Whatever happened to the great Coal Belt RR of Bill Henderson? A really well done layout in HO scale that was quite frequently published a long time ago.
oldline1
I do believe he past on. But was never able to confirm that. I do remember all those publications and the videos.
SHane
A pessimist sees a dark tunnel
An optimist sees the light at the end of the tunnel
A realist sees a frieght train
An engineer sees three idiots standing on the tracks stairing blankly in space
The last I heard he had torn down the Coal Belt and was starting a new layout in On30. That was a decade ago.
Dave Nelson
There are tons of videos and images out there. I just Googled Bill Hnederson's Coal Belt Railroad. Lots of stuff out there.
Maybe from all of the links and threads, you can find out what the lastest is.
Here's a long video I found, from operations to making stuff, like trees.
It's called Vol. #19, so there must be a bunch of stuff out there!
Mike.
My You Tube
Thank you for the video reference!
Bill is one of my mrr heros, as his Coal Belt layout is exactly what I aspire to model - NE PA, anthracite coal region, early 1900's, and, of course... camelback locomotives. Living in the Seattle area at the time, I studied his MR articles (8/88, 8/98, 8/99 & 7/04) intently.
Then a few years later, we moved to the Tupelo, MS area, and I was in full throttle starting the room preparation and basic benchwork for my layout when I learned the Coal Belt was no more. I don't recall any details provided.
And then I was reminded that Bill was from Florence, AL.... about a 45 minute drive from Tupelo... and I never got to visit his layout.
Jim
Found this on thread from 2007 about dimise of Coal Belt but get "FORBIDDEN" error if I try to include link to that thread.
"
dknelson wrote: Until I saw the ad for the Allen Keller video on fallen flag model railroads that mentioned the wonderful Coal Belt (Keller's website also mentions this: http://www.allenkeller.com/fallen_flags.htm , I don't recall reading that the railroad had been torn down. Did I miss something in MR? Is Bill Henderson OK? Is he starting over? Dave Nelson
Until I saw the ad for the Allen Keller video on fallen flag model railroads that mentioned the wonderful Coal Belt (Keller's website also mentions this:
http://www.allenkeller.com/fallen_flags.htm
, I don't recall reading that the railroad had been torn down. Did I miss something in MR? Is Bill Henderson OK? Is he starting over?
Bill is fine. He has torn down the HO Coal Belt and is starting anew with On30. Talked with a friend who is in the group with Bill, and Bill is looking to retire from his career soon.
We should then be hearing a lot more from him at that time.
Our local culb several years ago, spent part of the day at Bill's house and others in the Florence/Muscle Shoals area, and his layout was a joy to see.
What a lot of folks don't know, from viewing the pix of the Coal Belt, is that his plan was a simple double oval, with yards and sidings. It was very small, compared to most layouts seen in Keller's Videos.
Carey"
I tried to sell my two cents worth, but no one would give me a plug nickel for it.
I don't have a leg to stand on.
It is sad to hear of great layouts being dismantled etc.
Here in the UK not only are some of the real engines being preserved, now some more famous model layouts are being looked after by new owners.
David
To the world you are someone. To someone you are the world
I cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought
Has anybody sceen the new layout?Shane
Found nothing about On30 layout.
Coal Belt video said he was musician and lived in Florance AL
Found obituary Bill Henderson Florence AL died Oct 7, 2015
https://www.timesdaily.com/obituaries/william-r-henderson-jr/article_35b60e41-94e0-508a-b06c-5d6b38c611ee.html
"talented musician, a very skilled guitar player, bass player and banjo player, truck driver, model railroader, traveler, freelance writer, and avid reader. "
Unfortunately, I believe that is his obituary. In the Great Model Railroads video, the credits music is Bill playing banjo.
I liked the detail of his layout, and that it wasn't a gigantic layout - it was a 8' by 20' over-under twice around. I also enjoyed how he got trains to run eastbound and westbound at the same time on his DC layout...he said many folks thought he had done some super-technical electronics work, but really just wired up some of his engines 'backwards'.
https://mrr.trains.com/how-to/track-plan-database/2007/09/coal-belt
wjstix I also enjoyed how he got trains to run eastbound and westbound at the same time on his DC layout...
I also enjoyed how he got trains to run eastbound and westbound at the same time on his DC layout...
In the UK it is easy to do. Simply wire the layout in sections to two or more controllers. The trains pass at passing places. I am sure it is also done in the USA.