Berman Agricultural Supply

Berman Ag Supply WIP

    George Berman first moved to valley area in 1946 right after World War II. He had been an aide stateside and wanted to see the west after being stationed all along the eastern seaboard. Upon arriving in Montana he decided to go into business for himself and stumbled upon a small feed store outside of Clearwater. The owner was retiring and George got a good but fair price for it. And Berman Hoof and Hay was born.

    George, his wife Linda, and their children Paul and Georgina worked many long hours at the store. Anything that needed doing they did. But it was worth the effort. In 1955 they asked the Clearwater Lumber Company if a spur could be built to the store. Rail access meant a better supply chain and a covered loading dock was built. Farmers and ranchers up and down the valley relied on George and his family to look after their crops and livestock. It was also a good place for a cup of coffee and catch up on the latest local news.  Hoof and Hay, now Agricultural Supply also was a dealer for a range of farm tractors and implements. George did not agree to any exclusive lines but stocked what the farmers needed no matter the brand.

    George retired in 1985 but the kids kept the store going. In 2001 it was decided to sell the business so the family could enjoy George and Linda's twilight years. A young couple from Washington State purchased the business and have brought it into the 21st century. You an now pre-order your feed on the internet and come in and pick it up. But you can also have your tractor delivered by flatcar anywhere in the region. Locals still call it The Hoof and Hay. And a handshake and an honest dollar goes a long way at Berman Agricultural Supply. Just like it has been since 1946.

    The idea for a flat building came to me from the Last Chance Layout. Some of the industries where just that. A picture cut out and pasted on the backdrop. As an operator I didn't care but I liked that I could get a sense of place. And the car had a home and a mission. So this is my first attempt at a bit more depth. It's not perfect but I think I'll develop the scene over the next few weeks. 
     

Small Details, Small Steps

 

There is a lot of detail here. For me anyway. 

    Work on the scenic bits of the layout have begin. Ballasting is happening throughout the yard.  Trees were removed, grass added and trees put back. Each step a little one but I can tell the layout is coming together. Let's take a look at the photo at the top of this post, what do we see? We see BNSF 403705 in pristine paint. I know this because when I looked up photos online of the car it has some artwork on it. Now if that appears on my 403705 is yet to be seen but I'd like to think it might. The ballast is nothing to write home about but that was the first section that was done. It is Arizona Rock and Mineral Yard Mix and I think it looks right. I have not laid ballast in 20 years or so. And after a few YouTube videos I figured I'd either end up with the biggest mess or it would look okay ten feet. It passes the ten foot test. See those barrels? They tell a different story. The corner of the layout the engine barn is in means because of the hutch door needing to open I can't glue the barn down. But i needed a way to position it every time I had to put it back. Those barrels are glued so that when the barn is touching them it's in the right place.  Also notice the track bumper.

    That is a Walthers track bumper bought brand new in package. Let me tell you a little about a Walthers Track Bumper. I figured they would be a solid piece. They are not. Sure you can get them out of the package but then they suddenly become three pieces. And it's a bear trying to get them back together. But with a lot of Loctite Gel I managed to wrangle three together again for the yard. Just as a heads up if you're looking to get them. I think they look great and a lot better then a blue thumbtack for sure. 

It does appear to be ballasted.

    I've ballasted the engine house area and a yard track. But I had stopped short of the turnout. The horror stories of this particular endeavor ran though my brain. I'd ruin the switch. I'd glue the points together. I'll have to tear it all out and do it again! So I watched a couple of YouTube videos, this is a theme by the way, and discovered the secrets. It's to appear ballasted. Just enough to fool the eye. Take your time and go slow and you'll be fine. So that's what I did when I got home today. Took my time, followed the instructions and paid attention. As the glue sets up tonight the points are in fine working order and I see no reason why that would be any different in the morning. One switch takes about fifteen minutes. I figure four days and I'll have all the yard switches done. Then it's the interchange track and we wait for the mainline ballast. Still deciding between GN or NP look but maybe a combination of both with some odd patches thrown in. That is after all prototype.  But I feel much better about this whole ballasting thing. 

    I'm not sure how far down the scenery rabbit hole I'll go. But it's great to spend an hour or so making my 1/87th world look just a little more real. 

It's 2024. Again.

  

Big Sky Forest Products

    As things happen here on the railroad change has come again. As this is an ever evolving project the desires and needs of the builder change and grow. But I had to drill down on what I was really wanting and what would work for my own mindset as the layout is concerned and this lead to some updates that will act as Matthew Freix would say "guiderails" keeping things on track. Terrible railroad puns intentional or not are free on this blog.

   The railroad is set in the summer of 2024.  Before construction it was the late 1950's and when construction had just begun that slipped to varying time periods but it's settled on 2024. This means that BNSF has taken over the MRL and by extension the Big Blackfoot Branch from Bonner Jct to Clearwater Jct. The Glacier Rail Park has been full and in operation for a few years as well meaning business to the north of the CSLP have had time to mature and gain customers and traffic. One thing I've heard and read repeatedly is when in doubt look to the prototype. So in this case it's the real life Mission Mountain Railroad when it operated the Kalispell branch and the Bitterroot Branch when it was under MRL ownership. What an eye opener a dozen photographs gave me. I could model this withing in the constraints of my layout size and operation. We'll get into the operations in the next installment of this blog but now I have something to work on.

     New power and rolling stock is coming to the railroad too. Currently my car fleet is almost exclusively pre-1960 40' cars. Although I tried to work them into the modern concept I've decided to simply bite the bullet and update the fleet. A few of the current fleet will be saved as we'll need rolling stock for photo work but post 1980 stock is coming. My goal however is keep the texture alive. This means a lot of leased cars and cars from smaller roads that existed in the late 20th century but were not as common as the megamergers consumed the variety and color that once existed on our railroads.  I've purchased my first modern power in the form of a ex-leased GP9 PII that will take over the bulk of assignments for the time being. As we move forward the keyword for motive power is reliability in a tough environment and this locomotive should fit the bill. 

1601 Small Livery (Notional)

    Scenery on the layout also continues. We are learning and while sometimes it's one step forward and one step back it's amazing what you can accomplish by simply watching a YouTube video and winging it.  I look forward in the future to pointing out where I started.  My bar for most of what is happening scenery wise is serviceable and I think I've managed to meet it.

With a little AI help, Happy Holidays to all us from the Clearwater Pacific!