GSA depot at North Sharp in Baton Rouge (where the bauxite was stored for many years).  It had a concrete floor.

And speaking of roundhouses, I’ve seen a couple (down here in the South) that had no doors on the engine stalls.  Was this done commonly in the South, or was it somewhat of an exception?

Anyone?  Feedback would be appreciated.

-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

More on Marcel’s Pulpwood

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I’m reminded by Ron Findley that I’ll have to model a custom pulpwood truck for Marcel himself.  It will need the cab roof removed, effectively creating a pulpwood truck convertible.  It also should have twin holsters, one hanging on either side of the cab, to carry Marcel’s McCulloch chain saws.  He failed to mention the color of the cab though….more research will be required.

Also, an update for the pulpwood logs themselves: further reading and “measuring” indicates that logs (in my era) were typically 3″ up to 18″ in diameter, though could be significantly larger than that if the yard had mechanized loading of the cars (a crane or one of the new front end style loaders with a grapple).  Of course, since Marcel’s yard will be supplied by many independent truckers, the size of the logs they deliver will depend on their own ability to load their truck.  I’ve seen a few photos that suggest logs up to maybe 18″ diameter can be loaded if the truck has a simple crane on it to lift the logs.

Photo of Loading the Truck

This is good news, as I have quickly found that I will be chopping pulpwood logs for a looooong time if I limit the size to 12″ diameter as I initially thought I would.  However, many smaller logs are still needed as I’ve noticed in the photos that small diameter logs are generally used to “fill in the gaps” around the larger logs when loading the cars.  A recent chopping session (while watching a movie) only produced about an eighth of a car load….sigh!

Photo of Loading by Hand

I had originally estimated the height of the logs loaded on the woodrack car to be 8 feet.  This was based on the above photo (and a few other similar ones).  The Atlas car is a model of an older woodrack.  Upon measuring the bulkheads, I’ve found that the actual height of the loads will only be 6-1/2 to 7 feet….good news for the cutting crew!

– Jack