[Nickboy90]

Hey everyone, Just dropping in to show off some screenshots of my latest creation (and my first route for MSTS), the Bay Fork Lines. The Bay Fork Lines is a fictional route based along the shore of Lake Erie. Most of the action is divvied up between the standard gauge Bay Fork & Northeastern (interchanges with PRR) and the narrow-gauge Sulfur Creek & Western. Here are a bunch of screenshots showing what I've done so far. I'm going to post the Technical aspects of the line, I'll let my partner in crime, Mr. Thomas J. Pearce, tell you the history of the line (it was his brainchild, he started the route, I just took over when he quit!)



First picture shows the lakeside storage facility for the Hovey Refining Co., one of the larger shippers on the BF&NE. Just to the right of the facility is the NYC, with the NKP running beside it.



I like to call this area "Bay Forksonia", just because it reminded me of Orbisonia, PA once I was finished. Engine terminal and shops for the BF&NE.



Depot at Bay Fork, not used much anymore, passenger service slacked off after the war. Any passengers moved now are handled by the EMC motorcar and trailer coach.



BFL coal dock, looking North. NKP/NYC lines underneath, Erie to the right, Ohio to the left.



Next customer on the BF&NE, Kyle's Coal Dealership, located on a spur east of the main.



Next station on the BF&NE's passenger timetable is Mike's Landing. Here the BF&NE does some street running, causing quite a bit of congestion on Sunday mornings before church...



End of street running... I think that car broke down right there..... ;-)



At this point, the BF&NE has a cutoff that eliminates the towns of Sulfur Creek (thank God!), Kyle, and Coal Hill. It drops off to the left. A cement plant is located off the spur to the right beyond the water column (TDB line is visible)



Next Stop, Sulfur Creek....... Welcome home?



Sulfur Creek Depot.... Needless to say a single train hasn't stopped here since the fire started in a coal seam below the town... Now all the houses and shops are boarded up, and the streets have started to cave in... Surrounding geographics prevent the BF&NE from building around the town, so trains continue to pass through, albeit with a speed restriction.



After Sulfur Creek there's a bit of a grade, then the BF&NE crosses the Mike Laxer High Bridge. It may not look high above the surface of the water, but trust me, that's a deep hole it crosses! It's rumored that during the construction of the line, a small locomotive owned by the contractor derailed on the shoddy temporary trackwork thrown down while grading was completed, and fell off of the temporary bridge. Records from the construction of the current bridge (built 1933) mention a crew having to cut part of a large steel object on the bottom of the lake to make room for the central pier, although no further information is given.



On the other side of the High Bridge, State Highway 33 crosses the BF&NE right-of-way on a concrete overpass. Kyle's main streets slope down from this on an inclined bridge (under construction in this pic.)



Shared BF&NE/SC&W depot at Kyle, PA. BF&NE trackage runs through the center of town to the left, SC&W runs down from the top of the mountain to the right of the depot.



Shared freight house at Kyle. BF&NE siding runs to the right, SC&W mainline to the left.



South of Kyle, the BF&NE faced another problem. A drinking water reservoir surrounded by hard rock mountains stood in the way of the BF&NE's interchange with the Pennsylvania Railroad. After much deliberation with city officials, the BF&NE was finally granted the right to build a bridge over the reservoir.



Directly after the Kyle Bridge, the BF&NE ducks into a curved tunnel through the hard rock.



On the other side of that tunnel, a spur drops steeply to the left down to a small interchange yard with the PRR at Coal Hill, PA.



First BF&NE bridge over the PRR line from Buffalo, NY to Crestline, OH



Above the town of Coal Hill, the BF&NE services two coal mines, this is T. W. Muir Coal Co. Mine #1.



T. W. Muir Mine #2 from high bridge over branch line.



The branch line to T.W. Muir Mine #2. The main line of the BF&NE drops down off the mountain from the left, continues on behind the camera. Branch to Mine #2 drops down to right.



Bridge from which picture of T. W. Muir Mine #2 was taken, carries BF&NE main over valley. Almost reminds ya of Pittsburgh, eh?



This panoramic shot shows the plain that the town of Coal Hill will occupy. In the background is the BF&NE/PRR interchange yard, a large strip mine is off to the right waay over in the back.



Second BF&NE bridge over the PRR Buffalo/Crestline main.



As you may or may not have figured out, the BF&NE could never do things the easy way... On the other side of the second overpass, the line drops down into an area known by crews as "The Cut".



T.W. Muir Coal Co. had a Mine #3 below "The Cut", but a cave-in in the late 30's forced the closure of the site. Some say the cave-in was caused when the Pennsylvania Railroad moved its S1 6-4-4-6 Duplex West to Crestline. With that single locomotive weighing in at 608,170 lbs., I wouldn't be surprised!



At this point, after ducking under the PRR, the Kyle Cutoff returns to the BF&NE main. Currently the End of Track is about fifty feet behind me.

Stay tuned for the next installment of screenshots, The Sulfur Creek & Western... Bazza, you'll be drooling over this one...... :birthday:

This post has been edited by Nickboy90: 23 July 2008 - 06:32 PM

[timmuir]

Looks like the makings of a great route. I really like the area where Highway 33 crosses the BF&NE right-of-way on a concrete overpass, with the two roads to Kyle intersecting there on the bridge. Mind if I use something similar on the Pacific Electric? It's a great scenic "implement".

And, T.W.Muir Coal Co.? When can I look for those dividends coming in? :birthday:

Keep us posted, Nick. Thanks for sharing.

[TVRRMAN]

timmuir, on Jul 23 2008, 07:09 PM, said:

Looks like the makings of a great route. I really like the area where Highway 33 crosses the BF&NE right-of-way on a concrete overpass, with the two roads to Kyle intersecting there on the bridge. Mind if I use something similar on the Pacific Electric? It's a great scenic "implement".

And, T.W.Muir Coal Co.? When can I look for those dividends coming in? :party:

Keep us posted, Nick. Thanks for sharing.

Hey Tim,

Actually, Both, Nick and I have been dabbling with this as a small route project. The Highway overpass idea was something I passed off to him after seeing a few layouts in Model Railroader where similar ways of calling attention away, we utilized. Therefore, ir shouldn't be a big deal about reusing the technique.

On the Dividends, I thought we mailed last weeks Dividends to ya by mail. It might still be stuck in the baggage section of the BF&NE's EMC Doodlebug. I'll have a look tomorrow at "First light" and see if they're in there and make sure they get to you. :birthday:

The Bay Fork Lines (AKA the BF&NE) is a very small shortline, owning two 4-6-0's, a 2-8-0 (Dead by 1945), a 2-10-0 "Russian" Decapod, EMC Gas Electric and Trailer, and two Center Cupola cabin cars, one more battered than the other... By 1955, The BF&NE was trying avidly to dieselize, and had already picked up a Pair of GP7's. On the property by that point were also an FM H16-44, and two H10-44's.

[rfranzosa]

Thomas & Nick,

EXCELLENT work, I'm really looking forward to this one!

RGF

[Nickboy90]

rfranzosa, on Jul 24 2008, 10:24 AM, said:

Thomas & Nick,

EXCELLENT work, I'm really looking forward to this one!

RGF

Well Rick, here's some shots to whet your appetite...

I was looking through a box of photos I found under my bed, and these were all in it. Looks like Bay Fork & Northeastern 4-6-0 #3 with a Local at Kyle.



#3 with a string of United Refining Co. tank cars, a few cement hoppers, a Pennsylvania Railroad flatcar, and the better of the two hacks on the rear, crossing the Mike Laxer High Bridge.



Setting out the tanks at the Kyle Packaging Plant of the Hovey Refining Co. Look carefully in the jungle to the left behind the fence.....notice anything odd???



Shot taken from the Rack, #3 pulling away (I almost caused a wreck here, damn near forgot to flip the derail away!)



#3 departing Kyle's siding with the remainder of the train.

How's that look so far? Any ideas on what to do next, things I should add, etc. are welcomed! I'll be posting roster shots of the equipment later today, as well as shots of the NG Sulfur Creek & Western... Here's a hint, combine the EBT with a little bit of mountain railroading, mix in a large sand pit and a long tunnel.... :birthday:

[Nickboy90]

Here's some more shots of equipment...



BF&NE 2-10-0 #12 running light down Carbon Street, downtown Mike's Landing, PA, back to Bay Fork from a T.W. Muir empties drag from the docks back to mine 2.



Approaching Depot Street crossing and the BF&NE depot. #12 really makes a show coming through town with loaded trains... The BF&NE has had to replace broken windows and soiled laundry on more than one occasion...



Passing the Depot. I just love a good beaten-up Russian Decapod... :birthday:



#12's crew showing her off at the trestle at Kyle's Coal Dealership... Boys, I don't think that trestle was designed to take that much weight at one spot!!!



BF&NE's two GP-7's pushing a coal drag up to the dock.



A fisherman friend of mine caught this shot.



The EMC on the bridge over the Kyle Water Authority's reservoir before the tunnel.



4-6-0 #4 has just finished loading the carfloat bound for Port Stanley, ON. At one time, a steam carferry made the rounds, but a wreck finished her off.. You can see her grounded in the shallows at the end of the breakwater....(thanks, Wayne!)

Let me know what you think...

[Chile Bill]

This looks like another masterpiece in the making. Your work is looking great. :birthday:

That watertop texture is really nice

[Nickboy90]

Chile Bill, on Jul 25 2008, 03:18 AM, said:

This looks like another masterpiece in the making. Your work is looking great. :birthday:

That watertop texture is really nice

Thanks, Bill! I have no idea where the water tex came from, ask Tom. I would like to take the time now to introduce the Sulfur Creek & Western Railroad. The SC&W is a narrow-gauge coal-hauler that runs parallel to the BF&NE, but with much steeper grades and some other quirky features. We'll begin our tour of the SC&W at Kyle, PA.



SC&W 195 resting at Kyle.



Another shot.



If we head north from Kyle, the first thing you'll encounter is Snake's Back Trestle. The engineers of the SC&W weren't the brightest headlights in the shed, so they decided to build from each end of the line at the same time. This proved fine, until they reached Kyle. Those working from the North had laid out a yard and engine facility on top of the mountain, and those working from the South built Kyle's first SC&W depot (burned down 1925). The lines were within a mile of being able to connect, but a large steep hill stood in their way. Because a row of commercial buildings immediately adjacent to the ROW prevented a fill from being built, the engineers built a long curved trestle on a grade to create a solution.



South end of the Kyle yard, showing turntable.



North end of Kyle Yard, showing State Highway 33 crossing. BF&NE tracks are 500 yards or so to the right, where the overpass is.



After crossing 33, the SC&W grade starts to go downhill. This shot (old, before I updated the bridge and some track textures, using E.B.T. equipment for stand-ins) shows the SC&W's bridge over the BF&NE. The Mike Laxer High Bridge is just on the other side of the SC&W bridge.



At this point, the original grade of the SC&W continues to the right after making a switchback (one of many) to get downhill. The grade from Kyle comes in from the left. To the center going off into the distance is the newly-built (as in last night! :party: ) Low-Grade Cutoff. It's not really finished yet, so we'll go down the switchbacks. The low-grade crosses Pearce Creek four times!



Here's an aerial shot. The BF&NE crosses the High Bridge and curves gradually down to Sulfur Creek. The SC&W crosses the BF&NE, then the low-grade goes off to the left, the switchbacks go through the middle.

Below that (of course) is the abandoned town of Sulfur Creek showcased before.



On the other side of Kyle, heading South on the line, the right-of-way makes a 270-degree loop and burrows under the town of Kyle with a tunnel.

On the other side, there's a large sand pit owned by Pearce Mining Co. I'll post pics later. Right now I gotta run to Sheffield, PA, and be in the Fireman's festival parade for the Sheffield Depot Preservation Society. We've got a Fairmont A6 we restored from the ground up, and I've got a Crane 125 steam whistle mounted to an air tank... We're gonna make some noise...... :party:

[timmuir]

Wow, there's some good railroad'n going on there! I really like the car float scene with the tug, and the required Pennsy X-29 on board. Sorry to see the sunken ferry in the background, but a great element. You have a good sense for creating vignettes which always makes a route come alive.

By the way, the De Soto dealership is doing quite well! :birthday:

Tim

[Genma Saotome]

Hey, now that looks interesting. Those coal docks are big!

A question: why didn't you use Scalerail?

I'm always curious when I see somebody working on a new route and I see they're using xtracks.