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.

 

Dr. Thompson

As the W&A North Branch continues to evolve, we are at the point where we now have locos with good to excellent running Mantua 4-4-0 locos. The Dr Thompson, shown here, is one of three recently retooled Mantua Generals, the other two being the Dispatch and the General, both of the W&A RR at the time. Al Mueller's manual, "Mantua General Rebuild" is a key resource for anyone interested in refining this Mantua locomotive. Although as many as 20 to 30 hours are invested, depending on the level of detail one wished to add, the exceptional smooth running is certainly worth the time.  A product that I have found extremely useful is CRC, an automotive contact cleaner. I was amazed at the amount of dirt removed from both the rails and loco drivers. Clean is paramount for these locos, as well as the retooling noted in Al's manual. We hope you enjoy the ride. Comments are encouraged so we know how it appeals to the viewer.

The General has a Voice

Sound on the Western & Atlantic

This is a maiden run by LeBron's Mantua General. He has completely retooled this 4-4-0 including scratch building the boiler from styrene. As you will shortly experience, if you have not already played the video, LeBron is one of two people that I know of who have successfully installed a Tsunami sound decoder in a completed, fully functioning model. Sound takes the experience to a very enjoyable level. The rolling stock include repainted Mantua house cars, IHC cattle cars, and two of my first scratch built cattle cars. The latter two are based on drawings in the April 1969 issue of Model Railroader, "Cars of the 1860's". The bridge is a Howe Truss modeled after photos of the type used on the W&A, most notably over the Tennessee River. 

Howe Truss

Photo curtesy PictureHistory.com

The W&A was known for having many railroad bridges along its 138 mile line. Over Chickamauga Creek alone there were about 12 crossings. Many of these were covered bridges, two of which we have modeled on the "North Branch". If you follow our yahoo site, American Civil War Railroads Historical Society, you may have read references to my layout as the North Brnach. LeBron Matthews operates his version of the W&A and is reffered to as the "South Branch" since he lives in GA.

Period photos, especially along the Tennessee River and Chickamauga Creek, show remains of bridges and some that were rebuilt. Although slight alterations may have existed, I am more interested in the reamins as they are more likely to be most prototypical.

The Howe Truss pictured above, which crosses Chickamauga Creek, is my template for a  bridge I chose to model.

Researching bridge construction was done through photographs primarily. One find was that bridges were made with 30' timber lengths. I estimated (guesstimated) that these bridge sections, in general, were approximately 90'. This offered the opportunity for a bridge model long enough for that dramatic and more authentic appearance. The model below was built to accomodate three 90' sections spanning 270 scale feet.

At this stage the bridge is completed, abutments have been placed and we are now contouring the river's landscape. Brian Kammerer has been working on the backdrop and has included Lookout Mountain, a most prominent land feature distinguishing the Chattanooga area. I will be sure to include photos of Lookout Mtn. in a future posting.

The following photos are described below the picture.


This section on the W&A is positioned just on the outskirt of Chattanooga. The bridge is constructed with mostly bass and spruce with some balsa. Piers will be a styrofoam core wrapped with a new Chooch product, Flex Wall. I was considering carving the foam but this product is dead on for the actual stone.   

  

Here you can see an error in my modeling of the bridge cross ties. Looking at the period photo these initially appeard to be planks. A thanks to Bernie Kempinski, and my realization on how shadows can be deceiving, I have replaced the planks with standard beams, I believe 8"x8". The pier is this photo is from ARC or AIM (?). I believe someone on our yahoo site mentions this manufacturer in one of his notes as to who manufactures HO piers.

One of the many questions regarding bridge construction was how did engineers join bridge sections. One of my 'senior advisors' and construction engineers, Christopher, while helping me view photos, saw what appears to be a long brace connecting these 90' sections. The piers of course would be placed just below these braces and the section joints.

Stay tuned for more posts as we reach completion.