The Little River Rail Road in Doc Tom's Back Yard

Bill Nelson

Well-Known Member
In real life the Little River Railroad was standard Gauge, Tom is cheating in order to use easily available equipment.


But when driving my family down the ridiculously curvy road from Elkmont to Townsend, when I notified my family that this road was built directly on the roadbed,Emily , Forrester, and Jennifer all said this can't have been standard gauge, the curves are way to tight. The youngest Joey, didn't say anything, but he had the biggest grin on his face rounding those tight curves, he was probably thinking "This guy is trying to kill me."
 

Doctor G

Well-Known Member
Moving logs from Elkmont

Moving logs from Elkmont

When we bought this place I really liked the shed “out back.” It reminded me of the set off houses on the Little River Rail Road in East Tennessee.
EarlyLRRRpicture1.jpg


Scan4.jpg


So I slapped the LRRR logo on the door and I have been using the shed as the “shops” of the Little River RR in the back yard ever since.
DSC05644.jpg



Internet research led me to consider using the shed to store rolling stock and locomotives as well.
I went to my Large Scale hobby shop…….Lowes and got a doggy door and some latches and a piece of wood.
DSC05646.jpg



What you see here is the beginning of the Elkmont yard the first indoor track I have placed in several years.
DSC05640.jpg



Hopefully I can recreate the real Elkmont yard on the Little River Rail Road high in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee.
ElkmontYard.jpg



Here is the first load of logs out of Elkmont heading downgrade to the sawmill in Townsend Tennessee.
DSC05635.jpg


DSC05638.jpg


DSC05636.jpg


DSC05639.jpg




It should be interesting to have ready made trains that I can take out on the layout whenever I wish.

Doc Tom Doc Tom and the Little River Rail Road in Tennessee
littlelogo.jpg
 

Doctor G

Well-Known Member
Night Vision on the Little River RR

1920 "night vision" technology was used to get this picture of LRRR 2147 pulling passenger car 310 out on the line on a warm spring evening. The combine is fully lit and the passengers are reading brochures about the Wonderland Hotel in the beautiful Smoky Mountains. They will be arriving there soon.

Doc Tom
 

Attachments

  • DSC05650.jpg
    DSC05650.jpg
    193.7 KB · Views: 13

Doctor G

Well-Known Member
Wild Flowers in The Great Smoky Mountains

Wild Flowers in the Great Smoky Mountains

Dr Theodore, Botanist at The University of Tennessee, makes his annual Spring wildflower pilgrimage in the Great Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee. Each year he finds a unique specimen to take back to the lab in Knoxville.

DSC05656.jpg



But what is the whole crew of 2147 doing stopping the train and tramping on into the verdant forest?

Seems they like pretty flowers too for their girlfriends and wives back in Townsend and are going to pick them too.

DSC05657.jpg



DSC05654.jpg



Happy Easter

Doc Tom Doc Tom and the Little River Rail Road in Tennessee
littlelogo.jpg
 

Bill Nelson

Well-Known Member
I like that image. the last couple years I have been mowing my front yard selectively in the early spring, avoiding the patches of wildflowers until they are done now almost a third of my front yard is full of white wildflowers.


Bill
 

Doctor G

Well-Known Member
I like that image. the last couple years I have been mowing my front yard selectively in the early spring, avoiding the patches of wildflowers until they are done now almost a third of my front yard is full of white wildflowers.


Bill

That must be a very beautiful front yard. Tennessee has an outstanding Spring and Fall.

Tom:mrgreen:
 

Bill Nelson

Well-Known Member
My front yard is exceptional. My house is on a road that used to run to a ferry across the Cumberland river to downtown. the ferry has been gone since the first road bridge was built across the river in the 1930's , but the front of my house faces downtown, across the river, the river bottoms, and the approach to the swingbridge across the Cumberland from the L&N"s old Memphis line, a vestigial portion of wihich is operated by the R J Corman RR, so not only do I have exceptional privacy, a view of my wildflowers, downtown Clarksville, and a big railroad bridge on an operational shortline.

Bill Nelson
 

Attachments

  • SWMLA-1wldflws.jpg
    SWMLA-1wldflws.jpg
    167.6 KB · Views: 11

Doctor G

Well-Known Member
My front yard is exceptional. My house is on a road that used to run to a ferry across the Cumberland river to downtown. the ferry has been gone since the first road bridge was built across the river in the 1930's , but the front of my house faces downtown, across the river, the river bottoms, and the approach to the swingbridge across the Cumberland from the L&N"s old Memphis line, a vestigial portion of wihich is operated by the R J Corman RR, so not only do I have exceptional privacy, a view of my wildflowers, downtown Clarksville, and a big railroad bridge on an operational shortline.

Bill Nelson

Excellent photo. You have a very nice place there Bill.

Tom
 

Doctor G

Well-Known Member
Loading logs at Tremont Landing.

Loading logs at Tremont Landing.

I have always enjoyed the photos from the Little River RR museum and their website http://www.littleriverrailroad.org/

This picture in particular of one of the early Shays, an AHD loader and the early skeleton log cars has always caught my eye. I particularly liked the built up landing on a slope using log cribbing.

]
Shayandlogcribbing.jpg



I have slopes like this on my garden rail road and have been working the last several weeks to recreate this scene. I only have one skeleton log car that I picked up cheap at the NGNC in St.Louis a few years back. The 1920’s LRRR I am modeling used logging flats. I think the prototype picture may be some time circa 1901 to 1905 when they used skeleton logging cars.

Anyways here is my attempt to recreate the log landing at Tremont in B&W.

DSC05740.jpg



DSC05744.jpg



Here are some color shots of the scene as well.

DSC05750.jpg



DSC05756.jpg



Let me know what you all think. Thanks.
Doc Tom and the Little River Rail Road in Tennessee
littlelogo.jpg
 

Doctor G

Well-Known Member
I think that west coast style skeleton log car looks like a high $$$ model, how is it working out

Hi Bill,

That is a West Coast style skeleton log car I got for $60 at the narrow gauge convention a couple of years ago in St Louis. It regularly retails for $80-$90. It is all metal and has a lot of detail. It was made by Accucraft. It does not track as well as the logging flats and is the only car I have that regularly derails.........derailing equipment is quite dramatic in Large Scale.

I am glad that by the 1920's the LRRR was not using skeleton log cars as I would not want to get another.

I am continuing to plant trees on the garden RR and advancing the line about 3 feet a month.

I hope to see you at HO choo choo club tomorrow.

Tom
 

Doctor G

Well-Known Member
Good Looking Goose

I have done a little more work on the goose


http://www.zealot.com/forum/showthread.php?p=944514#post944514looks like I need another can of Krylon satin finish hunter green.


Bill

Nice Bill very nice. I like the green color a lot and it is a dead ringer for your State Line HOn3 goose.

I liked the video too with the neat chain drive.

Any plans for a sound system??? Sputtering infernal combustion engine and aaaaooooogah horn would be neat.

Motor Car #1 needs someone to play with on the Little River RR. It would be neat to make a video of the Goose at play in the mountains of Eastern Tennessee.

Tom
 

Attachments

  • DSC04475.jpg
    DSC04475.jpg
    198.4 KB · Views: 8

Bill Nelson

Well-Known Member
Sound would be really fun, but most likely just doing radio control will be a stretch for now

I squeezed just enough of the paint out of the can, I do need to get more as that color is the base color for my passenger equipment as well, I'm pretty sure it is the same stuff on the HON3 goose.
 

Doctor G

Well-Known Member
Sound would be really fun, but most likely just doing radio control will be a stretch for now

I squeezed just enough of the paint out of the can, I do need to get more as that color is the base color for my passenger equipment as well, I'm pretty sure it is the same stuff on the HON3 goose.

Good Job. The boys are looking forward to seeing the Goose waddle on the Little River Rail Road.

Tom
 

Attachments

  • DSC04445.jpg
    DSC04445.jpg
    150.8 KB · Views: 11
  • DSC04448.jpg
    DSC04448.jpg
    174.6 KB · Views: 10

Doctor G

Well-Known Member
The Bridge at Hurricane Creek on the Little River Rail Road

The Bridge at Hurricane Creek

Hurricane Creek, high in the Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee, is usually a fairly dry rivulet crossed by the Little River Rail Road.

DSC05816.jpg



However, when hurricanes crash in to the Gulf Shores of the United States they lose their punch and dump their torrents of rain in the Appalachians. This is when Hurricane Creek will roar and wash out everything in its path including backwoods logging bridges.
Since 1906, when this part of the Little River Rail Road was constructed, this little bridge has washed out three times.
Col Townsend was excited to get out to the site and see what the third and hopefully last repair looks like.

DSC05818.jpg



The surveying team is re-establishing the gradient.

DSC05814.jpg



The woods and rail crews are fairly confident that this well reinforced sluice will handle the next deluge.

DSC05815.jpg



One wonders??? Doc Tom and the Little River Rail Road in Tennessee
littlelogo.jpg
 

Doctor G

Well-Known Member
WRRY #37 gets a make over.

Tyler's beautiful box car, WRRY #37, is going to work on the Large Scale Little River Rail Road.

I has received body mount Kadee couplers ( about as big as half an HO steam engine when done in G scale) and is weathered a bit for the travels it is making from Wisconsin to Tennessee.

Timmie is excited about what is inside the box car.........the first electronic components for a trailing battery car for all the LRRR steam locomotives.

Pictured is a Printed Circuit Board with on/off switch and plug for the battery charger and all important fuse to prevent the "white smoke phenomena" noted with first time electric projects.

Doc Tom

Attached Thumbnails





 

Doctor G

Well-Known Member
Very Hot Work on the Little River Rail Road

It is a 100 degrees in the shade at the Elkmont Post Office and Commissary.

ElkmontPostOffice-1.jpg



After a couple of lukewarm Coca Colas it was time to get on the work train and move some of the 4 tons of limestone rip rap recently delivered to advance the line out of Nelson’s Gap.

DSC05823.jpg



DSC05827.jpg



The sweat was pouring as the ballast was laid and as the sun set the boys said, “Lets forget the Coca Colas …….we need some BEER and very cold.”

So they dropped the gons and highballed in reverse to get to the Dew Drop Inn in Townsend (headquarters of the Little River Rail Road ) as night cooled the Smoky Mountains.

DSC05828.jpg



DSC05830.jpg





Doc Tom Doc Tom and the Little River Rail Road in Tennessee
littlelogo.jpg
 
Top