Baltimore Wharf Area, Municipal Piers, Docksider Locos


B

beiland

Well-Known Member
I have an image in my mind that I think was saved from an old image I recall seeing long ago. It is (was) of a cobblestone street running along the waterfront of old town Baltimore. The tracks were embedded in the cobblestone, and they serviced several warehouses that jutted out into the water along the waterfront. One or so of those 'warehouses' resembled the Walthers Municipal Pier kit.

Those infamous B&O docksiders locos could be found working these wharf side tracks.

I searched the internet for about an hour the other day trying to find that image thats in my mind,...could not find it? Would anyone on the forum know of such an old time image?


Just perhaps it was another city. or just some other modelers creation, but it made an impression on me I can't seem to forget. I wonder if I saw in on the walls of that Baltimore model layout that existed for years in downtown Balt (the one that had to recently move) ??
 
Looking for something like these,..
Docksider to Balt News.jpg


loco, railcar in street.jpg
severna park layout, balt streets.jpg


6935096d91909204b6a9b987a10ce3f0.jpg



This is NOT Baltimore, but rather Halifax, Canada, but its the general idea
halifax 1930.jpg
 
Bieland: I once purchased a Varney Dockside steamer for $20 at a LHS. I had problems with it running through turnouts and stalling so I sold it to a co-worker who collected locomotives, but didn't have a layout.

Look at the track plan for John Allen's G&D and that maybe that's the image you are thinking about...?

Greg

1577555031900.png
 
Greg,...was that a photo of your actual loco?
That one had a lot of extra valve gear, etc on it.

I had one like that at one time, but I sold it off when I was contemplating moving to HOT HUMID Thailand. I think my was a brass model though,...can't remember, and can't find old photos.
 
Beiland: I purchased mine used, but if I remember correctly, there was a detail kit for the Varney Dockside to add that extra valve gear like in the photo I attached to my previous post. I think Varney, Kemtron and maybe Central Valley all made the detail kits for the Dockside. Wish I kept the critter.

There were knock off Docksides made after Varney's success, the best known being Sakara from Japan.

Greg
 
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beiland said:
I have an image in my mind that I think was saved from an old image I recall seeing long ago. It is (was) of a cobblestone street running along the waterfront of old town Baltimore. The tracks were embedded in the cobblestone, and they serviced several warehouses that jutted out into the water along the waterfront. One or so of those 'warehouses' resembled the Walthers Municipal Pier kit.

Those infamous B&O docksiders locos could be found working these wharf side tracks.

I searched the internet for about an hour the other day trying to find that image thats in my mind,...could not find it? Would anyone on the forum know of such an old time image?


Just perhaps it was another city. or just some other modelers creation, but it made an impression on me I can't seem to forget. I wonder if I saw in on the walls of that Baltimore model layout that existed for years in downtown Balt (the one that had to recently move) ??
Click to expand...

There are numerous photos of Baltimore Harbor by Googling Baltimore harbor. The most noteworthy of the areas were Fells Point, which was served by both the PRR and B&O, and Canton. Pretty much, the entire harbor area was similar, with dense commercial / residential neighborhoods, cobblestone streets and street railroad. Many locations were "switched" by using motor tractors, rather than locomotives.

Similar scenarios were found along the Delaware River waterfront in Philadelphia and Camden, Nj, as well as in Jersey City, NJ Google and Facebook can assist.
Most of the neighborhoods in Baltimore have succumbed to Gentrification, but some remain to this day. The B&O RR Historical society, and one of either rail Model journal or Model Railroading did an article on the street railroads of Baltimore back when they were still being published. The Trainlife web site contains many archived past issues of these magazines These resources are in addition to the ones previously cited in this thread.

Boris
 
Thanks for that photo John,
intermodal, carfloat, and pier terminal,...all in one scene !

Thanks Boris,
I'll try and find some of those references you made when I get a bit more time,...would love to look thru photos
 
Beiland: Answering your question about the Dockside, the photo I posted wasn't of my Dockside. Wish it were true and it was mine.

Nice model with the valve gear.

Greg
 
I had an John English 0-4-0 with slopeback tender. The valve gear on it was "full bore".
Alas - I sold it way back there. Darn it!
 
Gluing up Terminal Building

Yesterday I decided to go forward with some initial assembly of my terminal building,...get rid of all that blue tape holding things together temporarily. I was particularly concerned about the fit of the roof panels that seem to be lacking in enough overall length to fit the model (I was concerned as to whether it had anything to do with my use of the 2 front faces). Turns out they are correct length overall with the 3 different sections.

I want to make the roof removable so I can add other interior details later. But the roof has a very shallow pitch and very small ledges on the side walls to hold it. Plus the sidewalls are quite long and can flex in and out. I believe I am going to have to add 1 or 2 cross braces to hold those side walls in constant, even separation. I may also add a longitudinal brace down the center to support the peak of the roof up.

While fooling around with this terminal building I could not help but imagining that it might contain some office space on its 'second floor' (to be constructed). In fact it might have several offices at each of the corners of the building:

1) One corner office could be that for the container yard, ...one corner of the building has a nice overview of the container port,...and this container port came about after the terminal/carfloat operations decided to let them take over some of their previous stowage track property.

2) One corner office could be that of the carfloat operation.

3) One corner office could be that for the small ship loading operation of the pier/pier-crane operation.
Each of these corner offices would have their own entrance doors at ground level (already provided for with the model).

4) to be determined
This original municipal pier terminal building has evolved into a distribution warehouse and office spaces on the waterfront. That's my story and I am sticking to it.
 
So I decided to detour just slightly and do some prep work on some of the structures in those areas where I am currently laying track.


Decided to do a little more exploring with the apron and its steel piling enclosure to make sure I had cut out my plywood base correctly,...and see if I had a reasonable incline to my apron.


image-20210502112928-1.jpeg






image-20210502113019-2.jpeg






image%28165%29.png






I think in order to maintain a good consistent loading and unloading of the carfloat I am going to make the float itself semi-permanently mounted and the apron tracks actual track sections. There is even going to be a partial turnout section included on the apron.


The cars handled by carfloat and be rotated on and off the layout by the human crane. There may even be a removable center section made to use with the carfloat in those times when a larger capacity might like to be had.
 
San Francisco's Embarcadero had probably 40 of those terminal buildings in it's heyday before intermodal. Pier #17 was used by my company for storage. Offices are in the front corners stretching back to within about ten feet of the first cargo door. The roofs had large timber trusses and there were timber pillars spaced 40 feet running down the center on both sides of the middle. I know 40 feet as that was the length of the buses we stored there. Above the cargo doors on one side was a mezzanine that looks like it was constructed as an after thought. The mezzanine had chain link cages that were storage units.

Today the remaining buildings are used by various small business and/or limo companies, parking garages etc. The front corners host small cafes.
 
Older photos of Baltimore waterfront activities.....

1) Just ran across this reference to lots of tracks on the cobblestone streets of Baltimore's waterfront,....
http://prr.railfan.net/RubberTiredSwitchers.html
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2)
...on another forum,...good references....
RMJ articles
October and November 1992:
http://magazine.trainlife.com/rmj_1992_10/,
http://magazine.trainlife.com/rmj_1992_11/
The November issue has the street track plan and car float transfer bridge plan.
Jim B.
Baltimore Society of Model Engineers, Estd. 1932
Click to expand...

BTW, I am NOT trying to duplicate any of this history in my layout plan,...just trying to recall that activity I seem to remember as happening on the Balt waterfront.
 
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