# I need you input, suggestions, ideas, help...



## Dave F (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi all.

It's been a good summer on the LP&W. I hope you all enjoyed the videos I was posting during construction this past spring. I sure had fun making them for you. We had a great summer season of veggies, and trains. The tomato season was sadly too short, but man were they tasty. My peppers didn't produce and much as I would have likes but the few we did get were very good. I've been doing garden cleanup for the last few days, getting the plants out that are done for the season, and I'll be putting down some more track in the next week or two. Here's whe I need your input.

I'll be putting in a turnout on track 2 on the backside of the layout. That turnout will feed two spurs. One spur will lead through a crossover of track 3 into the center of the garden bed then split again into a two track spur that will lead to the coal loader. No issues there. 

The second spur will paralell track 2 down into the boulder mountain area. Here's where I need your help. Please suggest some type of industry for me there... otherwise I'll just have a dead spur sitting out in the middle of nowhere. 

Let me add some visual directions..

This shows all the additional trackage.
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This is the dead end spur that I need some suggestions for. I have space for a 12x12 paver foundation there. 
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I was thinking a small freight house. maybe a small manufacturer of some sorts?

I welcome any and all ideas and suggestions... I'm runnin' dry here.. 

Thanks guys.


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## kormsen (Oct 27, 2009)

depends on your timeframe. 
if you modell modern time, you might have a mineralwater fountain and filling facility. (ask Ray Dunakin, how to modell bottles...) 

or an oilwell - or a cement mill - or any other mining tipe - or farmproducts - or a clandestine missile silo...


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## ShadsTrains (Dec 27, 2007)

my vote is grain silo.. call me if you need more track.. I found about 50 more feet down in the basement....


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## Dave F (Jan 2, 2008)

I'm good on track, I have close to 100 feet in the shop.


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## Paulus (May 31, 2008)

It could also depend on what freightstock you allready have. If you have a lot of reefers a freighthouse, warehouse or some kind of package industry would be good. A lot of coal cars a coal loader is great (you already planned that one). 
Logging cars for wood transportation, sawmills and logging sites 
Cattlecars; meat industry. 
Tankers can serve oil wells, depots 
Etc. etc. 

So, what freightcars run on your railroad? 

(But, when all options are still open and just looking at the spot on your layout were you want the new industry, I would plant some small "trees" to make it some kind of forrest area and go for a sawmill or timber industry!). 

Paul


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## San Juan (Jan 3, 2008)

A mine might work there since it is close to the rocks.


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## Dave F (Jan 2, 2008)

I have a good number of boxcars and a couple of reefers, so a light manufacturing industry would work, 

I've been looking for an excuse to get a half dozen or so of the new USAT beer can tank cars when they become available, so maybe some kind of tank terminal.... I dunno. 

Great ideas guys.. keep 'em coming..


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## Paulus (May 31, 2008)

I've been looking for an excuse to get a half dozen or so of the new USAT beer can tank cars


Well, the words "beer can" gave me a complete new idea: a brewery ;-))))
Now I'm thirsty...


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## Dave F (Jan 2, 2008)

Well duuuuhhhhhh.. so obvious even I missed it.


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

Sounds like a brewery is now in the works. Personally I would have gone with a nice large grain elevator complex. Later RJD


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## Dave F (Jan 2, 2008)

Brewery...maybe. I'm still keeping options open.


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## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

I'll suggest a Toothpick factory... one log in and thousands of boxes out.... and a pile of saw dust.... a small footprint. 
The Brewery might be better off the blue line, by the time you add the spur you'll be low on space... 

John


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## Jerrys RR (Jun 28, 2010)

Posted By Dave F on 10 Sep 2010 06:06 PM 
Brewery...maybe. I'm still keeping options open. 

Hi Dave,

Piko has a series of brewery buildings:

62014 Main Building










62013 Brewery Equipment










52015 Brewery Side Building










62016 Brewery Chimney










I liked the buildings but rather than use them for a brewery, in my case I put a Pola Sawmill with a lumber yard




















on one part of the layout and use the brewery buildings as a furniture manufacturer.

This gives me a logging operation (excuse for log cars), sawmill with lumber yard (excuse for lumber cars), and a furniture manufacturer (excuse for boxcars).

Just something to think about.

I have had the above for several years and I do not know the current status of what is available, where or how much. 
I believe the Piko pictures came from Watts Train Shop so that would be one place to start looking.


Jerry


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

Well iif that is the conner where you are growing vegitables of spices. I would put in a Produce warehouse with refer cars. Or a spice processing plant.


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## Dave F (Jan 2, 2008)

Great suggestion guys.. Thanks.. 

I've spent the last day or so cleaning out the garden since our growing season is coming to a close. Now that I have open space to work with I have laid out the basic track plan. Here's a picture so you can more easily visualize what I'm doing.. Please excuse the poor photoshoping. I will "straighten out" the curve on the inside loop while adding the spurs, so I tried to photoshop out the existing track so you can more easily see the new arrangement.


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## Jerrys RR (Jun 28, 2010)

Hi Dave,

Just a thought...

Yesterday we went for a ride on the Arkansas Missouri RR that took us through the Fort Smith, Arkansas industrial area that is served by the railroad.

One thing that I noticed was that from the back (railroad side) the owners often did not bother with marking what the business was and the end result was that one building looked like another and another and...

In other words when it comes to buildings on a railroad siding I'm not sure just how important it is to try to have a building that looks like any sort of manufacturer in particular. You could probably buy or build just about any building and mark it to represent whatever type of business you want it to and let your rolling stock along with some building markings of your choice identify it to be whatever appeals to you. Some beer cars and you have a brewery. Some lumber cars and you have a wood products company, some covered hoppers and you have just about anything. 
One extreme is that the Eureka Springs Railroad Station is not owned by the Railroad. It is still owned by the owners of the Ozarka water bottling company and when the railroad first went bankrupt the owners bought the station and some of the land and converted the train station into a water bottling plant. Your buildings can look like anything and be anything.


Jerry


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## xo18thfa (Jan 2, 2008)

I second Shad's call for a grain elevator. Around that there are plenty of options for small town, farming community additions.

Ted Brewer has a nice set of plans for a grain elevator and auxilery buildings.


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## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

If you don't need 2 tracks for the coal, I'd flip the switch leading there and instead make a switch back spur, coming back towards the camera. 
There's something awkwards about the present 'make do' switch, it would be smoother with a lefty near there. 
A switch back spur adds operational interest...ie; might have to remove and spot a couple of coal cars to use that space, or make two trips, a car each time.... 
That might open up space for a road between industries. 

John


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