The Piedmont Division
Southern, Norfolk Southern, and Kansas City Southern Railways
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Start small and build well. Plan your small railroad for operation rather than as a race track, and build it with care. You will be amazed at how much fun a small pike can be." |
a brief history of my layout
Ryan Boudreaux Welcome to my model railroad layout web site The Piedmont Division! Or as I like to call it for short, The PD. I am Ryan Boudreaux, and I hope you enjoy viewing these web pages as I continue to update them on the progress of my HO scale model railroad and layout. The train room is located on the 3rd floor of our house, it was an attic converted by the previous owners into a fully built out room with AC and carpet. So there was virtually little room prep needed to get it started. A small window unit AC was installed in the spring of 2006 as it does get a bit warm in the "attic/train room." My original plan of painting the walls above the benchwork levels for the sky effects has been scraped and have opted to plan a hanging fascia section to approximate the museum style window box effect. In addition to installing track lighting to illuminate the upper level deck I will also incorporate lighting behind the upper deck fascia. 
My layout had been in the planning stages for over two years, and is not the original plan as it has evolved over time and many hours of research have proven a plus in the "final" plan. I use 3rd PlanIt track planning software to design the layout plans, and I have been using it for almost 4 years now and find it a useful tool in creating accurate scale drawings. The plans can be rendered in 3D as well; this helps in the creativity and building stages, and is a great guideline when it comes time to actually build out the benchwork, roadbed, track, etc. I also print out the 1:1 drawings and use them as templates when cutting sub-roadbed and laying down roadbed and track, a very helpful tool! While I am currently about 95% completed with the track for the lower deck and the around the walls section leading up to the upper deck I have already decided to re-draw that level. Construction on the upper deck has not been started yet, so I feel it necessary to re-design and re-draw that level again. I have learned more since the initial plan was made, and want to incorporate that into the upper level plan. 
You can review the detailed progress of my layout construction including bill of materials, building progress entries, or other updates that I will post as they occur from the Construction page and also you can view updated images of the same progress on the layout from the images Gallery Intro. Just click the links for a quick diversion. After accessing the Gallery Intro page, click the Main Gallery link to view the photos page. The original photos page was getting too large with over 150 images, therefore it has been expanded to include separate photos in three month increments. Click the link to the main photos page to browse all the separate pages. 
The focus and main attention to detail and progress on the layout at this time is on the Roundhouse Renovations Project. Minor ongoing wiring and electrical updates on the layout will continue, and to see more of the current updates click the link to Roundhouse Renovation Project.
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"No matter what type of model railroad you do, my advice is to start small, take your time
planning your layout, and remember to have fun." |
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New! Wednesday, April 30, 2008 ~ Updated the photo gallery pages again due to extreme long load times, so now each month will contain it's own page of images starting with November 2007 and on. The links to all the photo gallery pages are listed below:
Train GIFS Gone!In case you did'nt notice the little train gifs that were at the top of evey page on the PD site are now gone, you can thank Mr. Tony Hill for that, he sent me an email late Friday evening with the following message: |
I'm curious as to where/from whom you got permission to use Frograil's train gifs on your pages. Please enlighten me.
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No worries, I took care of the matter, the GIFS were getting old and just too busy taking up way too much bandwidth. Something I should have done a long time ago was to remove them from the PD site and Mr. Hill just pushed me to do it sooner. So thanks Mr. Hill from Frog Pond, NC. |
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Tony, |
Rail Fan Reports Saturday, April 12, 2008 ~ While on vacation with the family in Colorado we were driving back from Snow Mountain and Sombrero Stables after a very peaceful sleigh ride with hot cocoa and a campfire. On the drive south through Fraser Valley on Hwy 40 between Tabernash and Fraser, CO I spotted the single main line tracks of the Moffat Route of the old Denver & Rio Grande (D&RG) and there she was, a unit coal consist with 2 lead prime movers, 2 in the middle and 1 on the end. While continuing to drive I instructed Benjamin to get my Canon Digital Rebel from the Jansport backpack and start shooting some photos. He took just over 22 of them and I have posted them all in the April 2008 page for your viewing pleasure. I have also added about 20 of them to the Blog header rotation in a cropped format. For a map view of the area see the Denver & Rio Grande web page.  December 8, 2007 ~ Added some images from a short rail fan outing on the CSX line in Wake Forest, this is a preview of the rail and flange lube device (click image at left to enlarge). You can view all five of the images of the rail and flange greaser in addition to the layout progress photos on the December 2007 page. |
Layout Progress Reports ![Manual Ground Throw](http://piedmontdivision.rymocs.com/images/ManThrow_042508_01.jpg") New! April 25, 2008 ~ Scenery was added to the engine terminal servicing facility area with the application of the scenery base wash paint and then allowed to dry. Then various colors and textures of ground foam were added to the slope and ridge behind the roundhouse, in the middle of the wye and other areas around the tracks and structures. Also added a new manual ground throw to the wye switch leading to the turntable. To see more images from this stage of the project go to the April 2008 photo gallary page.  New! April 18, 2008 ~ The TGX HO boxcar was sighted arriving on the inbound tracks of the classification yard near Asheville, NC on the Piedmont Division. Looks like the NS PD Police done found some foamers on the line and was caught tresspassing. They let em go, but found this video in their confiscated video TGX arrived on the inbound tracks of the classification yard, then the Southern H16-44 made its backing move to pull a cut to the freight yard. Then the TGX boxcar was seen passing through the town of Asheville on the PD, and then spoted making the backing move into the stub end freight yard. The TGX boxcar was spotted at the Packen Inshipun storage facility where the PI must have been unloading some really important papers. And then NSPD found some more videos from the confiscated foamers video camera, and another video. To view the 2Guyz and Sum trains post that tells you all about the whole TGX boxcar tour, check out the thread 2 guyz BOXCARS WORLD TOUR web site.
 
Friday, March 28, 2008 ~ Worked on the Allied Rail Rebuilders kit and the lift out section. Started with adding some gray latex caulk onto the wall brick sections and then started framing up the walls on the kit foundation base. Then added the roof sections without attaching them for lift out opportunities to view interior details. Also worked on the lift out section by adding styrene sheet for foundations, fuel and oil tank pads and roadways. Read more...   Sunday, March 23, 2008 ~ Worked on the backdrop extension for the area behind the freight / staging yard to accommodate continued progress with the backdrop structures. For more on this progress check out the Backdrop Work Continues blog post. Also worked on the Walther's Kit Allied Rail Rebuilders, and you can read more on that progress from that link to the blog post. Friday, March 14, 2008 ~ Built the Walther's Background Structure kit (seen in the left photo) and will call it a Cold Storage facility, I just need to come up with a fictional business name for the industry and then create a decal or sign to attach to the top section. The location shown in the photograph is not the actual location that the background structure will stay. The door bellows on the left side are too wide for rolling stock to pass, therefore the structure will be re-located about 5 feet to the right of the location shown in the photograph. I can modify the clearance distance of the structure at this location, however, the backdrop must be set up and painted first.   I also unboxed a set of old city scene structures from the childhood layout of the 1970's. These are structure kits that I built when I was in my teenage years and have survived 6 moves and 35+ years of being boxed up, they look well for having aged so many years.  March 6, 2008 ~ Started work on some background structures and the backdrop on and also added some new clouds using a new cloud template and my air brush. Using some images from the Internet I was able to size and print them on glossy photo paper and then attached them to 1/4" thick foam core using 3M spray adhesive. I attached the "Dixie Machine Welding and Metal Works, Inc." structure backdrop to the background just behind the roundhouse. I also made a structure backdrop of an old Domino Sugar facility that was taken from an image I found on the Internet. Check out all the images of my latest work on the March 2008 page.  February 8 & 11, 2008 ~ Swing Gate Tutorial - Part II At the request of quite a few PD fans I have been updating the Building a Swing Gate an alternative to a duckunder - Part II tutorial and it has been posted. This installment covers installing the cork roadbed, applying, cutting, smoothing and wiring the track. Then I review the scenery and ballasting applications on the swing gate. The only work in progress (WIP) left for this project is the weathering of the track and scenery.
 Delivery of fabricated corrugated metal roofing material arrives at the PD! After much research and thought the decision was made to go with a metal corrugated roofing on the roundhouse, and a very economical source of material was found at Michael's Arts and Crafts store. Using corrugated paper card stock to create the 4'X12' HO scale sheets, you can view the mini-clinic at the Roundhouse Renovations page.  January 21, 2008 ~ Progress on the layout for a five day straight push with just over 14 hours logged between Thursday, January 17 and Monday, January 21. Including scenery base, "zip texturing" a la Joe Fugate, scenery earth tone washes, ballasting the swing gate and main line tracks, and added a gravel road. Also started the tree production using two methods with various dried floral material, poly fil, and ground scenery foam of various colors and grinds. This is Ben at work on the tree production line, utilizing the dry floral material coated with hair spray and then rolled in a special blend of ground cover foam material mixture.  Sunday, January 13, 2008 ~The scenery applications are continued on the layout, see the January 2008 for more images.
 Friday to Sunday, Jan. 3 - 6, 2008 ~ Worked on the railroad and added some more scenery base to the layout roundhouse and passenger areas as well as the main line and control panel area. Also started weathering and detailing for the roundhouse project.
Ryan's Wish ListSome of
my family folks have requested that I put together a wish list
of items that I would like for the layout. Walthers
Model Railroad Mall Online has a wish list available and I have
had one in my name since 2004. To order any these items at a 20% discount you can call Mr. Kim Parker (919 562-4378) at Train Buddy and just give him the item number. He will be happy to place the order through his Walthers Retailer account and can save you a lot of money and time in the process.
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2Guyz and Sum Trains
The Piedmont Division web site was selected as the "Web
site of the week" December 27, 2007 on
2guyz and sum trains
web site!
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The PrototypeThe track plan is not based on any prototype track arrangements per se, but has it's roots in typical prototype operations using a lot of selective compression. After reading many articles, books, and forum posts and threads I have devised the plans below with much influence from the designing for realistic operations angle. |
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As stated earlier, this plan has been in the works for over two years, having originally created a plan based on local operations in the New Orleans, LA and south Louisiana area that included many features and operations that I have chosen to omit on the current plan. Having relocated to the Raleigh, North Carolina area in January 2006, mainly due to Hurricane Katrina, I have had to be a bit more creative in my overall operations plan since there are no Kansas City Southern (KCS) tracks near this area. |
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I have chose to keep the Southern and Norfolk Southern (NS) railroads as the main feature for operations on this layout, as there are many NS lines currently in use in this area. CSX is also a major player here, but at this time I have not considered it for inclusion. I will keep the KCS as a through freight and off site running only for added operation session interest. I will also have Amtrak passenger traffic moving between two stations as well there will be simulated off site activity. I will also have KCS and Southern passenger traffic mixed into different operating sessions. The Era ~ The complete merger of the Norfolk Southern from paper signing to complete conversion took about 8 years; Norfolk Southern Corp. was created as a new holding company to acquire Norfolk & Western Railway and Southern Railway, effected June 1, 1982. Full merger effected was on Dec. 31, 1990, as N&W became a subsidiary of Southern, and Southern changed its name to Norfolk Southern Railway. So you could say I model that 8+ year time frame from 1982 to 1990. I also have to think that once the complete merger was effected in 1990 all the Southern and N&W equipment did not disappear or change paint schemes overnight. Heck, I still see some Southern and N&W rolling stock on NS consists here in North Carolina today. So in closing, I model the Piedmont Division of the Southern and Norfolk Southern on November 2, 1988......plus or minus 20 years, heh! Specifically I model the time period from 1982 to present day considering a little history of the merger era of the Southern Railway and Norfolk and Western that formed the modern day Norfolk Southern that I mentioned above. The way I have come to justify how I run my railroad as far as era is concerned has been distilled in my North American Freight Cars ~ A report on the prototype blog post dated January 11, 2008, and is based on an article I found in the September 2007 issue of the Railway Age periodical.
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Norfolk SouthernI am researching the Norfolk Southern track arrangements in the Piedmont Division with a very nice acquisition of NS track charts dated 2003, with thanks to Robbman from the TrainBoard.com forum. 
Track Chart Sample - PDF Click on the sample to the right, it is of page 1 from the Piedmont Division Danville District Greensboro-Cary track chart, and this page exhibits mile markers H0 through H5. The entire chart renders trackage rights from Greensboro, NC to Raleigh, NC to Cary, NC. This particular track chart features the H-Line and covers a total distance of 130 miles of NS trackage rights. The complete track chart for this section of the Piedmont Division is 28 pages, and by comparison the entire Piedmont Division encompasses a total of 53 track charts. Each track chart contains documentation for seven main elements that relate to the placement of the track as it traverses each mile as represented on the chart. The elements include: |
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So why is this information so important? If you are really interested the nitty gritty in-depth information on the Piedmont Division of the Norfolk Southern, click In search of the prototype - a basis for modeling! a blog post dated November 16th, 2007 and follow along the tracks with me.
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VideosPlease see my Piedmont Division You Tube account to view the latest videos of the layout and rail fanning. http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=PiedmontDivision This video of the Southern #6133 FP-7 cab ride has over 27,000 views and is a favorite of many.
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The PlanAdded new track plan images of the Lower Deck and a new Loop! "The Plan" has been a work in progress and it continues to evolve, as I am sure it will even as the track is being put down. The latest updated versions are represented below in the lower deck and upper deck images. There is also a 3-D view of the lower deck, and all of these are produced from 3rd PlanIt Track Planning Software. |
Lower Deck 
Upper Deck |
3-D View Facing South 
Double Crossover |
3-D View Facing North 
Staging Yard and RHTT Area 3D View |
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After much consideration and thought I have developed a plan to add a main line loop (see image above) from the west end lead track of the classification yard to the double track main line. This design eliminates the need for extra moves and allows freight consists and through passenger traffic to enter the main without having to back up first. The interesting aspect about this design is that the loop will run over the stairs area and will be mostly a hidden area from the main layout scene. |
Lumber and Steel Industry 3D View |
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InfluenceI would like to point out many of the positive influences that have assisted me in creating the current incarnation of my model railroad layout. They are listed in chronological order. 
My grandfather, Mafflin Christoffel (1917-1990) who first introduced me to HO scale model railroading when I was just a little tike coming down the pike. He modeled his layout in the 1950's and early 1960's after the Rock Island railroad with pulpwood operations centered around
a prototype that he and his father ran. He owned the Pioneer Timber Company in Pineville, Louisiana and provided pulpwood to local paper mills in My parents, Joe and Martha Boudreaux, who gave me an HO scale railroad, set for Christmas one year in my pre-teen days. It was the carpet floor model, but my dad soon recognized that it needed to be lifted up and soon I assisted him with my first real layout back in the 1970's.
It was a 4X8 plywood express in the shed and then we added another 4X8 attached to the first with 2X2 sheets of plywood and the control panels in the middle. We had a lift up bridge and it was mostly just running trains around, with little switching. This layout was dismantled after I moved out of the house and attended college at LSU in Model Railroader Magazine and the many Kalambach books that I have read over the years. All the Model Railroader Forum members who unselfishly give of their time and knowledge to impart skill and techniques to building improved layouts, models, operations, designs, and camaraderie. All the Model Railroader Forum members that frequent the Coffee Shop (a place to talk) since 2004. They are all a great group and give great support to all who enter. A toast to them all. "Cheers!" Last but not least I want to thank my wife Monique and my son Benjamin from whom I get my current inspiration, energy, fuel, and support to continue in this hobby. Without the blessings from the CFO this project would not get off the ground.
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Railway Logos
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Updates to the site
April 30, 2008
Click the Updates button from the menu above to view all archived updates! |
Links to other pages
Train Buddy Train Shop - My all time favorite train shop!
Other sites that I maintain
Cajun Chef Ryan My culinary site
RYMOCS My side business
My Healthy Weight and BMI Tracker
