Pine Branch Park Redux

 ...or, back on track, again.

It is that time when I reflect on the accomplishments of the current year and look to the goals of the next.  However this moment, this time around, feels oddly familiar.  It occurred to me that I've been here before, in a way.  Let me explain.

Back in 2018 when I started building my current railroad I wrote the blog post, "Pine Branch Park" (click the link to read the post).  In that post I discussed the name itself and showed a revised plan laying out the track, street and structures, but the bulk of the remainder was devoted to a sort-of inspiration I found in a series of articles in Model Railroader back in 1991, "Just for Beginners".  

In that seminal series the MR staff and contributors built the Cripple Creek Central.  I was inspired not only by the railroad itself, but more so by the progressive, sequential way in which they constructed it.  So often these project railroads begin with that glamour shot of the finished road and the declaration that you too can build this!  But not the Cripple Creek.  No, this was an evolving, changing project, altered by the whims of its creators and guided by the shape of the thing itself as it grew.  

I like planning, but I also like that evolutionary approach.  The dioramas I've built over the last two years are proof of that.  So too the Pine Branch Park model railroad.  The layout is bound to change as new ideas come along and new ideas come along as the layout changes.  New vistas open up for possibilities unseen before that moment.

In 2018 I speculated that I could complete this railroad in two years.  Five years later and it looks much as it did in 2019 - bare soundboard with mostly ballasted track, well edged for a clean presentation, and some cork strips in place where the paved roads will go.  But I still believe it can be completed in two years.  Not as some deadline hanging over my head but as a matter of consequence from continual effort (fun) spent bringing that world to life.

We all know what came along in 2019 (yes, public acknowledgement didn't really come along until 2020 but the virus was called COVID-19 for a reason).  And personally that was a challenging time - a challenge which I met and overcame thanks to the support of my family.  The death of my father in 2020 followed by helping my mother move in 2021 and then again in 2022 now feels like a rapid succession of events in hindsight.  

But while the work on the layout stagnated, model making did not.  In fact, the first NMRBO diorama I built included structures which will soon find their homes on the Pine Branch Park layout.  Building those dioramas in the midst of a major transition was instructive.  It reminded me just how much I love building highly detailed scenes that tell a story.  

So that's what I'm going to do, and that's what this blog will focus on.  Reviewing this blog itself reminded me of the importance of one aspect of "blogging", that is, keeping a web log as an archive.  So if for no other reason than that I will keep sharing my progress though perhaps not as frequently.  I've kicked around the idea of making videos but my hobby time - as generous as it is - is still somewhat limited, and editing takes up far more time than the model making itself.

But I'm not complaining.  I'm caught in the middle between caring for teens and a parent with some health concerns, but I'm surrounded by a wonderful family.  I've got a long list of honey-do home improvements but we live in a neat old house in a nice community.  I don't make much but I do get paid to make music two or three times a month instead of being stuck in a miserable job.  Each challenge comes with a blessing.  

So too my hobbies.  I've been able to make good connections with like-minded folks around the miniature war-gaming community and while I haven't found any folks in my town with an interest in trains, that's okay.  I'm genuinely happy in the quiet moments of the morning sitting at my workbench building a model, or stealing time during the day to run a train.  And of course sharing my progress with you, dear readers.  Thank you for your continued support of this blog, and best wishes for your own hobby endeavors in the coming year.

The afternoon winter sun, low in the southwest sky, shines on Ocali Creek box car 1603.

Pine Branch Park

After some consideration, I've decided to name my next model railroad the "Pine Branch Park".  This is a play on words and a nod to the region and specific context I'll be modeling.  "Pine Branch" refers to the little creek running through the area and across a corner of the modeled scene while conjuring images of a literal bough or limb of a pine tree.  Yes, a Florida railroad perhaps more commonly calls to mind palms instead, but for central Florida, the pine was the more lucrative tree.  Several will be modeled on this section of the line.

"Park" refers to the industrial park.  While a small street scene with shops and residences will be modeled, the real reason for the railroad is the industrial complex.  As I've pored over period photos, the ones grabbing my interest are scenes of industry and residential areas, more than the countryside and open wilderness.  I hope to expand this railroad into those areas eventually, but for now the city, or rather, this aspect of the city will dominate the scene.  Here's one such photo that lived on my desktop for a while:

Ocala Manufacturing Company - Ocala, Florida. 192-. Black & white photograph, 4 x 5 in. State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory. <https://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/6252>, accessed 5 August 2018.  Right-click and open in a new tab for a much larger view.

 

 I've also had good input from folks over on the Railroad-Line forum into the track plan.  Here is the latest incarnation.  Note the yellow highlighted line, signifying the main track.  At some point I'd like to continue this track to another area in order to run through trains.  For now, however, the area modeled is self contained and can be run simply as a loop of track or switched in a more formalized operating scheme.

Finally, a word on how I plan to proceed.  I remember fondly the series "Especially for Beginners" in Model Railroader magazine, running from January 1991 through December 1992.  That's a full two years dedicated, essentially, to one model railroad dubbed the Cripple Creek Central.  In my opinion it was not the best name choice as I can't see the model railroad resembling either well-known Cripple Creek, i.e. Colorado or Virginia.  At least it was closer to the western example scenically, but I digress.

Looking back at this series years later, I have come to realize what is perhaps unique about the approach taken to building this railroad.  I imagine Jim Kelly had an idea in mind as to what direction the build would take and how the railroad would progress, but that wasn't clear up front.  Seems like MR project layouts are presented, most often, after they've been completed.  The step-by-step articles that follow are retrospectives on what was done and how. 

In the case of the Cripple Creek Central there seems to be an organic, 'let's see where this leads' approach.  Track was 'laid', but not fastened down so that changes could be made later.  Buildings were purchased because the author liked the way they looked, almost like the average person would do when perusing their local hobby shop.  Scenes were built then later modified.  The control method was changed half-way through the series.  While the general direction remained coherent, the details were more fluid and it almost seemed as if you got a glimpse inside the mind of the creators (there were multiple contributing authors!) as they each worked on the project.

This seems very different than the more dominant approach put forward by the conventional school of planning, often attributed to John Armstrong.  In this method the track plan is made to fit the space and is driven most often by the goal of getting in as much operation as possible.  That approach, combined with the emphasis on prototype modeling, has been a strong current in the hobby for a long time, certainly since the days of the great freelancers like John Allen and W. Allen McClelland or the artists like Malcolm Furlow and Dave Methlie. 

My approach to building this railroad is, as I see it, somewhere in between.  I want some operations so I've planned those in.  I think it is best to do that up front when you have specific structures you want to include such as the Purina Mill and Union Ice industries shown on the plan.  But I've also left room for other elements to change.  Currently I'm considering a coal dealer for the unnamed Industry A.  That would fit well next to the Ice plant, but we'll see what I feel like doing when I get to that stage in the construction.

The primary reason I mention the Cripple Creek Central, however, is the measured monthly approach they took to build this model railroad over the course of two years.  The series was so comprehensive, including everything from soup to nuts, that Kalmbach made it into a book.  I would like to build and complete - yes, complete - this model railroad in a couple years.  I don't buy the tired trope, "a model railroad is never finished".  While the progressive steps I take in building the Pine Branch Park won't exactly parallel the stages of construction seen in the CCC series, I will aim for monthly installments that show visible progress on the construction of the railroad with a varying focus for each.

Naturally benchwork and trackwork comes first, but soon after I will be installing a station and some streets.  I may devote a month to the Purina Mill, but also to the Woodland Scenics grain truck and the Purina ventilated box cars (former reefers) I have to upgrade and rebuild.  Static grass wasn't really a thing in 1991, but I have all the parts to build a static grass applicator so that'll feature one month along with putting down some ground cover. 

But beyond a few vague ideas, I'm going to let the build take me where it will.  Adam Savage talks about the way a project actually leads you as you build it and suddenly new directions appear which you wouldn't have seen before you began.  I know this to be true and it is an exciting aspect of any long-term project.  I hope you'll journey along with me as I build the Pine Branch Park Model Railroad.