Morrisville Scenery

One other area that I worked on prior to the open house was Morrisville along the Lamoille Valley. It was somewhat unplanned but I had some inspiration to start something, and then ended up with more done than I would have thought. This is one of those interesting aspects about model railroading where you can end up doing something totally unplanned when you entered the layout room.

Before I discuss that though, I realized in my previous post I forgot to show one of the main pictures I was discussing, that being the view of the layout when you first enter the Layout room. Shown below, you can see how having the trees and scenery here is important as it is what visitors see first as they enter the room. I think that making a good impression here will subconsciously make the rest of the layout look good as well, even though other areas have less scenery and are less complete overall.

This door leads into the layout area. Now that the trees are planted, the appearance is of a completed layout.

A view looking back while in the layout area provides perspective on the amount of scenery competed in this area.

A while back I completed the track work for Morrisville Vermont, which is the center of operations for the Lamoille Valley. The area includes a small yard, a few industries and the engine house for the railroad. All of this is prototypical, but in my implementation, I have compressed things into something that supports operation more than it follows the prototypical layout of trackage. One of my goals is to support interesting operating sessions, and in my space I really cannot dedicate the 15 feet or so of space required to model Morrisville faithfully. 

So one night I was working on my car weighting project, adding additional weight to all cars bringing them up to 7 to 9 ounces each (see earlier posts on this topic). I started work on an Atlas Plywood Mfg. double plug door boxcar. It got me to thinking about the car operating on the layout, and soon I was looking at the 2 spurs for Morrisville Lumber.

A while back I had read and heard about using Fast 'n Final lightweight spackling for roads and had a container on hand. AsI looked at the tracks and thought about how I wanted the tracks to be embedded in asphalt for forklift unloading of lumber-products boxcars, I figured, why not give this stuff a try and see how it works?

Next thing I know, I am spreading out a layer of Fast 'n Final around the tracks to represent the asphalt. I find that the material is very interesting and different than say plaster. It tends to stick to itself better than other things, at first. This makes it very easy to control. I would get a little on the rails, and it was a simple matter to just remove it with no residue. It is almost like a putty in that regard. Anyway, it is really an interesting product to work with.

I built an initial layer and let this dry overnight. I should note that I added black craft paint to get a gray color that looked like sun bleached asphalt. The next night I applied more and took care to get the product leveled and even with the height of the rails. And letting this dry another night, I cam back and used small amounts to fill in any areas that were still not flat, and also added styrene pieces between rails. It is probably possible to use the sparkling here too, and as it dries, clear out a flange way. But I would try that on a test piece first before committing it to a finished track on the layout. 

I then used some chalks to weather things a bit, and tried used a black Sharpie to create the look of cracks that have been filled with tar. Not sure if I totally like that look or not, so I may revisit that.

The Fast 'n Final dries very hard, but is still a little pliable and soft which I think will prevent any chipping like plaster. Overall I was pretty happy with this and will use it again elsewhere.

Here is a look at the scene. I added the Motrak Models brick shed, some wrapped lumber and a forklift for the open house. I plan to add more details and lumber later.

The overall area. The idea is that the lumberyard structures are mainly off the layout and this is the receiving yard.
 

The Caboose Industry Ground throws along the front edge are easily accessible and somewhat blend in with the scenery.

To help blend in the edges of the asphalt, I decided to add a little scenery base to the area. This is part of that "one thing leads to another" aspect as well. I built up gravel, dirt and static grasses, and it quickly looked like a completed scene. I decided to work this scenery all the way along the front edge of Morrisville. I found it really amazing how that quickly transformed the area into looking much more complete than it is.

The yard tracks in Morrisville are behind the initial scenery added to the front edge of the layout.

From a normal viewing angle the area looks like much more complete than it is. Like many of my areas with more trackage, I have integrated a shelf under the area into the fascia.

This has gotten me to thinking that adding a basic scenery treatment along all of the front edges, from the fascia back for a couple inches, or up to the track, would not be a bad idea to focus on in the remaining areas that are not sceniced. There might be a spot or two I want to leave alone until I have planned the area, but a lot of it is just basic scenery in these areas and I think it will go a long way to making the layout look more complete.

One other area I started the thought process on was Whitefield. In addition to the diamond and ball signal BM-MEC crossing, I wanted to include a bit of the downtown area. Whitefield has a small little section of brick and wood frame business buildings along Routes 3 and 116, and I'd like to include a representation of this on the layout. Most of my layout is either rural or focused on rail served industries, so a place to add a few other kinds of structures will be fun. 

I wanted to have the Stella Models diner in a good spot that can be easily viewed, so starting with that, I worked on a scene that goes slightly uphill representing Rt. 116. Again, not an exact prototype replication, but something that captures the feel of the area. this will be another area where I can use the Fast 'n Final, and also have a grade crossing with the B&M line heading south.

The B&M will cross the road here, the MEC is on the bridge to the back. The area to the right will need additional planning as it will include an industry switched by the B&M.

Fall progress

I started general cleanup and also worked on some scenery prior to the open houses. Straightening up took a bit of time as the layout area was housing a lot of stuff from upstairs while a remodeling project was going on in the kitchen during the summer and into September. After getting stuff out of layout area, I was able to put train stuff back where it belongs, clean track and stage trains for running during the open houses. Next I wanted to do some scenery in order to have some visual progress for repeat visitors.

First up was an afternoon of building about 70 trees for the Crawford Notch area. Nothing too difficult here, just takes some time. I start with the Scenic Express Super Trees, and working from the box separate and break off tree-like sections, different shapes for different uses. These get a quick hit of black primer and set aside (I do this in the garage near the open door to keep the paint smell out of the house). Once I get a bunch done, I get to adding the leaf material. I have 3 methods to do this.

The first and more traditional is to use ground foam. I use this a bit less now as I prefer the next two methods, but it still produces good trees, and some of the Fall colors I have from Scenic Express look good. I spray the tree with inexpensive hair spray from a pump bottle (Suave, Rave, etc. in the super hold-extra sticky variety). Then I sprinkle the ground foam over the tree structure, letting the extra get caught in a shirt box so I can recapture and reuse it. I usually put a second coating of hairspray and another ground foam coating, then I stick the tree to dry in a piece of foam with holes poked in it.

I should mention I do not go through the process of dipping trees in matte medium and hanging upside down as mentioned in the instructions. I'm sure this does a good job, and certainly helps straighten trees, but to be honest I just don't have the patience for all this extra work. Anything that is bent I address during planting by putting it next to other trees, letting them help "straighten" each other.

My second method is essentially the same as the first but I use the newer Scenic Express Noch Leaf Flake. They make some nice Autumn colors and the look is better in my opinion than most ground foams. One thing I did notice though is if I put a second shot of hairspray it tends to darken the color. Sometimes that is OK, but other times it makes the color too dark, so some care is needed here, In many cases less is more with this material anyway.

My final method uses a Tacky Web Spray Adhesive from Scenic Express followed by an application of  Scenic Express Super Turf. This material is more like pieces of ground up sponge-like material, a bit more airy looking than ground foam. I use this for a lot of the "green" fall trees on the layout. The web spray helps this adhere better to the Super Tree material and I usually do not do another coat of this adhesive or the hair spray. Some pieces will fall off before planting, and these I generally collect and reuse.

Here is a look at two of the foam pieces with trees drying:

And here are some shots of the area after planting. I still need about another 50 or so trees along the backdrop to get me out of this section of the layout. Luckily the grassy area behind the tracks as well as the foreground do not require any additional trees. It is a amazing how quickly what you think are a lot of trees get used up in a relatively small area!

Train RY-2 passes through Crawford Notch with U18B 405, while GP38 258 sits on the siding.

GP38 258 heads up ballast extra YZ-X from St. Johnsbury, VT to Bartlett, NH, waiting in the siding at Crawfords.

Winter is coming, got to get the plow out and in place for the upcoming season!

I often get a question about my photo backdrops. These are images on CD from LARC Products. They are printed on full page labels (8.5x11) and then trimmed and mounted, abutting to each other to make a seamless photo. Here you see just the tops of Fall mountains, this representing the White Mountains around Crawford Notch.

Here is a look at some trees that I make into birches. I use a little white craft paint over the trunks and then use yellow Leaf Flake material for the leaves. Makes an effective looking birch I think.

The shanty was built from a Hogdon kit around 1990 - nice to finally have it in use and at it's actual prototype location!

And here is a stepped back view of the area. I pretty much doubled the trees in this area, they extend about another 2 feet to the right. Now I just need to finish up the foreground scenery, including a gravel parking area and the addition of some signs for Rt. 302 and Crawford Notch State Park, and build the Crawford Notch station kit. I also need to add more people and some vehicles as this is a popular spot always with some people around, even when it is a chilly day in October of 1980!

Open House Photos

The two open houses in November went well. A little busier on the Saturday, but still a good turnout both days. Not everyone signs in, and some groups only have one person sign in, so it was tough to get an accurate count, but I had about 50 people on Saturday and about 35 the following Sunday.

This year I had a helper on the Saturday open house, Ken K. from up in New York. Ken has a similar modeling interest and had visited my layout last Spring. Ken plans to model the D&H in the same basic time period as my layout. Ken was looking for another visit as he is planning and working on his layout, and I jumped at the chance to have another operator on hand during the open house. Usually I get busy answering questions and socializing and it helps to have someone else running some extra trains (in addition to the 2 running on loops) and keep an overall eye on things. It also gave me a chance to run some trains with Ken when things were not too busy.

Another benefit was that Ken took a few pictures during the day, something I almost never get a chance to do. I always want to get pictures of visitors, but once the conversations get going, I totally forget to snap a few pics. And never any pics of me eitherSo thanks Ken for these photos!!

Some Q and A about the layout.

One thing I enjoy about these open houses vs. NMRA events is that you get a lot more spouses and children out to see what the hobby is all about.

Some questions about St. Johnsbury yard

November Open House 11/8 and 11/16

My layout will once again be part of the Model Railroad Open House layouts during the month of November. This annual event features open model railroad layouts in Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. A complete calendar of open layouts and dates is on line at modelrailroadopenhouse.com

My layout will be open on Saturday, November 8th and again Sunday, November 16th, both days from 1pm to 5pm.

On those days there will be a number of other NJ area layouts open, so you can visit multiple layouts on those afternoons without too much additional driving. In fact, there are 3 layouts that are each about 10 minutes from my house, one in Delanco and two in Moorestown.

Hope to see you then!

Conway Scenic

We were up camping in New Hampshire's White Mountains last week. Driving along Rt. 302 I was able to hear and then see the Notch train, led by the ex-MEC GP38. Unfortunately I was not in a position to grab any pics.

But continuing on, we were in Bartlett at Bear Notch Road just when the Valley train was arriving and doing it's run around before heading back to North Conway. Here are some pictures I was able too grab.

The train led by one ex-MEC GP7 arrives, looking real good in the old maroon and gold paint. Not sure if it was repainted or just kept in good condition, this unit has been on the roster for almost 20 years now, and I have pictures just as old in this same scheme. 573 is the original MEC number and has led quite a life (see MEC In Color books for more info)

The head brakeman jumps off to cut the passenger cars from the locomotive.

The old MEC signals still stand in a scene that is not really changed at all through the decades. 

After resetting the switch on the siding back to normal, the head brakeman walks back to the train. In the distance you can see the White Mountains that the Maine Central had to get over on its journey to St. Johnsbury.

Meanwhile the locomotive has run around the train and is ready to couple back onto the passenger cars. Here you can see the state of the MEC jointed track, slightly exaggerated by the telephoto lens. Nowadays with so much welded rail, you don't see this too often. Slow speeds are of course the rule, not just for the scenery but for the track!

Car Weighting

I have continued the car weighting program, having completed about 40 cars so far. These have been boxcars and covered hoppers, along with one gondola that has a load to conceal weight below it. Interesting to put all these cars together on the track and give them a push with your had. Wow, a HEAVY train indeed.

I have been setting the 50' boxcars at about 8 ounces, give or take a .1 here and there. I have a few 40' boxcars still in service and these are around 7 to 7.5 ounces. Some cars are easy to pop the shell off. Others, like the ExactRail cars requires carefully prying the roof off. In most cases there is some spot gluing that helps keep the roof on. Using my finger nail I can usually work between the walls and the roof and then use a small screwdriver to work the roof off. A few cars, especially ones I constructed and then painted and decaled look like they will be problematic and may damage the finish, so I am setting these aside for now and addressing all the easier cars first. When I reinstall the roofs, I do not glue them so I can more easily get back inside if the need arises.

I used up my supply of leftover bolts, nuts and washers, so taking advice from Mike Confalone, I ordered some wheel weights. I found a box of these with double sided foam on Amazon for about $30 a box. The box has 30 strips that are 3 ounces each, and segmented into quarter ounce segments.

Each box has 30 three ounce strips in 12 segments

Each strip has double sided tape that sticks really well inside the freight cars.

As most of the cars are already around 4.5 to 5 ounces, a single strip will finish the car. In some cases an additional weight segment, or washer or 2 brings it up to 8 ounces. So a box will do about 30 cars, and cost about a dollar a car (not counting the washers in some cases). A few cars are lighter and need another 1-3 segments, but this is offset by a few smaller cars, like 70 ton covered hoppers than don't need all 12 segments in a strip.

This CL&P car had additional weight from washers added when built years ago, bringing it to 4.5 ounces. A strip of weights plus 2 other segments brought it right up to 8 ounces.

The amazing thing is how nice the heavier cars feel when you handle them and put them on the track. It makes the other cars seem super light, even at NMRA standards. It just feels like a working railroad piece now and less like a model. Switching a few cars is really cool and feels totally different. Hard to put into words, but the extra weight really changes the dynamics of car handling.

While doing this on each car, I check the wheels, ream out the points on the trucks with the truck tool when required, check and in some cases change the couplers. Most cars get the KD #158 whisker scale coupler. Some with KD #5's that operate fine are being left as is. I know the scale size couplers are a little less tolerant when operating, but I prefer the look of them. I then test the car on the track to make sure it tracks well, and adjust truck screws as needed. I mark the bottom of each car with my initial, which addresses a need when I take cars on the road for Free-mo events. And finally I use a silver Sharpie on the end of each coupler glad hand to represent an air hose. Not totally a prototypical look of an air hose I know, but I am not removing them, and the sharpie helps me quickly identify a car that has been weighted and run through the checklist of maintenance procedures. The final step is to log this activity to the back of each car card.

These couplers have silver ends on their glad hands which helps me quickly see they have been weighted and checked out.

Next steps will be to operate these cars and see if they exhibit any issues. Even before this process, I would find some cars would cause issues that needed the trucks to be adjusted or couplers to be changed. It just takes some actual operations to see if a car has any issues or runs well.

I will keep adding weight to cars over time. It is actually an  easy and relaxing task that I can do even when I only have a few minutes. i can grab 2 or 3 cars, get them weighted and checked out in 10 minutes.

Soon I will start to address other car types. Mike Confalone uses sand to weight his tank cars, drilling a hole in the bottom that cannot be seen, adding the sand and caulking the hole. Looking forward to trying this. Mike C. fills his cars fully, but I am thinking this might exceed the weight I am shooting for, so we'll see once I start adding sand. I might just partially fill the cars. The good news here is that this is an even cheaper way to add weight. I can probably use the same method to address some of the more delicate boxcars on the roster.

I have a few flat cars and open top cars that will be trickier. On open top cars most people seem to simply add in the weights, and then paint and weather them to match the car. It is a trade off for operational needs versus aesthetics.

Further updates to come!

Track in and painted

Just a quick note that the track in Johnson has been finished and I applied my base coat of paint. I like to use Rustoleum Camouflage paint, using the brown color. It dries really flat and has a good railroady brown look. Even without additional weathering this does so much to improve the look of your track work.

Rustoleum camouflage paint in brown, and the block of Homasote to clean the railheads.

After spraying, in a few minutes I use a block of Homasote to wipe the paint off the railhead. Once completely dry I use a cleaning block (brite boy as well as the Woodland scenics block) to clean up and polish the railhead. Then I test run a loco to see if there are any issues. The track is now ready for additional weathering techniques and then ballasting.

Tracklaying in Johnson

I continued the track laying for Johnson over the past 2 weeks. After relaying the sub roadbed, I installed new track and took extra care to make sure it was level and with no kinks or other anomalies. The curved turnout was a source of many derailments and the main reason I re-laid the track in this area. So far testing of running cars and locos has been good. In retrospect, I think I could have built this section of the LVRC with a slightly wider radius and a lesser grade. I don't think the 28" radius is a real problem, but coupled with a steep grade problems do occur. But that is something I can add to the "if I was starting over" list (good subject for another post). Rebuilding that would be a major task and I really want to move forward with the layout. I think if you ask any layout builder they would have a list of things they would change, but have compromised to move forward towards a bigger goal. In any event the operations should be better now with the re-laid trackage.

With the curved turnout back in place, I laid out the sub roadbed for the talc mill in Johnson. At one time I thought maybe I would put 3 sidings in here (hence the 3 car card box), but in playing with flex track and looking at it, it just seemed like too much. I'm not really following the prototype here which was just a siding parallel to the main. So I have one nice long siding for the covered hoppers to be loaded and another track for other deliveries the mill might have still received by rail circa 1980.

New turnout and flex track on the LVRC main. Homa-bed laid with adhesive caulk, ready for a #5 turnout and sidings of Code 83 Micro Engineering track. The hoppers will be regular visitors to this scene, ready to be loaded with talc.

Here is how it looks with some hopper cars along the sub roadbed. The door is the entrance to the layout area. This scene is directly across from the Crawford Notch scene in posts from the past year. I'd like to get most of the scenery in this spot done before the open houses as this, along with the Crawford Notch scene are what visitors see first.

The mill will be behind the CN covered hopper with tall silos. I have only found one picture of the mill to work from, but I think I can also draw from an old RMC article on a mill further south in Vermont. It should be an interesting structure. Behind this will be VT Route 15 and a tree line to help hide the transition to the backdrop.

I also did a little track work over on the CP main line at Lyndonville. This is an area that has not really been touched in years. The track was somewhat temporarily laid down as I knew a turnout would be cut in later. It also transitions back to code 100 rail for the hidden track and into CP Newport staging. I simply pulled up the tacked in piece of flex track and put in a turnout leading to the Lyndonville industrial park. Then I put flex pieces back in and reconnected to the code 100 hidden track. The track to the right of the plywood will be mainly hidden by buildings in the industrial park and scenery transitioning up to the MEC mainline (above the CV staging, conspicuous with a CV boxcar!). Here you can see how useful having a large, flat area like Lyndonville has been. A real collector for "stuff" as you work.

The turnout and track are in place and adhesive caulk is drying as the tacks hold the track in place.

Next I will need to plan out the track arrangement for the industrial park. Again, this does not follow the prototype specifically. I'd like to get 3 or 4 spots in here, and maybe another non-railroad building. I have ideas on what will be here but getting it laid out will take some thought. 

As a side note, on the "things I would do differently" list, I think I might put the use of code 100 on there. Transitioning from code 83 to 100 has to be done carefully, and code 100 turnouts (at least Atlas ones) are not real great and not really cheaper than Atlas code 83 ones. It seems it would have been easier to just stick with code 83 in all hidden and staging areas, with Atlas code 83 #6 turnouts instead of the code 100 #6 ones.

With all this new track in, I got out the can of Rustoleum brown camo paint and hit all the track in Groveton, Gilman, East St. J, the CP main through Lyndonville and of course the LVRC track through Johnson. I then set up the fans and ventilated the area, door closed. So those pictures will come in the next update. This means all the remaining visible track is now base-coated with this pretty realistic dull track color. I can detail ties and rust up the rails as the mood strikes in these areas, and eventually add ballast (see MEC Crawford Notch updates in earlier posts to see how this looks). 

Summer Updates

Well since my last posting we had quite a bit of winter here, but now things are really nice as we roll into summer. I have not had a lot of time to get things done on the layout due to other projects, some traveling, and work.

After the Springfield show in January, I packed away the Free-mo modules as I would not need to get them out until the Fall. I had spent a bit of time getting them more detailed with structures and scenery, and it definitely took time away from the layout. I figured the modules were good for now, and I can do some minor work on them just before any shows upcoming next Fall and Winter.

I read on the MRH forums about Mike Confalone adding significant weight to his freight cars, well beyond the NMRA RP. He is in the 11 to 13 ounce range, whilst the NMRA recommends around 4.5 ounces for these size cars. I decided to try out some extra weighting on a few cars. I used leftover hardware I had on hand to bring some box cars up to 8 ounces. Not as much as Mike C. but definitely a big difference. In doing some switching I did find that the cars performed better and the couplers would engage easier with the cars offering more resistance. As of now I have not decided if I want to go even heavier. I have about a dozen cars completed and want to do some more test running. Here are a couple boxcars getting extra weight, with a couple heavier cars on the rear siding.

Do the L&N and B&M boxcars look heavier?

Mike C. discusses extra weight at length in his e-book available from MRH. Check out mrhmag.com for a link to the e-book.

I also took some time to install some DCC decoders I had picked up a while back. I have a few locos needing new Tsunami sound and I addressed a few of those, including a B&M GP7 and a CP RS10 with dual speakers.

Atlas B&M GP7 with Tsunami. Speaker at one end, capacitor at the other. 

On the layout itself, I finished up ballasting at Crawford Notch and most of the basic scenery. I still need to build and install more trees on the hill behind the tracks, but that will probably wait until the Fall before the open house season kicks back in. What I decided to focus on was the area of Johnson Vermont along the LVRC. This has been a pretty good storage space as it is right inside the door to the layout, a large flat surface that always accumulated stuff.

As displayed for the open house, this area usually has a lot more "stuff" on it!

This is downgrade from Morrisville with a curved turnout allowing access to a talc mill scene to be built. I have had trouble with this turnout and knew I wanted to replace it. I also knew there was no way I was laying track on the foam base installed here. I laid some track in Hardwick on a foam base and I have regretted it. For now it remains that way, but most likely when I rebuild the quarry scene in Hardwick I will put down proper sub roadbed. Others have seemed to do OK with a foam sub roadbed, but I find it noisy and not particularly strong when cleaning the track.

So I pulled out the existing track and turnout on the LVRC main, and also pulled out the foam sheet for Johnson. I built proper support risers for the scene, and cut down the fascia so the scene was not set below the fascia as it had been with the foam.

New Homa-bed on the LVRC main and plywood for the Johnson Talc Mill scene.

I played around a bit with track arrangements. At first I thought I would try to put a runaround into the scene. This would allow trains entering the scene to get around their cars and serve the sidings. The problem was I really did not have enough room for this, and really it wasn't too prototypical. Johnson had sidings, not an extended branch where a train would travel too. The solution is to have trains pass Johnson and head to Sheldon Jct., and on the return trip work Johnson as the trailing point industry that it is. This solved track work issues but also makes the operations more interesting, and more prototypical.

While I waited for a new turnout to arrive, I used my backdrop images from LARC to install a new mountain range behind the area. I also started work on VT Rt. 15 as a bridge over the tracks, to help hide the LVRC main heading into the wall, and as scenery behind the talc mill.

Next up will be getting more rough scenery in around the roadway and back to the wall, and installing a tree line behind the road to blend into the backdrop. I also will install the new turnout and lay the sub roadbed and track for the talc mill. I need to mock up the talc mill buildings, based on photos from Johnson in the 1970s.

So that, along with adding weight to some more cars, will keep me busy during the summer. Hopefully the scene will be nearer completion by the time the November open houses hit.

One other piece of info: The NJ Division of the NMRA will be hosting the Mid Eastern Regional convention in Mt. Laurel, NJ during October 22-25 of 2015. Yes, a year and a half away. What this means is my layout can be open for the layout tour, but also could host operating sessions. This means I need to keep building and also get the guys over for a test Op session to see how things go. I figure I need a couple of these sessions completed before having a group in to operate during the convention. Much of the operating session plan, train cards, car cards, waybills and infrastructure is in place, I just need to put the layout through the paces and see how things go. Then adjustments can be made. If no track exists in Lyndonville or North Stratford (the 2 remaining locations to build out) I can leave those trains off the schedule.

So that is what I have been up to and what I will focus on in the coming months and year. Thanks for reading!

Model Railroad Hobbyist and the Allagash model railroad

If you do not get the FREE online magazine Model Railroad Hobbyist, you really are missing out on a great resource. It is as simple as going to mrhmag.com and copying the magazine to your computer, iPad, Kindle, iPhone, whatever. Then enjoy it like any other model railroad magazine, just without the annual subscription fee. Be sure to create an account so you get e-mails when new issues are posted, around the first of every month. They also have a pretty good discussion forum if you are into that.

You get great content every month. I always find something useful. And with the January issue starts a series of articles about a layout I really have come to admire, the Allagash built by Mike Confalone up in New Hampshire. Mike previously was modeling Vermont, including the Lamoille Valley, so that hit my radar. The realistic photos and overall level of modeling was really compelling. About 5 years ago Mike switched gears and decided to proto-freelance along the lines of the Virginian and Ohio and Allegheny Midland, layouts that were huge influences on me when I was getting started in the hobby.

The January issue kicks off the series with a rail fan tour of the layout. In addition to the incredible pictures (that you really can zoom in on to see more detail), there is a cool story to go with it recollecting a rail fan trip in April of 1980 by two friends. The story line resonated with me as it was somewhat similar to a trip I took with my friend Glenn Salvatore back in April 1985. We chased trains of the Vermont and Green Mountain railroads in less than hospitable weather. But it was a great time, and it reminds me how much I still miss my model railroading mentor and friend.

Great layout, great photos, and FREE! Brrr...Looks cold!!

I so enjoy the Allagash and Mike Confalone's modeling that I also get the paid premium content that is made available. Previously Mike had two articles on modeling a paper mill and modeling a quarry. Videos were made available for each entitled Modeling Outside The Box, Volumes 1 and 2. I opted to download the HD video (as opposed to paying more for a DVD). The cool thing is I can watch the video techniques right on my iPhone or iPad right on the layout while I am modeling. So when it was announced that an Allagash Story e-book would be issued in 4 volumes, I jumped on that too.

The first volume was made available at the end of January and is a 62 page landscape book with over 100 photos (again that you can zoom in on - try looking at them full screen on a 30 inch monitor - awesome!). This volume covers the concept of the layout, and information about building it. Similar to the V&O Story published years ago, it covers reasons why certain things were chosen and overviews of methods used to construct things. It reads better than your usual layout story and again imparts a lot of good ideas you can use in your layout and model building.

The next 3 volumes will be released around end of each month, Feb, Mar and Apr. This is in addition to the next 5 FREE issues of MRH magazine. There is also going to be some video released as well, so I'll have plenty to keep me busy studying this great layout.

Volume 1 of the Allagash Story e-book

I should also mention there is a link at the end of the first rail fan tour article in the MRH magazine that leads to a video showing an Allagash RS3 switching on the layout. Really something you should check out and listen too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbuGSGmNWaw&feature=youtu.be

If you think the best way to consume model railroad magazines is printed versions, you may be surprised how much you enjoy looking at one on your laptop, iPad or whatever. You get a lot of content, pay nothing, and may find you like it even better! Certainly worth a try for FREE!

Springfield and NE Free-mo

So, without planning to do so, I ended up bringing my module up to the big annual Springfield Massachusetts train show. I have attended for a few years now, traveling up with my friend Anton. The New England Free-mo guys asked me to participate in their layout, and after consulting with Anton, the decision was made to join them. It was a great time.

The layout was very large. Two return loops at each end and dozens of modules making up the mainline. My module was situated off of a wye leading down a branch line to a staging yard. Here is a look at the track plan:

New England Free-mo Layout - Woodstown Jct. was located off the wye heading down to the 3 thinner staging yard mini-ml's.

And this was not just a display layout. A full operations plan was set up, all sidings numbered, and switch lists generated for multiple trains to operate in sessions 4 time during the weekend. Very cool, and flexible, perfect for this type of set up where you may be interrupted to talk to the public about Free-mo. It gives some purpose to the layout besides just running trains around from loop to loop. Meets need to be planned, decisions on how to spot and pick up cars, and a sense of really going somewhere with your train for a purpose. Lots of fun!

I ran my i-Car around the layout and also did some flyover video, so use the link below to check it out on YouTube.

http://bit.ly/MqLTBc

All in all a good experience and the plan now is to do it again next year.

My Woodstown Jct. set up within the overall NE Free-mo layout. (panoramic image causes a little distortion)

I brought this nearly completed this MEC snow plow, (still needs a headlight and some additional details). Good thing, we needed it as it snowed Saturday afternoon!

Free-mo at Bordentown, NJ Train display

For the second year, Free-mo modules were displayed at the annual Bordentown, NJ holiday train show. This show is a free display of operating model railroads open on weekends from Thanksgiving to New Years. Over 4000 people come through the old city hall building to look at the trains, so it is good exposure for the hobby and Free-mo, which represents scale model railroading amongst the Lionel, American Flyer and other display layouts.

This year a curved layout with a peninsula was fit into the half of the room we were allocated. This allowed some operation and gave the visitors the ability to see and hear trains move freight between the railroad barge and the interchange yard.

Thanks to Mike Prokop and Bob Liberman for coordinating the Free-mo participation and manning the layout for 2 weekends. Modules by Mike Prokop, Bob Clegg and myself were set up.

An overall view of the layout constructed.

Mike Prokop's module featuring street trackage mainline with a spur leading to the yard and rail barge.

The rail barge module representing Camden's rail-marine operations of the 1950s.

A new 90 degree curved module made its debut, allowing us to join one interior section of my module to  the others in the space we had available. It was a close fit up against the window and radiator, but Free-mo showed its versatility again in allowing us a neat layout to display and operate!

Busy November!

Coming back from the Laconia NER Convention, I stowed the modules under the layout, covered them with plastic and prepared for the open houses in November. This involves general cleaning up, preparing the run through trains with (hopefully) reliable freight cars that are good to run for 5 hours start each day, and putting up the assorted signs and info that othert model railroaders like to peruse to understand what the layout is all about.

I had about 75 visitors over the first two days, a Sunday followed by a Saturday. Good weather may have impacted the numbers a bit, and with only a bit of publicity this year, probably less of the general public. Certainly there were plenty of return visitors that were good to see. Bill Rose reminded me that I still have not built the ET&HK Ide building yet, as he does each year! I also had a few children and one that quite literally demanded to run a train. Once I prepared a Lamoille Valley passenger extra for him, he settled in and ran the train quite nicely, paying attention to speed and even stopping at the station in Sheldon Jct.

As usual, I did not remember to take too many pictures, but I did get one when there were about 5 people looking around things. Only two can actually be seen however...including Bryan who visits each year and was able to get his Dad down as well.

During the open house, just one picture taken. I always forget to take pictures and get busy talking to everyone!

The following weekend saw about 80 nor so members of the NJ Division NMRA stop by after the local Division Meet. This was a much more crowded and question filled day, but still lots of fun.

I closed out the month by getting a visit in to Ken McCorry's layout. It had been about 8 years or so since I had been there, back when it was Conrail and Penn Central. Now all Pennsy, the layout is just as big as I recall it, and perhaps larger. One picture I took was this quite impressive dispatchers "office". That's a lot of layout to dispatch!

2 chairs probably means 2 dispatchers which equals Big layout!

NER Laconia Convention Report

Although I planned to update the blog during the weekend of the convention, I found myself just too busy to do so.

I headed up to New Hampshire and spent Thursday morning driving up to Franconia and Crawford Notches. Big difference in scenery - the Laconia area was pretty much at peak color - the Notches looked leafless and ready for winter. Still it was cool to visit these areas, and I did get a picture of the Crawford Notch state park sign I needed for the layout. I also headed up the road to where we camp in the summer, but the campground was closed due to the government shutdown.

Here are a couple pictures. First is the Crawford Notch station, which really shows the lack of foliage on the hillside. Next is a Mt. Washington Cog Railway locomotive and passenger car, relocated down to the intersection of US302 and Rt. 3 in Twin Mountain. I assume the steam locomotive is now surplus as they converted from coal power to diesel up on the big mountain. In the third picture, further south, you can see how much more foliage there is beside this Boston & Maine bridge along the Pemigawasset River.

Here is a link to all the non-train photos I took in case you want to check them out.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/69256547@N02/sets/72157636708222704/

Thursday afternoon was set up time for the Free-mo layout. It was tough to really get a picture of the overall layout as it was long and linear. I think it was in the neighborhood of 160 feet of mainline. The picture here shows my module being operated by a guest, with a large portion of the layout going down along the wall, turning right and continuing along that wall to the doorway. Not seen is the large return loop that my module fed into.

A full set of Free-mo layout pictures are up on Flickr, so I'm not going to repeat them here. Here is the Flickr link:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/69256547@N02/sets/72157636769787906/

The New England Free-mo guys were great and really had their stuff planned out. Set up was quick and efficient. My module fit in with no issues and James Koretsky's CAD planning fit the layout into the room perfectly. Fred Hessler came up with a great operating scheme and we hosted numerous sessions Friday and Saturday. I had a great dinner at a nearby restaurant with the guys Thursday night. Friday I presented my clinic on the St. J & LC, which went OK, although it was a bit disconcerting to have such knowledgeable people in attendance, many who know more than I do about what I was presenting, and I know as a result I was a bit off. Hopefully everyone enjoyed it and learned a little something. Saturday, after more Op sessions, we took the layout down, and I attended the banquet. I left early Sunday in order to get home for some other planned activities.

All in all a really good time. Taking the modules to another group and setting up again proved the value of Free-mo. We had no issues integrating my modules into another group's modules. The weather was really nice, the convention site terrific, and just being up in New Hampshire in October a real treat.

November Open Houses

This November I will again be opening my layout up for visitors during Model Railroad Month as part of the greater MD-DE-PA-NJ Open House Event. A complete list of open layouts is at the model railroad open house web site.

My layout will be open from 12 noon to 4pm on Sunday November 3, 2013.

It will be open again from 12 noon to 4pm on Saturday, November 9, 2013.

There are a large number of NJ area layouts open both these days, so it is worthwhile to plan your route along the I-295 corridor to get the most bang for your buck. There is one layout 10 minutes to the west of me, and another 10 minutes to the east, so you can easily see those 3 layouts on one of the days.

One more open house will occur as part of the NJ Division's Meet in nearby Delanco on Saturday November 16, 2013, from 1pm to 5pm. The Meet itself will be in the morning with clinics, and other area layouts will also be open. See the Division's Web Site for more info on that event.