A small contest

[Anonymous]

Attention all creative people:

I'm modeling an imaginary 1870's town on my layout called "Woodridge." It's on the Mississippi, so of course I built a big wood paddlewheel boat to make the scene complete.

The thing is, summer vacation has taken its toll on my High School brain, and I need an idea for a logical industry to link the railroad and the riverboat together.

The allotted space for industry, boat, and river: Approx. 3' x 4'
Boat length: 26"
Track height over plywood base: 3"

If I like your idea best, I'll build it with you as its namesake. I. E: Smith Enterprises; Fracis P. McGillicudy and Co...

Thanks for your help!

[Anonymous]

I am certainly no expert on that timeframe or geography, but it seems to me that a lot of upstream paddelwheeler freight would have consisted (obviously) of dry goods, tools, horse drawn implements, etc. A tour of some of the "discovered" steamboat wreck museums (ie that steamship Arabia near Kansas City, MO) might be order.

For downstream freight, I would suggest timber/logging products, and a substantial amount of fur trade items. I believe hides were hauled to tanners/furriers in the south and east. It could be possible that some of the hide processing took place in the river towns also. Additional items could be minerals such as granite, limestone, or chalk.

As for naming it after me, a small store for the Whitefoot Boot Co. to sell fine leather footwear would be just great!

Best of luck!

[Anonymous]

Another late thought - Tobbaco or Cotton could also have been downstream freight on the riverboats.

[Anonymous]

Although you did not say how far down the Mississippi you were modeling, if it is in the south you can ship cotton to the north.

[Anonymous]

What about a passenger station to transfer passengers to/from the railroad and steamboat.

[Anonymous]

You should have a ferry operation. The railroad supplies the things needed to be transported and it is carried by the boat to be distrubuted by horse drawn wagons up or down the river. You could have passengers that would be transported to so you could have a combination of a passenger and freight depot.

[Anonymous]

it could also work vice-versa.

[Anonymous]

Historically, water traffic moved south from the Great Lakes so anything shipped from that region would come down the Big M. Furs, Finished goods from Chicago, maybe iron ore but I doubt this ever traveled on steamboats. Also, traffic comming down the Missouri River headed for the East would stop at the first railhead and unload. This would include grain, meat or other farm products.

I would locate three industries there at the warf. First, a warehouse with tracks to one side loading dock and another loading dock for wagons with a pier for unloading river barges and boats. Near this location, I would locate a hotel and a saloon for the riverboat travelers. This could be owned by the railroad or could be a private enterprise. Within the town, a general store would sell some of the goods to locals but this would not be located near the RR R/W. Also, the town could be implied by a road headed up a slope with a few small structures along the way. This would reduce the amount of space allocated to the town and give you more room for the mainline.

Since early RR traveled mostly E-W in these days, I wouldn't have the tracks follow the river very far. As a matter of fact, a spur track, with possibly a switchback, would be quite appropriate. If you have a yard in the vicinity, this could be handled as a yard movement by the switching crew. Otherwise, a local will service it now and then depending on the level of river traffic.

Post me back if you need a name for this industry.

Good Luck - Ed

[Anonymous]

Thanks, Ed, those are just the kind of ideas I needed. The tracks actually travel at a 45* angle to the river, then gently curve away, which would leave a fair amount of space for a warehouse and a spur to serve it.

But, another problem arises: Do you know a place to find good plans (or kits) for 1800's structures?

[Anonymous]

At first, I liked your idea for the leather boots, but it seemed too small for a whole business.

But I kept turning it over in my mind, and it just sounded too good to dismiss, so I am going to reletter a handful of my horse-drawn delivery carts as Whitefoot Boot Co.'s; a veritable convoy of 1-horsepower wagons lumbering down Main Street.

I guess it just follows the old colloquialism:
" If the shoe company fits, build it!"

Thanks,
Puzzmaster

[Anonymous]

There are a couple awesome kits advertised in MR once in a while of old wooden factory/warehouse looking buildings but they are laser cut craftsman kits with the price to go with it. If price is an issue (it is with me) then I would look through MR to find the pictures and then buy some clapboard plastic and scratchbuild one. If you like, I will send you a sketch(s) of what I would do. I don't have any plans but I can give you an idea of what it could look like. Post your address or e-mail and I will get in touch with you.

Good Luck - Ed

[Anonymous]

On the time frame you are modeling some of the idtems you might think about from the deep south are cotton, lumber and turpintine (sp) which would all look good on the deck of a river boat another thing you might think about is sending federal troops home after the war. good luck

[Anonymous]

Yes, I've seen the Craftsman kits, and one wonders if one could instead spend one's money on developing a molecule restructuring shrink-ray that could shrink the real thing down to 1/87th scale...

But I would really like to see your sketches. I'm lucky enough to have access to Auto CAD through my school, so I could transfer it onto a blueprint. My e-mail is [e-mail]

Thanks
puzzmaster

[Anonymous]

Ed?

[e-mail]
~puzzmaster

[Anonymous]

Puzzmaster,

Sorry, I should have sent you an e-mail by now. I am working on a 'Site Plan' for this industry and then I will sketch out some building plans. I am not using a prototype but rather some educated guesses based on my real life experience and my model railroading experience.

The concept involves an inclined dock with a floating dock alongside. Ramps, spaced at 40 feet, connect the floating dock to the inclined dock. A cut of 40 ft box cars are spotted on the inclined dock. Loads are placed on the floating dock in anticipation of the arrival of a steamboat and the boxcars are loaded directly from the boat. A two story building sits next to the dock. This building was built 'before' the railroad came along and had a small dock out into the river. When the railroad came along, they built the inclined dock in a community agreement with the railroad. The building's first story is built of masonry for the first story since it is half burried in the riverbank. The upper story is built of wood. I'll be in touch. - Ed