Modeling the Atlantic & Yadkin Railway
Known A&Y equipment models :: My A&Y Layout Design Process :: Other A&Y Layouts
Introduction
I will be developing and adding to this section of the website as I have time. I can give you a few hints, tips, and information on how to model the A&Y. For now I will give you a quick overview of what I know about existing models of A&Y subjects and my personal plans for a layout based on the A&Y. Later I will be able to develop these ideas more fully. Right now, I have too much historical research to conduct.Known Models
The only model of anything specifically from the A&Y known to me is an HO kit of the Mount Airy granite station. This is an out of production kit and I obtained one from a great hobby shop in Atlanta, GA. It is a plaster craftsman kit.The A&Y didn't own any freight equipment and the railroad was owned by the Southern Railway and leased Southern Railway locomotives (and bought 3 ex-Richmond Fredericksburg & Potomac ten wheelers). This means that any model of a Southern Railway prototype prior to 1950 would be a candidate for an A&Y model. Flat cars, gondolas and pulpwood racks would be especially appropriate because of the mineral, forest and agricultural products shipped on the A&Y. The thriving furniture, textile and tobacco industries along the line required lots of boxcars in that era. There were no active large scale coal mines during the A&Y's existence, although the small scale Egypt mine did operate until 1928. Hoppers would not show up in long coal drags even for the Egypt mine, but there would be some for fueling the steam locomotives and for distribution of coal for domestic use. The Southern wood hopper resin kit once offered by Smoky Mountain Model Works and currently by Funaro & Camerlengo might be most appropriate to represent cars loaded at the Egypt coal mine. Any of the Southern Railway pre-1950 hoppers or even gondolas would be acceptable for the occasional domestic coal deliveries.
The A&Y connected with five other Class 1 railroads including the Southern, the ACL, SAL, original NS and the N&W. In addition some smaller lines connected with the railroad in the steam era, especially around Sanford which was a hub of small and big railroad activity. I have recently obtained some conductor's logs from the 1920-1935 era which detail trains on the Southern Railway's Winston-Salem Division. This division interchanged with the A&Y at Rural Hall and also connected with the Southern yard at Greensboro. These log books provide a detailed list of exact trains, locomotives, cars (including car reporting marks, car number, car type, commodity if any carried, and the weight in tons!), and cabs. This means that I have an idea of the type of cars interchanged with the Southern in the 20's and part of the 30's. In addition, I have several A&Y engineer's log books which document trains, locomotives, cabs and crew for the A&Y during the same period. I hope to begin to add such info to this section of the website in the future.
Layout Design
After my move to Maryland, I no longer am an active member of a club and I have a nice sized portion of the basement for a layout. So I've started the process of dreaming, designing and building my version of the Atlantic & Yadkin Railway!First is a thumbnail of a quick sketch of the space I have available. Some of the measurements are off by a few inches. Click on the thumbnail to bring up a 800x600 image.
Next, I have a CAD rendering of the space with correct dimensions, first in 2D with dimensions and then a series of 3D views. Each thumbnail can be clicked on to provide an 800x600 or smaller image.
Comments on the kind of layout that you think would fit that space are welcome.
I have talked to a number of southeastern railroad modelers and some professional layout designers. Scott Perry asked me to fill out a form he uses with clients to help him understand what kind of a layout he should design. He's given me permission to share the list of questions and answers, so I formatted it for this website and provide the link here and in the navigation bar to the left. After thinking about my preferences in a layout designer and in the design process, I decided to hire Scott Perry to design my layout.
Scott has provided me with a rough sketch of his ideas on the layout for my space. Opinions are welcome. I'm still considering the options, but I wanted you to see the progression from first idea to final plan. So here are two of Scott's sketches. The first sketch was the first I had seen. After providing some specific feedback, like no need to model Sanford and where's the freight depot in Mt. Airy, and well maybe I can convince my wife to let me use the other side of the stairs, Scott provided an updated sketch. This is where I am to date. Feedback would be most welcome. Note the sketches have little scenic detail, and not all spurs and industrial trackage are included. Unfortunately, Scott had to quit the layout design business. He graciously provided me with the original CAD drawings from 3rd PlanIt so that I could complete the work either by myself or through another designer. I like this plan, except I need a turn table at Mt. Airy in place of the quarry so that I can operate more prototypically as point to point.
1st Sketch 2nd Sketch
An HO scale layout depicting the A&Y exists in the Mount Airy Regional History Museum. The design and construction of this layout was the work of the Mayberry Model Railroaders headed by Dr. Ben Lawrence and Hal Powell, although I understand the work of maintaining the exhibit has been passed on to others.. I had the good fortune to visit with the Mayberry Modelers in January of 1999 and to see the exhibit. This layout is designed for educational purposes and so the track plan is simple with all the towns along the A&Y represented by a liberal dose of selective compression. Still, I was impressed by their ability to capture the essence of the A&Y by focusing upon the key features: the Granite Quarry, Pilot Mountain, Greensboro, the Deep River bridge, and Sanford. The entire exhibit is really worthwhile!
Here is a diagram of the layout contained within the exhibit. Click on it for larger image.
My Original Module
My own modeling work has been slow to date given the work on this website and my duties as secretary of the Connecticut Valley Model Railroaders and my work with the Vermont Railway Museum. Still I have managed to finish a "generic" southeastern railroad module that is loosely based on my research into the A&Y. Take a look at some photos of this module by clicking here or on the link in the menu to the left.
