Need industry suggestions

[notabob]

My layout is set in 1990s Alberta. I have a pretty good plan of how I want to do the small town near the top of the layout with farms & grain elevators (the big "farm" on the left is an access pop-up that will eventually be fitted with a lift-out. Same with the lake on the upper right). I'm looking for industry ideas for near the bigger town on the right-hand side. I have a few spurs planned there, with a fairly decent amount of real estate in the 'Industry 1' area, and smaller spaces around Industry 2 & 3 spurs. There will be a warehouse along the right-hand backdrop as well. I "stuck" a larger industrial grain elevator at 'Industry 3' for now but open to all suggestions... Thanks in advance!

[TheGloriousTachikoma]

I think that Industry 1 could be a generic warehouse/distribution boxcar receptacle using either Great West Models prefab concrete or Pikestuff prefab steel. Industry 3 already has a good idea; make it a cement distributor, especially if you curve industry 2's spur away from the tunnel enough and place a 'lumber yard' structure on either side.

I think you should get rid of the station though. There's only one, and you have no hidden staging, it only consumes space and doesn't do much for operation.

[Rico]

Wow that looks like it will be fun to wire the reverse loops!
As for industries I'm partial to papermills myself, great variety of car types and fits the Alberta theme nicely.
I like the cement plant idea as GT mentioned above, that or a potash distributor.
This trackplan lends itself well to a shortline running between the two towns, that or a CN VS CP kind of thing.

[TheGloriousTachikoma]

Originally Posted by Rico

Wow that looks like it will be fun to wire the reverse loops!
As for industries I'm partial to papermills myself, great variety of car types and fits the Alberta theme nicely.
I like the cement plant idea as GT mentioned above, that or a potash distributor.
This trackplan lends itself well to a shortline running between the two towns, that or a CN VS CP kind of thing.

Eh, a paper mill is a space beast though. To be believable you need either five shorter spurs or two really long ones and a short one (short one being the rotary dumper for woodchips, and two short or one long spur/s each for chemical/clay slurry unloading and loading boxcars with finished rolls.)

I am thinking that some kind of staging needs to be incorporated. I think that for the layout's size the Lynne Wescott yard needs to be taken out. What might fit better would be a good interchange yard (3-4 tracks double ended) and engine facilities, and then have a big staging yard hidden.
FWIW, what I would do would be to change it to a folded dogbone in roughly the same shape as what you have now, but without that angled cut at the lower right side. Relying on pop-ups is not fun, I got tired of one on an old unfinished project and I barely got the track laid out of the first town.

[notabob]

Originally Posted by TheGloriousTachikoma

Eh, a paper mill is a space beast though. To be believable you need either five shorter spurs or two really long ones and a short one (short one being the rotary dumper for woodchips, and two short or one long spur/s each for chemical/clay slurry unloading and loading boxcars with finished rolls.)

I am thinking that some kind of staging needs to be incorporated. I think that for the layout's size the Lynne Wescott yard needs to be taken out. What might fit better would be a good interchange yard (3-4 tracks double ended) and engine facilities, and then have a big staging yard hidden.
FWIW, what I would do would be to change it to a folded dogbone in roughly the same shape as what you have now, but without that angled cut at the lower right side. Relying on pop-ups is not fun, I got tired of one on an old unfinished project and I barely got the track laid out of the first town.

Thanks for the suggestions guys. Cement plant and a lumber yard could be an option. I also like the idea of a small distribution center - good opportunity to put box cars & semis to good use.

With regard to the yard changes & hidden staging - I like the idea, but it'll be kind of hard to do at this point since: A) The existing space and the benchwork don't allow for it to be easily added; B) The yard is already mostly built. The current yard still allows for a good bit of operational flexibility as well as plenty of staging. There's also engine facilities already implemented (engine house in the yard itself as well as a misc. facilities spur).

I can't straighten out the bottom right section since it's angled to allow for door access to the right of the layout. Need to keep enough room to the right of it to be able to bring a couch or washer/drier through, should the need arise. There is no pop-up in the bottom right section, as I have access and can reach it from both sides.

[notabob]

Originally Posted by TheGloriousTachikoma

I think you should get rid of the station though. There's only one, and you have no hidden staging, it only consumes space and doesn't do much for operation.

Oh, there are two stations - one in the small town and another in the city. I've thought about adding a siding for the small town station, but there really isn't a space for it...

[D&J RailRoad]

there are vendors at the train shows who offer flat cars with loads assembled and tied down to flat cars. These would be good starting points for establishing industries.

[Beachbum]

Transloads are always a good option - you can spot almost any kind of car there.

Cement plants are huge things. Unless you use some "tricks" to compress it / represent it, you might want to consider a cement distributor instead or a readimix plant.

But it's your call...

[Dougget]

I'm a big fan of tanker cars. So, I'll suggest a chemical plant. You could always go for some type of food processing plant. That would open the door to both tankers and hoppers as well as some truck service (a loading dock or two and a couple of 18 wheelers rolling through town).
Doug

[Railrunner130]

B-E-E-R. Make a brewery there. There's no better way to utilize farm products.