James River Division MER NMRA

Courtesty of Chris Wiley Chesapeake and Ohio Railway’s James River Subdivision in N Scale Researching, searching, and researching this section of the C&O is a big part of what the hobby is all about for me.  Simply put, I am attempting to model parts of the C&O Railway’s James River Subdivision…its scenery, industry, freight traffic, etceteras. The Setting is August 1957 on C&O Railway’s James River Subdivision.  The island style layout is being constructed in a 25 x 26 foot room.  The track plan is based on the prototype – single track mainline with scattered passing sidings, yards, industrial spurs, and a branch line.  And yes, the rails were pretty much laid on top of the canal towpath, aqueducts and culverts built by the canal company in the 1830’s (many of which are still in use by CSX Transportation). The Trains – Prototype operations are the ultimate goal.  The main function of this lin

JRD Meet Summary from February 5th This past Saturday was a very good JRD meet near Zion Crossroads, VA.  The two clinics cleared up the misconception that water is water and paint is paint. Gerard Fitzgerald cleared up the what most modelers assume in relation to what goes into the boiler of a steam locomotive is just water.  Gerard gave the history of how railroads and in particular the C&O began in the 1920s in studying and treating the water that was put in the tender.  With an average of 5 lbs of solids per 1000 gallons it would not take long for impurities to accumulate and impair the efficiency of steam locomotives.  The growth of the treatment plants was in the 1920s which could be as simple as a storage shed and as large as the storage tanks themselves.  Several photos of the different types of treatment plants for both the C&O and the N&W and Gerry gave modeling ideas which may be incorporated into a future how-to model the infrastructure clinic.  The audien

Date: 8 February 2014 Place: Bybee's Road Baptist Church, 4989 Bybee's Church Road, Troy, VA 22974 Directions Take I64 to Zion Crossroads -Exit 136 Take US15 South to US 250 (0.4 miles) Go East (Left Turn) on US 250 Go 1.1 miles and turn right on Bybee Rd (SR 607) Go 1.1 miles and turn right on Bybee Church Rd (SR 613) Church is on the Right in 0.5 miles Enter in either side doors MAP LINK Time: 9 AM to 10 AM - Set up and Sign In 10 AM to Noon - Meeting Noon to 1230 PM - Clean Up Clinic 1: C&O Water in the Steam Era Clinic 2: Weathering with Valejo Paints Contest: Truck Tractor/Trailer with a detailed load Lunch: Bull Session at local restaurant Layout Tours: George Gaige & Len Bozza

Our 2nd layout tour this Saturday will be courtesy of Len Bozza who has a fun Toy Train Layout.  The layout has made the local Fluvanna Review which has both a description and some photos.  We will see this Saturday.   The Meetings Page of the blog has directions and the agenda