| Layout Photo Tour - Page 2 A quick photo trip around the layout - The layout is always changing but this is a snapshot as of May 2009 |
[Click images to Enlarge Photos]
| Cadillac, Michigan |
| Cadillac is the first city on the line north of Comstock Park Yard. The top photo is looking north from the south end of town. Cadillac is a "U" shaped city and is located directly below Petoskey utilizing the mushroom design concept. Here you can see Auto Valve of Cadillac, and Inland Lakes Machine Works. |
| The above photo shows the new Cadillac Passenger Station. It looks like a busy day at the station. Most of the industrial businesses in Cadillac are related to the automobile industry, which in 1967 was going gang-busters in Michigan and throughout the nation. Below is a photo looking south across the tracks from the station showing Michigan Rubber Products across from the station. |
| Right is a shot over the roof of the Cadillac station looking north around the corner. You can see the C&M freight station on the left and beyond that is the Ann Arbor RR interchange. The station track is at the far right, then the mainline and the siding. This scene has been up dated and new photos will follow |
| Here are two photos of the Cadillac Produce Terminal scratch build by our good friend and regular operator estraordinaire, Les Dahlstedt. It is located at the north side of Cadillac. |
This is the mainline run heading north out
of Cadillac. Cadillac is at the far right of
the photo and the horseshoe curve like
track arrangement gains altitude
throughout its run to Walton Junction.
of Cadillac. Cadillac is at the far right of
the photo and the horseshoe curve like
track arrangement gains altitude
throughout its run to Walton Junction.
| Cadillac is located 50" off of the layout room floor and the benchwork is about 18" deep. I find this to be an ideal operating height for a person that is 6' tall, like myself. |
| Walton Junction, Michigan |
| Walton Junction occupies a corner on the way from Cadillac to Traverse City. Here is the Northern Michigan Farmers Co-Op grain elevator. A "turn" comes out of Grand Rapids each day to "work" the grain exchange. It is aptly nicknamed the Grain Job. There is main and passing siding plus a setup track and a grain loading track. It is a fun job. |
| Boardman Lake Siding |
Boardman Lake Siding is located along the
wall over Comstock Park Yard. It is located
on the "transition grade" about half way
between Cadillac and Traverse City. This
stretch of track connects the two main decks
of the layout and is a pretty constant 1.5%
grade.
wall over Comstock Park Yard. It is located
on the "transition grade" about half way
between Cadillac and Traverse City. This
stretch of track connects the two main decks
of the layout and is a pretty constant 1.5%
grade.
It is up and out of the way, but unlike a helix you can still see your train the entire way between
the two cities. The siding can hold a 15 car train.
the two cities. The siding can hold a 15 car train.
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| The photo of the south end of Cadillac (right), again illustrates the shadow box effect utilized in the layout, which extends around the entire U shaped Cadillac peninsula. The City of Petoskey is out of sight, above Cadillac and behind the upper valance, viewed/operated from the inside of the U shaped peninsula. Petoskey is geographically located a hundred miles north of Cadillac. We will see photos of Petoskey later as we continue our photo journey north on the C&M. This photo is prior to any ground cover and trees. |
| Note - You can see a small part of the Fort Wayne staging yard below Cadillac. This is the entrance to the staging loop. So at this point, the layout is triple decked (Fort Wayne staging on the bottom, Cadillac in the middle and Petoskey on top). However, because of the mushroom design, while you are operating in Cadillac or in Petoskey you really only see the deck on which you are operating or viewing. No real "operations" take place in the Fort Wayne staging yard (at least not yet). |
| Above is the new junction with the Ann Arbor Railroad. C&M operators need to be aware of the absolute signal protecting the junction. |
Left is the new Cadillac downtown
area. Still a work-in-progress. The
freight house is in the foreground
with the downtown in the
background. Note the Ann Arbor
RR interchange at the right side of
the photo.
area. Still a work-in-progress. The
freight house is in the foreground
with the downtown in the
background. Note the Ann Arbor
RR interchange at the right side of
the photo.
| Above - Here is a Detroit fire Company truck on exercises in Cadillac. The unit has just been called back to Detroit to fight fires due to the 1967 Detroit Riots. The C&M was not effected by the Riots because the Riots were mostly contained in the downtown Detroit area. (Detroit fire truck is compliments of Jeff's father-in-law, Mark Allmendinger. Thanks Mark! |
Just north of Walton Jct, is a single
track that finally got ballasted and
scenicked. It looks a lot better than it
did!
track that finally got ballasted and
scenicked. It looks a lot better than it
did!