OP Session January 28, 2024

Another fun ride on the W&A, north branch! Operators included members from our ACW RRs group, Corey, Bill and DC, https://groups.io/g/CivilWarRailRoads. Another person, Glyn is a fellow board member in our NMRA Division, and Ed who is a member from our local model RR club, Garden State Central http://www.gardenstatecentral.com/

I had three train schedules prepared. However, a couple of folks couldn't make it last minute  And, I didnt even think about removing the one train. This, however, made for an interesting movement for the crew that encountered this train as it blocked their route. 

One of the compelling aspects of modeling this era is the consistent randomness of situations which were very prototypical then given the demands for both civilian and military needs and requirements.

Below, Bill is Yardmaster in Chattanooga while Ed and Glynn are preparing to depart for points south.

DC, brakeman, and Corey throttling through the Kennesaw Cut with a mixed freight of empties pulled by the W&A 4-4-0 Georgia. All names for the locomotives, as well as businesses and particular land features are consistent with the W&A line in 1863. 

Glynn and Ed taking out the Catoosa for its first run of the day, also a mixed freight with a few passenger stops scheduled along the way.

 

Where Have I Been!?!

Since April I have embarked on a new journey; in addition, have been hosting bi-monthly zoom meets, fine tuning my locomotives and finishing off a new section of the layout with scenery.

As some of you may know of the NMRA, National Model Railroader's Association, they have a program called the Achievement Program. This is to encourage model railroaders' endeavors to develop  their skills, show their accomplishments and further the comradery with fellow modelers. 

The AP is a very structured and in-depth process. There are a total of 11 categories, 7 of which are required if you are working toward your Master Model Railroader (MMR) certificate. I started off with the category of Structures. To give you an idea, here is one form (the SOQ) to note the structures to be judged. 6 must be scratch built. The others can be kits, kitbashed or combination of all three, including scratch built.

 To date, I have four that made the cut: Roundhouse, Chattanooga Car Shed

Schofield Rolling Mill and the Cotton Depot in Kingston

An MMR certificate, however, is not necessarily my goal. I have been learning so much from other modelers to fine tune my skills along with the fun of our conversations and just hanging out with fellow enthusiasts.   

Here are the Mid Eastern Region Division members assessing the Cotton Depot in Kingston... Left to right, Glyn, a MMR, Mike, on his way to MMR, Fred, also an MMR and a lead judge, and Jack. Glyn, Mike, and Jack are also being trained to judge. Next post will cover the new scenery addition.

CHATTANOOGA CAR SHED PART IV

90% completed and closing in on several details, this is pretty much how she'll be looking with the Crutchfield House, the premier hotel of Chattanooga in the background. Not my backdrop though.

When viewing this structure in period photos they all have the roof showing up white. Being a metal roof of tin, that is understandable given it would be reflecting the sun. But the actual color of course is not white. After looking at many photos of tin roofs on line, several conversations with friends and one or two with metal workers, the roof has a dull to very low gloss of gray. I am still experimenting such as a medium gray with light gray dry brushing to a semi metallic gray color on the cupola. All brush painting and no airbrushing or spray painting.

Chattanooga Car Shed... Cupola and Completed

The cupola was a bit more tedious. Thankfully those glass plate photos allow the extreme zoom. As a result we can see that it was not all windows but a pattern of two windows then louvers. I reason that the louvers provided some ventilation for the locomotive smoke. My challenge was how to ensure I could cement the roof evenly and in one application. I intentionally did not add a floor to the cupola for access to the inside. Once I had the roof set using the rubber bands I could apply the CA to the seem between roof and walls from the inside. 

Here is the completed cupola ready for a coat of paint. It was primed white then masked to only expose the louvers which I decided on a green tone. I chose green for a couple of reasons. It appears that for some reason green was common for structure trim. The other, and more important rationale, was that the period photos show the louvers being darker than the windows. Could they have been something other than green? Absolutely. After further consideration I may have used a dark tan. Anyhow I'm satisfied.

In this photo below you will notice that the roof has been painted a gray tone. After MANY conversations and viewing period as well as contemporary photos there is a general consensus that a period photo, although appearing white, is clearly just the reflection of sun light. The reality is that a metal roof would have a gray tone. The question is how weathered would this roof have been. The Car Shed was constructed in mid to late 1850's so not so old given the period pics are 1864. When viewing the period pictures there appears to be little if any wear. Assuming this latter point, there may be a slight sheen which is my current experiment. The cupola roof was painted with a Craftsmart color, Silver Gray from Michael's. This has a slight sheen. The main roof was painted using 2 other craft paint gray colors of a matte finish. Next is to 'dirty' the roofs up a bit with dry brushing and washes. Missed the down spots as you can see.
Windows and louvers are from Grandt Line as well as the Double S corbels on the cupola and the corbels on the main roof. Down spouts are Evergreen round stock just bent. I was pleasantly surprised that they held the shape.

Good friend Andy Salcius shot this one below and of course added some photo shop to mask the ceiling.

CHATTANOOOGA CARD SHED Part III

A brief recap on the roof construction begins with the jig. One unexpected 'plus' was the aluminum flashing purchased from Home Depot. It was was 2' long and 1' wide, the exact measurement I needed. Funny thing is, I had arbitrarily decided on the shed size to fit the layout pace. SOMETIMES we catch a break! Scrap plywood fashioned the base.

The roof was constructed with 2 sub-sections of .010 sealed with Ambroid ProWeld. The finished roof is 4 sections of Evergreen V Groove #4250 also sealed with ProWeld. My initial attempt, disaster, JB Weld was used which, after a couple of days, separated and was easily pulled apart. These photos are the 2nd attempt; as of today the roof is holding tight!

A distinct construction aspect of this roof is that you can see the seems running across the roof as well as a gutter.

This is the key reason for choosing the V Groove styrene. To model the seems, which on the actual structure were soldered. I used Evergreen part #111 to model the seems. Testers liquid cement was used to attach these into the V groove slots.

Here is the new roof completed including the gutter which is three layers of Evergreen part 102 off-set to mimic the photo. Next is to add about 80 corbels. The "final" phase is the cupola with approximately 32 windows, 64 louvers and 100 corbels. 

 

Chattanooga to Tunnel Hill

My good friend Andy Salcius was here a few weeks ago and posted this video he took of the most recent excursion through Georgia on the W&A. A few things to note is that the landscape and structures are period in that they have been extensively researched. Most structures are either scratch built from period photos, illustrations and/or diagrams. The time is summer 1863. Chattanooga was on the verge of being captured by the Union Army of the Cumberland, led by General Rosecrans. Locals were evacuating to points south while Confederate troops and military supplies were be transported both north, from Georgia, and south from Virginia to meet the Yankee incursion. They were to eventually meet the Union army at a place called Chickamauga Creek were the south would experience its only clear victory in the western theater of war.

 

Memphis & Charleston RR - NEW PHOTOS!

Just received these photos from Charlie...
If this is your first visit, these depict an O scale model railroad by Charlie Taylor and his crew. He and his railroad live in the Memphis area. 

Chattanooga Car Shed  

W&A Depot

 

Chattanooga Blockhouse

 Trestle over Running Water Creek Bridgeport, AL

 On the M&C crossing the TN River Bridgeport

Leaving Chattanooga for Memphis

 Outside of Corinth, MI

 Stevenson, AL

 Huntsville Turntable

 The Train Room

Charlie Taylor and crew have been pounding rail and laying bricks as they continue their work on the Memphis and Charleston RR, figuratively of course. As some of you may know, Charlie's line is O scale and they have been building since 2010. His roundhouse stable and rolling stock inventory includes equipment from SMR and BTS models. He, on rare occasion, sends me a text with a photo or two of progress. One of his key collaborators is Carlie Curro who builds structures, primarily. There is also nephew Will Shirey who is the backdrop artist. 
Here are a few of the latest images I received from Charlie, one as recent as this week.

This is the famous Crutchfield House, the hotel a short distance from the Car Shed. It was here that then President Jeff Davis gave a speech to a crowd off the balcony to the left of this view in 1861, maybe '62. Nearly all of the structures are laser cut. By the way, the Car Shed on left with curved roof... its about 5' long!

Charlie's layout is housed on the second floor of his 3 car garage, the 2nd floor built specifically in mind for this magnificent O scale model railroad. The M&C line includes significant stations in Memphis, Corinth, Huntsville, Stevenson, Shellmound/Nickajack, and Chattanooga with additional water stops in Germantown, Bridgeport and Whiteside.
He uses Fast Tracks turnouts as they have mastered turnout forms and templates which expedite the laying of track.

Above is a model of the cave where the dirt was used to make  saltpeter for the making of gunpowder. This was an area in Tennessee known as Nickajack as was the largest single domestic source of saltpeter for the Confederacy. I suggest clicking on the image for a larger view. This is not a painting but a 3D model, and this cave is quite huge; O scale!
Below one of SMR's 4-4-0's with a few of their freight cars, passing at the foot of Lookout Mountain.

CHATTANOOGA UPDATE

Here are the latest photos of progress in Chattanooga. Our last posting of this section showed only a few maps and mock ups such as  the "Car Shed" in the background. Next is the completed Adams Express Co. across the street from the nearby hotel known as the Crutchfield House. Both structures were scratch built by Chris Comport from WI. DC added the platform. Although the platform is not shown in any diagrams that we've researched, nor is such a structure mentioned in any reading, for the purpose of a model railroad we included it for operations.

This next photo is looking south, opposite from the above shot. We are 90% complete on this section. Other details and perhaps another commercial structure could be added in the open space at left.

Chattanooga was a terminus for the W&A and Nashville & Chattanooga lines. Later the East Tennessee & Georgia RR was added. The only through line was the Memphis & Charleston R.R. Given that all these lines came into Chattanooga there are many possibilities for model railroading operations. 

The yard was filled with cars from different lines for the sake of the photo. These other rail lines are the Atlanta & West Point, Macon & Western, and the Georgia RR, all of which came into Atlanta.

These last two photos below show the scratch built Adams Express Co. and Crutchfield House by Chris Comport.

ACWRR ANNUAL MEET 2014 - Chattanooga

American Civil War RR Historical Society/

Civil War RR Yahoo Group Meet

September 2014

One of our best meets to date, our members traveled to Chattanooga TN and experienced a variety of ACWRR historical elements. We had the good fortune to have Mark Brainard, railroad historian specializing in the Civil War era, seen here with a coupler in his personal collection while Dave Schnieder looks on below;

and Jim Ogden, one of the premier Battlefield Park historians and interpreters in the park system. Here on Lookout Mountain he is providing an overview of Chattanooga as a key cross roads for several Confederate rail lines on our first day.

During the evenings we were treated to a few presentations. First is Charlie Taylor presenting an overview of the many forts built by the USMRR. Later he shared his approach to and the construction of his expansive bridge on his Memphis and Charleston O scale model railroad. You can see a few pictures and videos on his site www.jcharlestaylor.com/taylorSPECIALtrains.

Another evening, LeBron Mathews, who also models the W&A and is another skilled, artistic modeler, is presenting 'Longstreet's Troop Movement by Rail.'

Day 2 we ventured into an area only accessible with Mark and Jim. This was at the tunnel through Missionary Ridge. The other tunnel, of which most people/historians are familiar, is known as Tunnel Hill near Dalton and further south. Here Chip and Sue Barona stand at the tunnel entrance to give perspective on the entrance height. Notice the shape as the lower part is slightly more narrow than the upper wall to provide structural support, a most common design for our period of modeling.

Venturing further along, Mark took us to the East TN & GA RR crossings over Chickamauga Creek which also crossed the Western & Atlantic RR. Here are the original piers from that time.

There was also a battle that took place in this area for the Missionary Ridge position. This was an attempted flanking move by General W.T. Sherman where he was decidedly whooped by Patrick Cleburne's troops. 
Here Jim provides a detailed story of the battle and the relationship of the forts which guarded the crossings just beyond this picture.

We also had the opportunity to ride the live steam excursion which ran about 40 minutes round trip with a pause at the turntable.

 Several members were invited, thanks to Mark, to ride in the cab. Al gives the command to "ALL ABOARRRRRD!!"

Dave Schneider, Ron Flowers and Charlie Taylor were among the other riders while the rest of us rode the period passenger cars as Mark pointed out various aspects of the line during the war. This was a highlight of our meet for many.

As I mentioned, and as you can see by the sign, it was only due to having Mark along that we were able to experience a walk through this tunnel built in the 1850's. Truly a grand experience was this most recent meet. We now set our sights for 2015 to York and Gettysburg where we hope to ride the new 4-4-0 York. Maybe see you then? You are most welcome! 

Visit our site at civilwarrailroadsyahoo.com.

Chattanooga Progress, posted Dec 10, 2014

Here are the latest photos of progress in Chattanooga. Our last posting of this section showed only a few mock ups and maps.

Below you see the addition of the Adams Express CO. and the Crutchfield House, the nearby hotel to the car shed, shown here as the white mock up in the background. 

DC added the platform. Although the platform is not shown in any diagrams that we've researched, nor is such a structure mentioned in any reading, for the purpose of a model railroad we included it for operations.

This photo is looking south, opposite from the above shot. We are 90% complete on this section. Other details and perhaps another commercial structure could be added in the open space at left.

Chattanooga was a terminus for the W&A and Nashville and Chattanooga lines. Later the East Tennessee and Georgia RR was added. The Memphis and Charleston passed through Chattanooga. Given that all these lines came into Chattanooga there are many possibilities for model railroading operations. 

The yard was filled with cars from different lines for the sake of the photo. These other rail lines are the Atlanta and West Point, Macon and Western and Georgia RR, all of which came into Atlanta.

These last two photos below show the scratch built Adams Express Co. and Crutchfield House, built by Chris Comport.

 

Consolidated

As with most model railroads a key element is selective compression. Here is a map, from our late contributor Zoe who was constructing a virtual W&A of the period, showing the rails into Chattanooga. There are two distinct features. One is the 2 tracks entering what is known as the Car Shed or passenger station. The other is the Wye track formation used to reverse locomotives. There was also a turntable in Chattanooga which appears in the next illustration below.

This drawing below showing the turntable is from a book entitled The Union Railyards Site, Industrial Archeology in Chattanooga, Tennessee by R.B. Council and Nicholas Honercamp. It was attached to the center track between the Car Shed and the other rectangular structure, the W&A Freight Depot, to its right. According to the authors, this is "The Federal plan of Chattanooga, 1863" and was from F.W. Dorr's 'Chattanooga and Its Approaches,' drawn after the battle of Chattanooga in November 1863. I chose to include the turntable, not the Wye since my space was too limiting.

Right and center is a notation, Battery Hazen, and was also know as Stone Fort. We have a tentative plan to include a portion of this fort at the layout edge.

 

Below is a photo taken from the area in the foreground known as the Stone Fort. So far there are no other details about this feature making it a creative endeavor for the layout. There is also mention of a Judge Hooke's residence in this view. Although barely visible, it was located in the grove of trees in the left background. This structure is being scratch built by D. C. Cebula. 

There are many interesting buildings to be considered. I chose prominent ones including a hotel known as the Crutchfield House, the Adams Express building and the home owned by Judge Hooke. Here is D.C.'s version as an HO structure, emphatically informing me that "...the chimneys are going right there!", as we debated the location given the photo. You decide and let him know... PLEASE.

These two photos of Hooke's residence were taken post war an deduced that the enclosed balcony was post war as well. As D.C. has completed the basic structure, next are the detailed elements and landscaping. One anecdote is that when Chattanooga residents were evacuating, the Judge was provided with his own house car to remove his personal belongings.

For the Car Shed I connected with Alkem Scale Models, http://www.alkemscalemodels.com (Bernie Kempinski) to laser cut and construct the building primarily for the exactitude given the numerous arches and trusses. 
Here is a period photo followed by Charlie Taylor's model. He is building the Memphis & Charleston R.R. in O scale. Here is a link to his site, jcharlestaylor.com/taylorSPECIALtrains.

The Crutchfield House in mock up...

This will be scratch built by Christopher who has also done the Lee and Gordon's Mill and the Barnsley Garden Mansion. Both are featured in previous blog posts and in our Labels section.
Here is a long view to compare with the 2 maps at top of page... Photo is taken from the Wye area and the Stone Fort site.

Adams Express is in the early stage of mock up. It was situated between the Shed and Crutchfield House. Here's about a 20x, zoom from a period picture: