Researching and Modeling an Industry

By Richard K. Daniels

Deciding on a prototype, selecting a time period, and determining a location are just part of the process in designing and building a model railroad. Features such as industries help to depict the location that you wish to represent. This is a discussion of the American Viscose Rayon Fiber plant (renamed AVTEX Fibers in 1976) in Front Royal, Virginia, which was one industry in the region of Jim Brewer's 1956 period Norfolk and Western, Shenandoah Division.

Selecting a Prototype
Jim moved into his new home in 1985 with ideas and space for a large HO-scale model railroad. He brought with him his experience and his earlier Maryland Southern Railroad, a freelance road based on eastern prototypes. After tackling the many responsibilities connected with moving, Jim and some of friends started his model railroad empire by loosely basing a new freelance layout on the area along the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia. The crew installed and laid major trackage in his 3,300-square-foot basement.

Jim has been a member of the Norfolk and Western Railroad Historical Society since 1984 and was the editor of The Arrow, the official publication of the Society. As he learned more about the prototype N&W, he became disenchanted with freelancing. Every time he needed to make a decision regarding the freelance railroad, he found himself looking to the N&W for answers. So, he decided it would be better and more interesting to model the N&W.

Researching What Is Along the Railroad.
As it was in Jim's case, an historical society can be a very valuable place to obtain information on a specific prototype. In addition, the research can be turned back to the society for use by others interested in the prototype. Jim gained access to much data on the railroad and the industries along the right-of-way. We purchased a set of US Geographical Survey maps for the railroad line between Front Royal and Waynesboro, Virginia. Using information obtained from these maps, Jim and some of his Thursday night crew made several photo visits along the railroad, taking special note of the older structures.

Selecting Industries
A model railroad can be dull without something to hold interest. A railroad exists to pick up, move and deliver goods, perhaps coal, cattle, or containers. An industry on a model railroad should be recognizable for its purpose, offer reasonable switching opportunities, and enhance the overall exhibit of the trains. Poring over the Geographical Survey maps for track alignment and possible industries, we noted the American Viscose Rayon Fiber plant in Front Royal, Virginia, as a major trackside industry. The survey maps showed much of the trackage inside the plant. This industry became a major focal point of Jim's layout along with several additional industries we selected by studying the maps.

Collecting Data on the Industry
When we traveled to Front Royal for photographs, we found the plant closed, a victim of years of pollution. Large Superfund warning signs surrounded the complex. So we took photos over the eight-foot chain-link fence. A trip to the local library in Front Royal produced a vertical file of Warren County newspaper articles giving much history from the 1937 opening until final closing in 1989. The file included a few newspaper-quality photos. Through Jim's connection with the N&W Historical Society, a man who had worked at the plant just before it closed provided a drawing that detailed the purpose of various buildings. He also supplied an open-house handout that explained the process of manufacturing rayon and information on the rail-related raw materials and outgoing products. We obtained a reasonable copy of an aerial photo from the Virginia Tech collection.

Fitting the Industry to the Space
With a good idea of the industry and the way the railroad interacted with it, we planned the implementation of the rayon plant. Luckily, Jim had already set aside space for a freelance industrial area on his railroad. The space fit right for the rayon plant and it was in the location designated as Front Royal. Rough measurements of the prototype plant indicated that the interconnected building complex was about 2,000 feet by 1,000 feet, or 23 feet by 11 feet in HO scale. Only half of that length and width was available if we were to leave any room for trackage, so compression was a must. I drew roof and side views in rough detail of those buildings that would be visible on the layout to gain a perspective of how the buildings should appear if built to full scale. I made these drawings to about 1:250 scale. I then redrew the buildings to HO scale, reducing the length and width to at least half but retaining the look of the prototype. I kept the height of the buildings to almost scale due to doorway height and floor spacing. I used door height as the major factor in scaling from photographs. I located a door in a photo assumed it to be of a standard height of six feet, eight inches, and based all other measurements on that. Windows were almost universally rectangular, industrial multi-panes. By reducing the number of windows and the number of panes when modeling the buildings, I could maintain each individual building's character. I also scaled trackage to fit the area. I retained major industrial trackage although I reduced it on all four sides of the plant. I decreased the small, stub-end, nine-track yard on the east side of the plant to five tracks. A 360-foot stack, 33 feet in diameter, dominates the site. I made various sized mockups and set them in place until I determined that a 32-inch by 2-½-inch diameter stack looked right to fit in with the rest of the plant.

Constructing the Plant
Track almost surrounded the plant. Therefore, we designed the model building complex so we could easily reach all trackage. A two-foot wide aisle enables operators to walk inside the building complex. I constructed a building's outer walls on two sides of the aisle and used removable roof modules to fill in the aisle for photographs and public display. Aerial photos provided much of the roof detail. I built the structures using styrene covered with Holgate and Reynolds HO brick sheeting.

Building the Unknown
All the research one can do will not provide all the necessary information to model a large industry. There are always areas that cannot be accessed for photos or measurements. In the case of the American Viscose Rayon Fiber plant, photos showed some of the outlying building walls but obstructions obscured much of the lower floors. However, I noted that many of the buildings followed similar design. Any visitors to the layout who might be familiar with the industry probably only know about the easily viewed walls, stacks, and other supporting structures. So, it was necessary to go with "good enough" modeling, such as locating employee doorways and industrial doors where they were likely to have been located. As long as there is symmetry between the unknown and known areas, a modeler can build a convincing scene.

Depicting Incoming Materials and Outgoing Products
In addition to products to support the operation of the rayon plant, raw materials were shipped by rail and truck and used directly in the manufacturing of rayon. The model has many stacks of crates and barrels at shipping points and miniature people and forklifts to move the shipments in and out of the buildings. Coal and chemical tanks and handling equipment are placed where train and truck can transport the materials.

The main ingredient in making rayon (and cellophane) is wood pulp. The pulp was shipped in boxcars from company-owned businesses in Canada and stored in two of the raw-material receiving warehouses. Other incoming rail shipments were rock salt, used for water softener; caustic soda and carbon disulfide (in tank cars), for breaking down the wood pulp fibers; and millions of gallons of sulfuric acid (in tank cars), used as a catalyst in the rayon fiber manufacturing process.

Outgoing shipments, either by rail or truck, included rayon fibers or cords wound on spindles called cakes. These were shipped in wooden or cardboard crates and boxed for use as thread, cloth, cord (such as used in rayon cord tires) and rocket nozzles. Shipped waste products included spent sulfuric acid and anhydrous sodium sulfate.

Adding Signs for Building Identification
To give better meaning to a model structure and the shipping and receiving spots to park freight cars on a model railroad, signs are essential. Modeler's license is required to identify what is being modeled when the outsides of the buildings do not indicate the product or process going on inside. This was the case with the American Viscose Rayon Fiber model. Our photos of the prototype plant showed a lack of signs on buildings or tanks. With the help of the plan of the rayon plant that identified the use of the buildings, we made small signs, just big enough to read, to indicate the use of the buildings and the rail dock and tank unloading/loading areas.

Concluding Statement
In summary, depicting a recognizable industry adds authenticity to model railroad. Careful selection, thorough research, and retaining the character of an industry will preserve a portion of the past and stimulates interest in the layout. Purpose of the industry is enhanced by selecting and positioning suitable details. Visitors have made some very nice comments about Jim's N&W model railroad. We are gratified to hear people say, while coming down the stairs and seeing the layout for the first time, "Hey, I've seen that plant before, that's in the Shenandoah Valley."

References:

1. Letters from Steve Hollingsworth of Woodstock, VA (description of plant and process)
2. Handouts for Family Night Open House, American Viscose Co., 1975
3. US Geographical Survey maps (Virginia's Shenandoah area)
4. EPA Superfund web site - http://www.epa.gov/superfund
5. Northern Virginia Daily newspaper, various dates, Front Royal Public Library
6. Warren Sentinel newspaper, various dates, Front Royal Public Library
7. Richmond Times-Dispatch newspaper, various dates
8. Fibersource web page - http://www.fibersource.com/f-tutor/rayon.htm
9. Rayon Technology, Handbook for Textile Mills, Textile Research Department of American Viscose Corporation, 1953
10. Photographs taken by author, 1995 and 1997

Also see my web page at http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/rdaniels2

Richard Daniels
Columbia, Maryland
rdaniels2@compuserve.com