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.

An Atlanta Backdrop Panel

Brian painting one of the three Atlanta backdrop panels.

 This video shows Brian working on the southernmost panel which transitions from the city into 'suburbs'. The top photo is Brian working the second panel showing the Trout House and Masonic Meeting House. You'll notice he is attaching a balcony to give the painting a 2-dimensional look. This technique works especially well when photographing the scene.

NMRA Mid-Eastern Region Open House, September 19, 2009

W&A Railroad, North Branch recently participated in the National Model Railroad Association's NE region open house. Here are a few moments, including a short video, from that event. This came on the heels of the October RMC article featuring this modeled version of the Western & Atlantic R.R. The timing was quite good of course, a dual promotion of sorts.

Video to Come

Here is a link to the Garden State Central Model Railroad Club's video of this event.


Other video clips can be found by clicking on the Video link in the right column.

Welcome to the Western & Atlantic R.R., North Branch

History

Greetings, and welcome to an HO scale model of the Western & Atlantic Railroad. The W&A was a Georgia state owned and operated line between Chattanooga TN and Atlanta. Both cities were major rail hubs at opposite ends of a 136 mile route. It was one of the most organized and well run rail operations in the South. A particular incident occurred along the line on April 12, 1862. It would forever be known as The Great Locomotive Chase. About 22 Union soldiers dressed as civilians stole a train, the General, and several box cars with the intent to burn bridges as they headed back north. However, they were all captured. In the end these soldiers were the first recipients of the first Congressional Medals of Honor, some posthumously. 

The Western & Atlantic RR was a key supply line for several Confederate Armies, especially the Army of Tennessee. Summer of 1863, Union forces led by a General Rosecrans were pushing south toward Chattanooga intending to capture the city, its rail line and destroy the Rebel army. Rosecrans was eventually replaced by a General Tecumseh Sherman who was able to utilize the railroad as his supply line while he campaigned along the line heading for Atlanta. My version of the W&A is set in August 1863. General Rosecrans and the Union forces are just across the Tennessee River above Chattanooga beginning a siege. Trains have been running south for a couple of weeks removing important equipment out of the reach of the Yankee "invaders" as a precaution. The Rebel forces have been unable to halt their advance and civilian confidence has been waning. At this same time trains are also helping deploy Confederate forces into Georgia from Mississippi and Virginia to turn back Rosecrans and the Union army.

Layout Overview

The idea for a Civil War layout had begun in the 1960's with a friend, Dave Eberhardt, also a civil war enthusiast who had begun his own layout but of the Penn Central. The work on this layout started about 1999 when I decided to purchase a house, one requirement being a space for such a project. Fortunately, and eventually, my wife realized this intention of mine was for real and not a Christmas time endeavor around the tree.

Many years of research in places such as the Atlanta Historical Society and Georgia State Archives led me to very influencial people. Retired Army Colonel James Bogle was one such person. He was not only an authority on the Western & Atlantic, he was also good friends with a fella named Wilbur Kurtz, consultant to movies like "Gone With The Wind" and Disney's "Great Locomotive Chase". Mr. Kurtz, who I unfortunately did not meet, was married to the daughter of Bill Fuller, conductor on the train being pulled by the locomotive General during the great chase. In the archives there are letter exchanges between Mr. Kurtz and his father-in-law about topics such as length of house cars, the type of brake wheels and the motherload... mention of the color, slate blue.

Colonel Bogle also connected me with a model railroader from Michigan, Ken Pruitt. Ken had modeled the W&A and the Chase in particular. He is a terrific modeler who built his layout in the 1980's and many of the structures on my railroad are Ken's which were purchased along with most of his equipment. He unfortunately needed the space for other purposes so the timing of meeting Ken could not have been more perfect. He helped launch my layout.

The Blog

Entries are made on occasion versus every few days, weekly or even every few weeks. The intent has several objectives:

• A journal to capture highlights of the construction and operating.
• Hopefully provide a few insights, ideas, lessons learned and enjoyment for other modelers and interested parties.
• A way of acknowledging my friends who have made terrific contributions to every aspect of the layout.  

We hope you enjoy the ride.