Member's Bin Busy!

Over the last several weeks, as we have been honoring the "stay home" recommendations, I have been hearing from several friends and members about their respective projects. This post is to give y'all an idea on what folks are doing, from masters to beginners. There are four, most of whom you have seen before. First up, Charlie Taylor's M&C, Memphis and Charleston. He is currently further detailing the area in and around Memphis. Charlie is one of us 'crazy' modelers. In addition to hand carving tunnel entryways as limestone block, Charlie just finished carving this cobblestone street. 
This is the area planned for the cobblestones, around the M&C Depot. 

He uses a sheet of bass wood for carving the stones.

And here are two photos with final results...

Next we have a relatively new modeler, Paul Ciesmelewski. I met Paul through a local hobby shop, Hobby Masters, which unfortunately is no longer. However, Paul is one of those other rare modelers focusing on civil war and coincidentally, the Western & Atlantic. He has already scratch built the Chattanooga Car Shed and a church. His next project is the premier hotel of this dirt water town, at the time, the Crutchfield House. It was located within a short walking distance from the shed, or passenger depot. 

He has a unique approach in that he is building the shell to be able to be removed from the interior structure. 

Paul is dividing the interior into three floors and about 16 rooms. 

Main structure complete, he is adding this roof. Eventually Paul plans to add basic interiors, wall paper and home made furniture items. His 'crazy', however,... adding lights to the fireplaces! His layout will also depict the battle of Mission or Missionary Ridge in 1863. 

Someone known to most ACWRRHS members and perhaps in the model railroad community, LeBron Mathews, is DE-constructing his W&A with a reno plan to allow more options to run his railroad, operations and, as important given his inventory, storage. As he has begun to remove structures and dismantle track, to counter balance the remorse of tear-down he is also upgrading structures with finer details, if you can imagine that for LeBron. The LOC (library of Congress) is his primary source. 

Most of LeBron's work is scratch building. One example of his upgrading is the Atlanta Hotel. A photo prior to the changes below.

His rebuild shows a completely different roof trim, sign with yellow trim, balcony spindles removed for a solid wall and red shutters. What other changes can you see?

How does he know this? There are a couple of sources. One is the LOC where TIFF files reveal slight variations of color as well as details otherwise undetected. Second source is information about structure building at that time. As an example, two primary colors were used for trim and shudders. Generally speaking, green was primarily used on residential and small businesses. Red would be found on the more high end establishments such as the Atlanta Hotel, one of a few in Atlanta.

In addition to his scratch building, LeBron also uses kits. One of the most similar looking period structures is made my DPM, Design Preservation Models. Here he changed out the roof from flat to tin.

His coloring and weathering is off the charts! George Selios would be proud!

Next up is the Delaware Central RR. Our good friend, and co-founder of the American Civil War RR Historical Society, DC Cebula is beginning his foray building a layout. After MUCH re-configuring... no not the layout plan although that is always a process, he is revamping his basement first! Already with new lighting, outlets, relocating his "stuff" and having purchased lumber, here is his latest track plan. Grids are 1' so this will be a 4'x12', however I believe he mentioned he is working to extend it to 18' . The red line is the backdrop, narrow side for staging. However, please do take a ride to and into his new BLOG! 

https://delawarecentralrailroad.blogspot.com/

One fella you may have heard about in one conversation of another as only a few of us know is Rhett Tyler. He certainly has the right name for our era. Rhett has been nt only modeling but has built some of thee most detailed accurate models of locomotives. He did one for me based on a photo from Chattanooga, #50, a USMRR 4-4-0. That was when I was planning to have Union forces in Chattanooga and Confederate in Atlanta. However, after he built this gorgeous model I soon after dropped the Union idea. It is now being reconfigured as the Tennessee, a Georgia RR loco. Check out the piping and the prototypical cross head guide. 

Decals are compliments to John Ott, another master who we quite honored to have in our midst and joined us for the Gettysburg meet in 2015.

Rhett is modeling the New York Central & Hudson River RR. His bridge is scratch built. And these are just a few of his collection of locomotives. I believe he has close to 14. His knowledge of locomotives is extraordinary as well as rolling stock of the era. I have called him on many occasions when uncertain about a design element when doing my own rebuilds.

As you can see, and perhaps you as well, we are channeling our energies that can uplift us when the news can be quite disturbing. In one way we intend that these posts and photos will be a contribution to you, as an inspiration or at very least an enjoyable read. Very Best! 

Turnbale Discussions Episode 4, Part 1

July 2016 I had the great pleasure to be with Charlie Taylor at his Memphis and Charleston RR. Charlie has been working diligently in preparation for our American Civil War RR's 2016 meet in Memphis. He chose O scale acquiring equipment from SMR and BTS. Track is all hand laid by Charlie and turnouts were built using FastTracks templates. The line runs from Memphis and includes the towns of Huntsville, Corinth, and Chattanooga. Also featured is the "Lost Tunnel" recently located out side of Chattanooga by Charlie and Mark Brainard, an ACW RR historian. Three of the most outstanding features by Charlie are the scratch built trestles and bridges. The structures are of the most beautifully constructed by his friend CC (Charles Curro) who has evolved into a master builder in his own right. His head is slightly visible in the background. Charlie's nephew, Will Shirey, is the gifted artist who painted the backdrops. Will's art here was a key element of his portfolio that got him an acceptance into a premier art school in California. 
This is a brief 'interview' with Charlie Taylor in his layout room. Charlie, by the way, was a bit reluctant to do a more in-depth, formal interview so we took what we could get.You can see more photos of Charlie's layout. Go to "Labels" on right side of the blog. Click on Memphis and Charleston RR.

ACWRRHS MEMPHIS MEET

We came, we saw and were inspired... and had a heck of a good time! Members of our Civil War Railroads and Modeling Yahoo group converged on Memphis TN last weekend. About 20 members, which is a good attendance, met at a LaQuinta hotel to share projects, research, modeling projects and a passionate interest in this era's railroading. We also traveled to one of the more famous battlefields, Shiloh, for a fabulous tour with Lee Millar who has been giving talks, tours and reenacting for about 20 years. One highlight was running trains on Charlie Taylor's M&C 'O' scale model railroad at his home. The following photos are a window into our ventures. 

Ron Flowers of MI, Bernie Kempinski who models the USMRR Aquia Line in Alexandria, and Dave Bright who is the author of a fabulous web site http://www.csa-railroads.com/. He has done remarkable research on Confederate railroads. The view is of Charlie Taylor's Howe Truss bridge over the Running Water Creek at Whiteside  TN in 1862.

Charlie Taylor, our host, and Marty Vaughn. Marty is a very skilled model painter and sculptor in HO scale. Marty now paints figures for my layout.

Mark Richardson, from CA who models in N, HO and O scale and Mark Brainard, railroad historian who is a volunteer at places like Chattanooga where we first met Mark who was a presenter at last year's convention.

Far left is Tim Bode, first time attendee who had a grand time. Charlie Curro who constructed the buildings and is a master builder in his own right. Charlie's brother Harold who is a master machinist and made the turntables with the "Geneva Wheel", a very complex and precise device for accurate functional operation, D.C. Cebula, our founder and moderator, and Charlie.

John Turner who has installed the decoders in Charlie's locos and troubleshooting craftsman. Rick Sester who is a skilled model railroader in his own right.

Lee Millar giving one of his most thorough interpretations of the Battle of Shiloh. 

And me, Charlie Curro (CC) and Charlie Taylor, who is gesturing..."What train?', at the Crossroads of Corinth where a significant battle occurred on two occasions, both of which were won by the Union army. Look to the far left. See a light in the distance. Little did we know there was a train-a-comin! In less than a minute it was upon us traveling about 50 mph. We got off soon as we heard the whistle which was a bit of a shock. Good thing they have a whistle!
See many more photos on our civil war railroads and modeling site http://www.csa-railroads.com/
Hope you enjoyed the trip.

M&C RR Update

I know, I know, not much of the W&A recently. However, I can not pass up the opportunity to show the latest progress on Charlie Taylor's O scale M&C. Below is one of two photo updates showing the Memphis Depot.

The extraordinary aspect of this and the next photo of the Huntsville Roundhouse is that I initially thought these were laser cut as are several of the M&C structures. Actually these are scratch built. Charlie Curro is the master craftsman who has done many of the M&C buildings. The doorway detail is truly spectacular.
This one below is the Huntsville Roundhouse, also scratch built. Please note that the roof is metal!

Next post will be a tip for discarded car weights and recent photos of work on my W&A Roundhouse.

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 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: