# Abandoned Railroad



## Scottychaos (Jan 2, 2008)

The Stonehedge Railroad struggled for many years against the relentless forces of nature.. 
operating for several seasons in the deep forest of south-central New York state. 
but there was always a problem.. 

*Huge* leaves constantly fell from the towering pine trees above, in massive numbers! 
here is a view of the infamous leaves: 










It might not look like much..but those leaves are each 6-feet long!









They would constantly foul the rails, making travel very difficult. 
Even though the railroad used on-board fuel, and not electric rails like other systems, making track maintance somewhat easier, 
still the branches proved a never-ending 
operational headache..the entire system had to swept and cleaned every time a train wished to operate! 
the track crew was ready to revolt! something drastic needed to be done.. 

So in the Spring of 2007, after 5 years of trying make it work in this location, management made the decision to MOVE the entire railroad!! 
All equipment was picked up and moved to a nearby, different portion of the forest, where things are much more favorable. 
A few important structures were also moved to the new location, but many buildings and bridges were simply left behind and abandoned. 

Sometime soon I will post a message about the "new and improved" StoneHedge Railroad..but today we are exploring the remains of the OLD one! 

In late summer of 2008 I made the trek into the deep woods to see if anything was still visable from the old Stonehedge RR.. 
It has been two full summers since the railroad was abandoned, and nature is already beginning to quickly reclaim the right 
of way and the few structures that remain. 

Coming up a small rise, the abandoned remains of the old engine terminal come into view: 










Wow..things have deteriorated quickly! 
in a few more years you will probably be unable to tell that a railroad had ever been here. 

Heading down the hill, I walked up to the old turntable and roundhouse area. 










the turntable pit is still visable, and the old bridge is still intact.. 
the center of the pit is quickly filling with vegetation: 










Just beyond the turntable lies the sad remains of the 3-stall roundhouse: 










The old coaling tower, and the original single-stall engine house, (used before the roundhouse was built) 










Here is a view of this same location back in happier days, when the railroad was still thriving here: 
http://gold.mylargescale.com/Scottychaos/cDCPa_0092.jpg 


the trestle leading up to the coaling tower has begun to fall down. 











Nearby lies the abandoned Black Diamond mine..which went out of business when 
the railroad left town. 




















Continuing the trek through the dense undergrowth, I came across a pile of abandoned rail: 










Left behind by the railroad when they ripped up the line.. 
I suspect they will probably be back for this rail, since its still in good condition. 

Trekking out along the abandoned roadbed, I came across the remains of the famous "Red Bridge" 



















And here is a photo of the bridge in days past: 
http://gold.mylargescale.com/Scottychaos/Dcpa_0059.jpg 


And thats it for this sad tour.. 
but dont be _too_ sad! 
because the railroad lives yet!  

Soon I will post a tour of the new re-built railroad in its new location. 

thanks, 
Scot


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## markoles (Jan 2, 2008)

Scot, 

Wow, that did deteriorate quickly! 

Good luck with the new railroad. Are you going to try and save any of the structures in the field study? They don't seem that bad, and with a little clean up might still be good. 

Mark


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## pimanjc (Jan 2, 2008)

Wow Scotty, 
That's almost as sad and lonesome looking as a public swimming pool, in January, with nothing but snow instead of being full of the splashing kids of summer. I hope progress on the new layout is going well. 
JimC.


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## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

IMO move them and use the the way they are... what better weathering than weathering? lol.


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## Scottychaos (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By markoles on 09/03/2008 12:36 PM
Scot, 

Wow, that did deteriorate quickly! 

Good luck with the new railroad. Are you going to try and save any of the structures in the field study? They don't seem that bad, and with a little clean up might still be good. 

Mark




nah..I doubt anything will be saved.. 
(this is actually my Dad's railroad, and all his structures..not mine) 
parts might be salvaged and re-used however..that is possible. 

All the structures are scratch-built from scrap wood and random bits of plastic and metal.. 
whatever he finds lying around!  

He really enjoys the model building, and is never much concerned that the buildings arent terribly weather-proof.. 

none of the "abandoned railroad" scenes above were planned! 
thats really simply the way the railroad was left! 
and how it looked after being ignored for two years.. 

I was looking around a few weeks ago when I was visiting my parents, checking out the new railroad, 
and I wandered over to the area that once contained the old railroad, and thought it's remains would make 
an interesting historic study!  

Scot


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## blackburn49 (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Scottychaos on 09/03/2008 12:47 PM

Posted By markoles on 09/03/2008 12:36 PM Scot, Wow, that did deteriorate quickly! Good luck with the new railroad. Are you going to try and save any of the structures in the field study? They don't seem that bad, and with a little clean up might still be good. Mark

nah..I doubt anything will be saved.. (this is actually my Dad's railroad, and all his structures..not mine) parts might be salvaged and re-used however..that is possible. All the structures are scratch-built from scrap wood and random bits of plastic and metal.. whatever he finds lying around!  He really enjoys the model building, and is never much concerned that the buildings arent terribly weather-proof.. none of the "abandoned railroad" scenes above were planned! thats really simply the way the railroad was left! and how it looked after being ignored for two years.. I was looking around a few weeks ago when I was visiting my parents, checking out the new railroad, and I wandered over to the area that once contained the old railroad, and thought it's remains would make an interesting historic study!  Scot


Indeed they did. Fascinating photos--_love_ those old weathered structures!


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## Mike O (Jan 2, 2008)

Scot, 

Very creative thread. Kind of like the feeling of coming upon an industrial artifact when hiking in the woods. 

Mike


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## Torby (Jan 2, 2008)

I almost thought I was reading a Blackburn49 thread


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## vsmith (Jan 2, 2008)

Neat post 

I sure hope that isnt Poison Oak in all that brush 

"leaves of three, leave them be"


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## cmjdisanto (Jan 6, 2008)

Always enjoy a story with a happy ending. Looking forward to seeing the new lines.


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## Stan Cedarleaf (Jan 2, 2008)

Scot, just like the prototypes... When abandoned, they're overrun with nature..... 

Very realistic...  With track as pricey as it is now, I'd recover it too.... /DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/blush.gif


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## Jerry Barnes (Jan 2, 2008)

It's a good idea for a part of your new railroad, to use the old stuff to add some 'character'.


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## Steve Stockham (Jan 2, 2008)

It really conveyed the feeling of a railfan tour over an abandoned pike! A very interesting thread!


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## SandyR (Jan 6, 2008)

Wow, Scot, it's just like a lot of the real railroad sites around here! Great pix! 
SandyR


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