Industry Ideas for West Virginia Layout

[ryeguyisme]

watch the movie october sky for inspiration

[Michigan Railfan]

watch the movie october sky for inspiration

That was a great movie. They thought they had taken out the rail that the train used.

[Ned]

Perhaps a glass making facility?

Ned

[Cody J]

Thanks for all the ideas.. I think i'm going to do a pulpwood loading facility like somebody suggested.

[jward]

i read in another post that you are going to use atlas track without the roadbed. if you redesign your layout using #4 switches in place ot the 18" radius ones, you'll have more room for scenery and maybe an extra industry or two. plus, i guarantee your trains will operate better in the yard.

[Cody J]

Jward: Thanks for the tips, but frankly I have run out of ideas for industries plus it will cost more and the scenery, I really don't need that much because this is my first layout and I don't want to over do it. but I'll think about it for the yard operation. And the only curved track I have  in my yard is 22" radius and all my turnouts are just the standard right or left turnout, but I'll think about it and see what I come up with.

Thanks,
Cody

[BradKT]

I have driven through West Virginia a few times and to me, a possibility might be farms or any industry that is agriculture or coal related, such as a synfuels or an ethanol plant.  Likewise, you could have anything from a junkyard or salvage yard to a support industry for your railroad, such as a small factory, manufacturing plant or small steel mill.  Walthers makes relatively inexpensive models of all of these.  You could also just have a few scattered oil pumps and oil storage tanks, coupled with a loading facility for the railroad (no refinery...or you could have a small refinery).

One thing that I did on my layout was to turn a Walthers salvage yard building model into a small construction equipment rental company.

With a new industry, you will also need an access road and an employee parking lot.