The above photo is my hometown, Branchdale a little bump on the road along PA Rt209. At the top of the picture is the coal train leaving town. The picture was taken from atop a coal refuse bank, one of many that totally surrounded the town. The train tracks went right through people’s back yards! No fences or other barriers to keep the train from running over pets or even people. We survived somehow but a few slow moving critters weren’t as lucky.
So for today, here’s a rough layout I have in mind. The coal loader is really meant for steam trains but I could work for what I want to do. The CAT mine truck has real coal from the area near my hometown. My son gather it years ago for his HO layout. The CAT excavator in the picture is today’s purchase at the farm toy store. It’s close to N scale and is only $4.99 plus tax. A real bargain in the world of N scale. The two brownish Pennsylvania hopper cars are used ones from eBay that arrived yesterday. I need to create some hills and bumps on the layout to give it some 3D effects. I’m still rather new at this stuff so inspiration comes slowly 😀. Almost forgot to mention, the little shed with the reddish door is my scratch build. I used a craft stick that looks like tongue depressor as the wood source. A bagful of them for $1.99 at the hardware store!
