On Nov 22, 2019, at 9:38 PM, gftolhurst via Groups.Io <gftolhurst@...> wrote:

Trails to rails—now there’s a concept!

On Nov 22, 2019, at 6:20 PM, Tom Grabenstein <tomgmd@...> wrote:

My recent work on the ET&WNC On30 layout reminded me of modern day“ rails to trails" programs. As I placed the roadbed and the first layers of scenery……….





….. the result reminded me of this picture of the" Tweetsie Trail" near Johnson City Tennessee.



The Tweetsie Trail is the actual old roadbed of the East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad.

My On30 trail walkers were in for quite a fright when they stumbled into a large hairy humanoid from the Northwest country side who was obviously quite lost in the Blue Ridge.







Thanks for following along. Doc Tom

My recent work on the ET&WNC On30 layout reminded me of modern day“ rails to trails" programs. As I placed the roadbed and the first layers of scenery……….





….. the result reminded me of this picture of the" Tweetsie Trail" near Johnson City Tennessee.



The Tweetsie Trail is the actual old roadbed of the East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad.

My On30 trail walkers were in for quite a fright when they stumbled into a large hairy humanoid from the Northwest country side who was obviously quite lost in the Blue Ridge.







Thanks for following along. Doc Tom

On Sun, Nov 10, 2019 at 7:14 PM, Tom Grabenstein

<tomgmd@...> wrote:

                                                                                Juice for Linville

While not as glamorous as the number two spot working its way to the Linville interchange with a load of logs, electrical wiring is  extremely important on a model railroad.

With a foam sub roadbed on a shelf, there is very little depth to hide the jungle of wires so common in Model Rail Roads. The side profile is quite thin, at best 2 inches.

Working with the foam means the lightweight mountains, hillocks and hills can easily be removed.

The whole layout can then be turned up on its side to do the dirty, non glamorous work of electrical wiring.

The inexpensive “router” attachment for the hard working Dremel tool is used to cut grooves in the underside to a depth of a 1/2”.

Next the wiring is pushed in to the groove and secured using dabs of hot glue. “ Suit case” connectors make easy work of splicing in to the wires in the grooves.

After labelling the connectors that will go to the electronics box below the shelving the layout is brought back to place on the wire shelving and it is on to the more glamorous work of building the Linville LDE for the On30 East Tennessee and Western RR.

Thanks for looking. Hope this mini tutorial wasn’t too boring.Doc Tom

Mr. Ford:

I'm writing a family history book that includes mention of William Preston Miller (1845-1900). His obituary, which I have attached, states he was a conductor of the East Tennessee & Western North Carolina RR for 16 years. The obituary of his son Samuel Ernest Miller (1873-1945) (also attached) states that William Preston Miller was the first conductor of the railroad. But when I examine the census records for William Preston Miller there is no mention of his connection with the railroad. He is listed as a Washington Co. farmer in the census records of 1870, 1880, and 1900 (no 1890 census survives). I'm contacting you to ask if the records of the ET&WNCRR Historical Society might have any information to confirm that Miller was associated with the railroad. I see from the railroad history posted on the Society's website that it reached Johnson City in 1882 then declined in the 1880s and 1890s. Would that have been the period when Miller was conductor if his obituary is correct?

Thank you for any insights you can provide.

Don Range
Palos Verdes Estates, California

On Nov 2, 2019, at 5:15 PM, Chris Bryant <chris.bryant@...> wrote:

Nice scenery work, the layout looks great!

Chris Bryant
Hendersonville TN


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-----Original Message-----

From: tomgmd@...
To: ETWNC@groups.io
Sent: 2019-11-02 1:55:40 PM
Subject: [ETWNC] Evolution at Linville

Evolution at Linville

The transformation from blue foam to colourful topography is underway on the layout design element at Linville on the On30 ET& WNC RR.









Low lying shrubs and grasses have been planted on the hillsides in anticipation of “O” scale trees in full summer growth to come in the future.





Homabed roadbed has been placed in preparation for track laying. So, we have gone from track plans to getting the foundation down for the modeled track work.







I also did the trim of the layout in an olive green color that I think matches the color of the railroad coaches on the 1920 prototype. I would appreciate comments on what Color was actually used by the ET&WNC railroad in 1920 to paint their beautiful varnish.







Thanks for looking.



Doc Tom

On Sat, Nov 2, 2019 at 2:55 PM, Tom Grabenstein

<tomgmd@...> wrote:

Evolution at Linville

The transformation from blue foam to colourful topography is underway on the layout design element at Linville on the On30 ET& WNC RR.









Low lying shrubs and grasses have been planted on the hillsides in anticipation of “O” scale trees in full summer growth to come in the future.





Homabed roadbed has been placed in preparation for track laying. So, we have gone from track plans to getting the foundation down for the modeled track work.







I also did the trim of the layout in an olive green color that I think matches the color of the railroad coaches on the 1920 prototype. I would appreciate comments on what Color was actually used by the ET&WNC railroad in 1920 to paint their beautiful varnish.







Thanks for looking.



Doc Tom