The Plan...

Well I have finally came to the point with my plan that I feel comfortable sharing it.  I have drawn and redrawn my layout at least 100 times in the past 6 months, but I am confident that this will be the plan I go with.  Of course there will be changes as I begin building but this is a good start! I want to thank everyone out there that helped me! Mike Cougill and his wonderful articles/blogs http://www.ostpubs.com/ , Ken Heyl, Jason Stuckert, Brandon Townley, Lance Mindheim, Giles Kennedy, and a lot of people on the OGR 2R forums: CWEX, AGHRMatt, flanger, Enginear-Joe to name a few. Not to mention a lot of inspiration from The Merchant Row System Layout out of France: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkYXHNdvRqI

The Columbus Industrial Railroad:

Name: The Columbus Industrial Railroad (2nd Ave Industrial Lead)
Scale: O Scale 2 Rail
Size: 30'x2.5-3' Shelves with extensions
Prototype: Ohio Central RR with NS/CSX Interchange
Locale: Columbus, Ohio
Era: Modern 2000's
Benchwork: 4' Modules- 1x4 construction with foam inserts
Track: Handlaid code 125 steel rail using R.O.W. detail products
Curvature: 40" Radius Min.
Turnout: #5 Industrial Min.
Roadbed: Cork on main only
Turnout: Tortoise on main routes for signaling / manual for sidings
Backdrop: Hand painted masonite with photo backdrops for continuing roads.
Control: MTH DCS Proto-Sound 2&3

Industries:

1. Heyl Grave Vault
- Based off of the Clark Grave Vault Company, this industry was inspired by friend Ken Heyl (Owner: Heyl Funeral Home and The Cincinnati & Southern RR).  Ken inspired me to model this industry based on the interesting loads that would come in and out of this type of business.
-Inbound: 1-2 Coil Steel Cars daily, 2 Boxcars of misc. fasteners monthly, 2-3 Boxcars shipping crates weekly
-Outbound: 2-3 Boxcars Steel Burial Vaults weekly

2. Asphalt Roof Systems
- Inspired by The Merchant Row System Layout.  This building will be on the edge of the facia and cut in half to view a completely detailed interior of the shipping and receiving department.
-Inbound:  1 Boxcar rolled paper daily, 1 Boxcar granular particulates every other day, 2 Tankcars liquid asphalt weekly
-Outbound: 2 Boxcars of finished shingles daily
The interesting thing about this industry is that it is limited to one track for both shipping and receiving.  The industry has one spot for unloading boxcars, one spot for tankcars and two spots for loading boxcars. Thus the cars must be placed in a particular order and at times switched more than once a day.
The order:
Inbound Box-Outbound Box-Outbound Box-Inbound Tank
The days that the Particulates are delivered the rolled paper must be unloaded first and then the boxcar must be switched out so that the particulates can be unloaded.  This must be done in a timely manner such that the factory does not have to wait for the next boxcar.

3. CCF "Columbus Coated Fabrics"
- This is inspired by a now demolished heavy industry. CCF produces tablecloths, placemats, aprons, totes, pet mats and many small accessories. I am still researching on what this industry takes in but I know from the pictures that it was very industrial and a huge corporation. Please look for more information on this to come in the future.

4. Columbus Builder's Supply
- Inspired by my Grandpa's Custom Home Contracting and Restoration Company WMB: Walt Morrow Builders (http://www.wmbbuilders.com). I wanted to model an industry that served Columbus based builders. The prototype I chose was 5th Ave. Lumber.
-Inbound: 3-4 CenterBeam Flatcars daily-various lumber products. Occasional Flatcar of roof trusses.
-Outbound: Empty cars daily.
 
5. Hendren Fresh Produce
-Inspired by friends and roommates Marcus and Mitchell Hendren of Hendren Farms. This is essentially a trans-load and processing center.  
-Inbound: 2-3 Boxcars Cardboard containers weekly
-Outbound: 2-3 Refrigerated Boxcars of produce daily.
Produce will be trucked in from fields located in Johnstown, OH.  Boxcars of cardboard must be left at spot to be unloaded as storage space is limited.

6.Karn Meats
-Based on Columbus prototype. Inspired by my girlfriend's Dad: VP of Karn. Sadly this industry is not rail served at this time but we are hoping for a trans-load location in the future. 

Thank you for taking the time to read and look! I hope to start module construction in the next few days! As always comments/suggestions are greatly appreciated!!!