of the railroad is large enough to pro- vide a full evening of operation, but not so large that it becomes a maintenance headache. A mainline of 123 feet in HO scale provides the opportunity to run a 24-car unit coal train, a length that looks (and usually is) substantial on a home layout. This job comes up from lower level staging, swaps out power, backs through a wye and proceeds to the mainline out of town.
There are six areas of activity on the railroad and each has specific challenges designed to keep the opera- tors busy.
Lindenwood Yard is where trains originate and terminate. The yardmas- ter has authority over the yard leads and all tracks, and he works with the dispatcher to get control of main for moves in and out. In Webster Groves Yard, trains originate and terminate. The yardmaster has authority over the yard leads and all tracks and likewise must coordinate the use of the main with the dispatcher.
Fortman Lumber siding has a chip- board factory. but it also serves a lum- ber retail store. The Thompson Chemi- cal plant has tank car loading on one track, and the lumber train road crew works this job.
Matson siding is worked by road
crews. They block outbound cars here from the Thompson Chemical plant and Matson Rail Service. Again, they have to use the mainline for some of the switching, which requires working with the dispatcher.
A two man crew is needed at Valley
Park, where the crews re-block trains for set outs and the outbound pick ups. The two-man crews add to the fun of working here. Local industries include cement, grain, oil, metal goods, appli- ances and building supplies. Most of these trains are one-way local jobs or turns out of a yard.
Road crews do some switching, too,
including a job that handles Roeder Metals and a scrap yard, a coal fired power plant and one industry. These
are adjacent to each other but on dif- ferent sides of the mainline, and crews must get clearance to cross it. Even though there are not a lot of through trains, there is opposing traffic, and this adds interest to the operating ses- sions.
Come see us The Webster Groves & Fenton is just one of many model railroads on tour during the upcoming Mid-Continent Region, NMRA Convention. It will be held in St. Louis, Missouri, May 31st to June 3rd, 2012. This event is presented by the Gateway Division and will offer three full days of activities, including a two day train show with modular lay- outs, 36 clinics, three prototype tours of area railroad-related industries, three evening operation sessions, a Saturday evening banquet at the National Muse- um of Transport, and three days of home layout tours. For more informa- tion or to register online, just go to http//
www.gatewaynmra.org/2012.
RAILROAD MODEL CRAFTSMAN
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