CSX Hawksridge Division

Model Railroad

This layout was built in 2000 and dismantled in 2011 when I moved. The layout was constructed in my garage and featured four removable modular components that spanned the opening across the garage door in addition to a removable peninsula. The main yard was built on a hollow core door and remaining non-removable portions of the layout were built using standard model railroad framing methods with plywood tops.

The layout was a freelanced subdivision of the CSX in North Carolina serving the towns of Hawksridge, North Hawksridge, Bear Creek, Franklin and Charlotte. The railroad served several customers including an intermodal yard, scrap metal facility, fuel distributor, lumber yard, plastics facility, grain facility and numerous other industries.

Operating sessions with 6 to 8 members were run using a fast clock and train orders. Two person crews operated turn jobs out of Hawksridge to Bear Creek, Charlotte Intermodal Yard, Franklin, and North Hawksridge. The Hawksridge Yard Master switched industries located in Hawksridge as well as sorted inbound and outbound trains. In addition, there were two inbound and outbound freights, a through freight, and an Amtrak passenger train made a run during the operating session.

An article about the planning, construction and operation of my CSX Hawksridge Division layout appeared in the Model Railroader How to Build More Layout In Less Space special issue published in 2010.