Dale
Latham's Piedmont Southern, Waldorf, MD
By
Bill Mosteller
Dale’s
wonderful
railroad is located in his garage, insuring ample
space. You enter from his house. My plan is to take
you
around the railroad. As the slide show demonstrates, all
the
scenes are exquisitely done and very well detailed.
The
first thing you see as you enter the room is South
Branch,
and its two-track coal pier. The scene includes
waterfront, a
light house, and a coal barge. The Piedmont branch begins
here,
there’s a scrap dealer behind the pier approach track.
Moving
on, we come to Shenandoah,
the most recently rebuilt area of the railroad. Dale
decided that
the aisle way into the railroad here was too narrow (or perhaps
that we
visitors are too wide). He pruned the railroad back a
foot, and
re-arranged the scene. Included are a station, small yard,
feed
company, coal dealer, and fertilizer warehouse.
We cross
a stream and come to Ann
Marie, with a small siding and building for American
Wood, which handles pulpwood.
From
there, we pass by Anitasdale
(named for Dale’s wife) with a prominent station and feed
company. The turnout at Shenandoah
Junction
puts us onto the main line. From there, if we were to
reverse
direction, we’d pass through Anitasdale and enter hidden track
that
leads to staging.
Instead,
we proceed to South Blue
Ridge, which features Knickerbocker Furniture and a
passenger flag stop.
Just
beyond is Blue Ridge,
the Piedmont Southern’s main yard, including fueling and repair
facilities and a turntable. Incoming cars are sorted here
for the
Piedmont and Shenandoah turns and through freights.
From
here, the railroad has another branch that leads to Piedmont.
Major industries here include the Anita Latham Bakery, North
Piedmont,
an urban scene with several industries, and an interchange
track.
When operating a railroad, I like scenes that are a challenge,
but not
a switching puzzle. From several enjoyable sessions I can
say
that this area is exactly that. Entering North Piedmont,
there’s
room for your locomotive and one freight car. So you need
to
think out what you’re picking up and whether the siding is
facing or
trailing point. Accessing the interchange track may
require
moving existing set-outs.
Getting
back on the main line at Blue Ridge, we proceed to the Piedmont
Station and Piedmont Heights,
which features a pet food company and small station.
From
there, we cross a high steel trestle to Adora
Run,
with a station, grocery distributor, and coal dump. The
house in
the foreground features details on the front porch including a VectorCut®
rocking chair. Dale took four hours to assemble the chair
while
watching a Redskins game. Good thing the team isn’t so
good this
year! From Adora Run we have access to Popes
Creek,
which features a major coal tipple with a three-track yard and a
pallet
and stave supplier. Meanwhile, the main line passes the
coal
tipple and enters a helix that allows the train to
descend. Adora
Run and Popes Creek sit on a new peninsula that Dale only
recently
recreated.
Exiting
the helix, we arrive at Sean
Creek,
site of a flag stop and large concrete plant, including a
kiln.
The plan is another switching challenge, but stops short of
being a
puzzle. The passing siding can be used to hold cars
temporarily
while switching the plant, provided one pays attention to the
timetable.
Finally,
we arrive at Hanover Junction,
which includes a team track, coal dump, and entrances to staging
tracks.
As
you can see, Dale’s railroad combines real operating potential
with
excellent detailing and scenic-ing, a rare combination.
Dale’s
railroad is part of The Chesapeake Trainmasters Club, a local
operating group.