Post by ghnsarr67 on Mar 11, 2018 11:41:39 GMT -5
Welcome Feller Train Fellers,
My name is "ol' High-ball" (my friends just call me JD..lol), and I will be your tour guide for this railroading adventure, back in time, to the early years of the railroad in South Texas.
First, a little brief history of the GH&SA....
The GH&SA was the first railroad to reach San Antonio, TX, in 1877. Although technically leased to the S.P. in 1889, it remained independently operated until 1927, when it was leased to the Texas & New Orleans, the main S.P. division in Texas. In 1925, the GH&SA claimed it's last competitor in the area, the San Antonio & Aransas Pass, bringing the total to 6 "victims".
For the history buffs in the crowd, a more extensive history lesson is located here=
www.txtransportationmuseum.org/history-rr-southern-pacific.php
I'll be roughly modeling the San Antonio District of the line, circa 1910-1930, so of course my plan is to use all steam power. 2-6-0, 4-6-0. and 2-8-0 locos were the most common main line loco power, although Lima's 2-10-4 "Texas-type" did make the occasional appearance. One of the landmarks of the GH&SA, and afterwards, the S.P., is the Sunset Depot in downtown San Antonio, built in 1903, and still stands today. In 1996, it went through a thorough reconstruction, and looks now as grand as ever. I plan to give prominence to this landmark , in some fashion, on my layout.
OK, on to the layout.....
I currently have 3 designs I'm developing simultaneously, the first is a mostly double main-line around the perimeter, with an inner loop spur line, formerly the San Antonio & Gulf Shore RR, abandoned in 1964. (many of the old roadbed and bridge supports still remain, near my house). For those keeping track, my room area is 12'8 X 10'6.
The second contains a main that appears doubled, but actually returns back on itself twice, to create 4 trips around to make 1 circuit
and option 3...
I relocated the yard to "center stage", and have the main go through twice, to complete the circuit.
I'll be posting updates as important things happen, other than that, I invite all comments, suggestions, etc. from y'all. As I stated in my Intro when I joined this forum, I haven't even RUN a train since I was about 15-16, let alone built a layout, so I have a lot of catching up to do on the latest tech and build techniques. I'm at least 3 months away from actually having time to start construction, so there's plenty of time for me to "study up".
My name is "ol' High-ball" (my friends just call me JD..lol), and I will be your tour guide for this railroading adventure, back in time, to the early years of the railroad in South Texas.
First, a little brief history of the GH&SA....
The GH&SA was the first railroad to reach San Antonio, TX, in 1877. Although technically leased to the S.P. in 1889, it remained independently operated until 1927, when it was leased to the Texas & New Orleans, the main S.P. division in Texas. In 1925, the GH&SA claimed it's last competitor in the area, the San Antonio & Aransas Pass, bringing the total to 6 "victims".
For the history buffs in the crowd, a more extensive history lesson is located here=
www.txtransportationmuseum.org/history-rr-southern-pacific.php
I'll be roughly modeling the San Antonio District of the line, circa 1910-1930, so of course my plan is to use all steam power. 2-6-0, 4-6-0. and 2-8-0 locos were the most common main line loco power, although Lima's 2-10-4 "Texas-type" did make the occasional appearance. One of the landmarks of the GH&SA, and afterwards, the S.P., is the Sunset Depot in downtown San Antonio, built in 1903, and still stands today. In 1996, it went through a thorough reconstruction, and looks now as grand as ever. I plan to give prominence to this landmark , in some fashion, on my layout.
OK, on to the layout.....
I currently have 3 designs I'm developing simultaneously, the first is a mostly double main-line around the perimeter, with an inner loop spur line, formerly the San Antonio & Gulf Shore RR, abandoned in 1964. (many of the old roadbed and bridge supports still remain, near my house). For those keeping track, my room area is 12'8 X 10'6.
The second contains a main that appears doubled, but actually returns back on itself twice, to create 4 trips around to make 1 circuit
and option 3...
I relocated the yard to "center stage", and have the main go through twice, to complete the circuit.
I'll be posting updates as important things happen, other than that, I invite all comments, suggestions, etc. from y'all. As I stated in my Intro when I joined this forum, I haven't even RUN a train since I was about 15-16, let alone built a layout, so I have a lot of catching up to do on the latest tech and build techniques. I'm at least 3 months away from actually having time to start construction, so there's plenty of time for me to "study up".
