10 Mile Branch

"Pike County's Uncommon Carrier"

"It all started with a table..."

...and a fertile imagination that said, "Hey, this would make a great layout!"  The base of the layout is one of two 19" diameter tables that my wife recently took down.  The inspiration for this layout, as with most of my recent projects, came from Carl Arendt's wonderful website, Micro/Small Layouts for Model Railroads.  For this one, I opted once again for a pizza-style layout.  Since my wife was kind enough to donate the right-of-way, I asked her to suggest a theme for the railroad.  She suggested "farms and horses."  I had a stable that I bought off of e-Bay that would be perfect for the project.  So, a layout was begun.

The first order of business was to prime and paint the particle-board table top.  This gives it a finished look and provides some protection for the water-based scenic treatments to come.



I laid out a 7" radius circle on the layout and then glued down a half strip of HO-scale cork roadbed.  I chose the HO roadbed to give some more height to the track since I was planning a water feature and didn't want to cut into the layout top.  Because HO roadbed doesn't like to bend into a 7" radius, I had to cut notches in it with an X-acto knife.  Track was some Rail Craft Code 70 track that I had bought years ago for another layout, but never used. The hardest part was bending and soldering the track.  I still didn't get the joints perfect, but the train will negotiate them.



I formed the basic shape of the hill with blue styrofoam insulation.  I covered the hill and most of the layout with Model Magic, a modeling compound made by Crayola.  It is easy to apply, has no mess, and doesn't flake off like plaster does.  It comes in a variety of colors and takes paint well.  I started out with Bisque and Terra Cotta for the basic landforms.

The name "10 Mile Branch" is a play on words.  "Branch" can refer to a secondary rail line that leaves the main line to serve other towns or industries.  A branch can also be a creek or small stream.  In this case, the real 10 Mile Branch is a stream in the southern part of Pike County, Alabama.  So, I envision this railroad as a branch line of another railroad.  The 10 Mile Branch could be a lightly used branch line with maybe one or two customers and the occasional railfan trip.   The layout is similar the real-life Conecuh Valley Railroad which runs on the former Central of Georgia line from Troy to Goshen.

More photos from the 10 Mile Branch:
10 Mile Branch Gallery 1
10 Mile Branch Gallery 2

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