Small layout

[jward]

15" radius curves ar4e still made by atlas, in both code 100 and code 83.

[jward]

alot of those shortlines survived well into the diesel era. many lasted until the bad economy and deregulation of the railroads drove them out of business.

in the diesel era, these lines often used small switching type locomotives. the 44ton, 45ton and 70ton diesels were common. for those who bought their diesels secondhand, the alco s2/s4 was also common as they flooded the used locomotive market when the big railroads got rid of them. they could be had dirt cheap. those lines prosperous enough to afford new locomotives often bought EMD sw series switchers (sw7-sw9-sw1200) and some ran them in sets of 2 to 4 units.

for some good ideas for a diesel powered shortline, look at the montour rr, pittsburg & shawmut, or cambria & indiana. all 3 were pennsylvania coal haulers using the emd sw units. hopper cars rarely exceeded 45' in length but held up to 100 tons of coal so both the cars and the trains were short. plus, they ran through some very scenic countryside with lots of curves, trestles and even a few tunnels. best of all, all 3 had compact shop complexes which could perform any work on their locomotives, and just beg to be modelled.

[Johnson Bar Jeff]

15" radius curves ar4e still made by atlas, in both code 100 and code 83.

Just to confirm what jward said. I was in a hobby shop on Sunday, and they had 15"-radius code 83 curves available.