Cliff Powers' Mississippi, Alabama & Gulf - The Magnolia Route

[ACL1504]

John, the karma thing worked long enough for me to get a -16!
Scary to think if it was still workin'!

Tom, I felt like I was ridin' along in that '51 Ford!
Maybe I was - I felt the urge to peepee when I read it.
When we stop at the River Bend Tradin' Post, I want a Hires Root Beer!

Gman,

Always good to see you! As I wrote the little story, I remembered the days traveling with my parents in our Ford station wagon. Metal dash, no radio, my mother humming some tune, the dust and my three sisters doing what they did best- just being sisters and the dirt rings around the neck.

On one trip to Illinois, I said something bad to one of my sisters. When we stopped for those iced cold drinks, my dad said I couldn't have the Nehi Strawberry because of what I said. To this day I don't remember what I said but I do remember not getting that drink and to this day, not liking my sister.

Now, I'll just take one of those Hires Root Beer drinks as well. I remember getting Birch Beer drinks from the A&W!

Tom

[ACL1504]

The oak trees around the church are the best I've seen. I took the next picture as I was sure I saw a few birds in there.



The next photo is the "other" side of the oak trees and the beginning of the Sawmill area.



Honestly, I didn't take enough photos of this area of the layout. This is a huge complex and well worth viewing. Also, I neglected to get an overall shot of it to show ya'll just how massive it is.





Continued in a few.

[ACL1504]

More of the sawmill area.









Continued in a few.

[ACL1504]

Sawmill photos -



When my Babe and I were standing at this spot, Cliff activated the sounds of the sawmill. The bandsaw cutting wood was wonderful. I could almost smell the wood being cut!







This next photo of the track crossing the log pond is impressive.



I'll add more this weekend. Thank you all for following along on this photo tour of the Mississippi, Alabama & Gulf Railroad.

Tom

[S&S RR]

Tom


Thanks for posting more pictures. I'm really enjoying this thread.  I would love to get to visit Cliff's layout. Great work - looking forward to your future posts.

[coors2u]

Tom, I love the sawmill scenes. I love how all the different kits are mixed in together. What a great little area.

[S&S RR]

Tom/Cliff


I think a tree building thread would be of great interest here! I agree the oak trees are some of the best I have seen. Never hurts to ask right?

[ACL1504]

Tom


Thanks for posting more pictures. I'm really enjoying this thread.  I would love to get to visit Cliff's layout. Great work - looking forward to your future posts.

John,

You are most welcome, I'm having fun posting them! Its easy to look at a great layout.

Tom

[ACL1504]

Tom, I love the sawmill scenes. I love how all the different kits are mixed in together. What a great little area.

Dustin,

Yes, it's a great area to view. I should have taken more pictures of this area.

Tom

[ACL1504]

Tom/Cliff


I think a tree building thread would be of great interest here! I agree the oak trees are some of the best I have seen. Never hurts to ask right?

John,

I agree with you, a tree clinic or thread would be great! However, I'm not the tree guy. I'm, at the moment, the ovalix guy!

Tom

[ACL1504]

I was spending some time this afternoonlooking through the pictures I took on my visit June 1. I realized there is nothing NOT to like about Cliff's modeling skills and the Magnolia Route Railroad. Here are a few more pictures for ya'll!.





This next scene is relative simple but yet it plays a very big role in the overall look and feel of the Magnolia Route. This is a brilliant scene.



Notice how the road elevates after crossing the tracks. The truck appears to be coming down a slight hill and the digital photo backdrop gives you the feeling that the road goes down the hills in the back. Brilliant, just brilliant!

Continued after another Diet Pepsi break!

[ACL1504]

Here's a lucky family on vacation pulling their Air Stream camper. They are either leaving or passing through Wharton, Miss.. I wonder if the kids in the back seat pinched their noses as they passed the Pine Belt Meat Packing Company?



This truck is about to cross the Wolf River.





Notice the dead oak tree between the highway and railroad?



I'm sure it took a Northern Mississippi lightning strike in the past. No wonder, it sits next to two huge steel bridges and a body of water. Brilliant, just brilliant!

Continued in a few.

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It appears we are about to enter the city limits of Wharton, Mississippi!



I love this next scene. I'm sure the officer, one of Wharton's finest, is asking the motorist to please come back and visit his fair city!



I believe we are about to find out where that smell is coming from!





Continued in a few.

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Well, here is another mystery solved! It appears the John Deere distributorship is buying the Red Deer Tractor and repainting them!



It appears business is slow at the Wharton Farm Center!



Finally we see the source of the foul smell! No wonder the Wharton City Council made the Pine Belt Meat Company build on the edge of town!



Note in the three photos above you can see the supports for the top or third level of Cliff's fantastic layout. I could have cropped them out but the pictures were taken as a reference for me when I get to that point on my layout. Yes, I did get close ups of the actual supports in relation to the second level. When standing and viewing the layout, these supports aren't visible to the visitor.

Thanks for following along.  Tom

[ACL1504]

I forgot to add these two from the last posting.