008 The Smart Industry X-Change System (SIXS) - First Look at the Chemical Plant

The chemical plant that I'm going to model has been around for a long time!  Smells like its been around for a long time.  I haven't had a chance to get up to Cartersville, Georgia to take detail shots, but I plan to this month.

Photos courtesy of Google Maps.  Best way to get the top shot!

This chemical plant has been around well over 50 years.  I remember passing by it regularly when I was very young.  The pungent smell of sulphur would burn my nose and cause me to roll up the window.  Currently it is called Chemical Products.

Here is a powdered chemical products loading/unloading facility.  We'll model that on the layout.

The setting around the plant is quite beautiful with trees and the large Etowa River.

This is the best side for photographs, and the place I'll go in a few weeks.  There was a chemical facility across the street and the track and racks are still in tact.  A small creek is under the tree line.

The plant takes a variety of rolling stock, but mostly tank cars and small covered hoppers.  These are on a set out siding next to the street.  I've passed here many times and NEVER to this day have I seen a person walking around.  One day I'll just camp out there all day until the police come.

I'm planning to make the swing gate automatic, controlled by a computer when you ask for permission to enter.

Ochre is present in the area and is blown all over the buildings giving them a brownish yellow appearance.  Actually the plant changes colors as you move back to the older parts.

I've never seen this switched, but there must be plenty of activity.  Their main product is sulfur.

Here you can see the rusted tracks, the old crossbuck and the gate with the yellow derail.  Lance Mindheim would love this!

Thanks Google for getting me the shots I need when I'm 300 miles away!

This is a very hard turn and is a busy road.  Traffic is always moving through here.

An overview gives you a feel for the size, but this isn't all the plant.  It goes all the way back to the river.

The street that goes through the plant was taken over by the facility and the road forced around it.

Power substations, processing, loading areas, raw material receipts.  Lot of fun in a dirty old factory.

 I've compressed it significantly so that I could get in the good parts.  While tanks and things are just put in there for now, I'll eventually lay them out in a proper processing order.  My real dilemma is how to reproduce the smell!

The track is a model unto itself and I will hand lay it to get it down into the dirt.  We'll reproduce the wonderfully weathered ties!

 I'm going to have to make some tank cars like these!

Here is a siding that goes down through the middle of the plant.  Loading and unloading probably, but need to know more.  This is a weathering nightmare!

The little warehouse is much newer.

I kept close to the prototype on the design, and may expand it when I build the big layout.

Stay tuned for more photos!