The Housatonic Railroad in N Scale

[Pomperaugrr]

Since I am finally getting some time to start working on my layout after a year, I figured this is a good place to document it.  My blog will eventually be updated as well, someday.   

Here's a link to the thread I started last year.

https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=22817.msg217831#msg217831

It is hard to believe it has been over a year since I posted any progress information.  Life has been good, but very busy!

Here's the latest track plan:



I just started taking an hour or two here and there to make some layout progress again.  I have been running trains and switching out my mocked up industries.  I am at the point of getting things finalized so I can permanently attach and wire all the industrial trackage.  All buildings will either be scratchbuilt or extensively kitbashed. 

My first project of the new work season was to rebuild Kimberly Clark.  It was close, but not close enough to the prototype.  Here are three shots.  The first was the original configuration, next is a Bing Maps screenshot showing the prototype and the last shows the modification I made over the last few days.  The back walls and roof will be added once I get the track in its final position.

Original configuration:


Bing Maps View:


Modified version:


I am now happy with the compressed representation of the Kimberly Clark plant in New Milford, CT.  There is much to be done, but there has been progress at least.

I have also started bashing buildings for Specialty Minerals.  I was able to pick up some ugly HO scale IHC cement silos for $1.99 each and have begun turning them into N-scale structures for the Specialty Minerals limestone plant.  There is still a ton of detailing and finish work to do on these!

Original crappy IHC HO version




New N-scale conversion (in progress)



Eric

[Pomperaugrr]

Here are a few more areas where some minor progress has been made.

I will happily accept constructive criticism to help improve the scenes and my skills as I go along.  Here are a few more progress shots from around the layout.  Please note that none of the buildings is finished, the few trees are a horrible shade of green which will be changed and the ground cover is going to be redone.  The layout will need thousands of trees eventually.

This will be Becton Dickenson, a medical plastic products manufacturer in Canaan, CT.  The first shot is my mock-up/partial kitbash, the second is the Bing Maps view for reference.  I tried to capture the feeling of the recessed truck loading area and the tracks for boxcars and plastic pellets.  Still a lot to do, but it is helping me finalize track placement, so I can then finish the building.





Next is H.H. Taylor & Son hardware and lumber distribution.  The old buildings are from a layout I built 20 years ago and are acting as place holders.  They may or may not be modified for use here.



I am adding a rail customer that does not have a spur on the prototype.  Neeltran is located between Kimberly Clark and Stratas Foods on the prototype.  They make transformers and electrical control units for factories.  They will be getting coiled steel once my Atlas coil cars come in.  On the prototype a spur could easily be added off of the Kimberly Clark switching lead, so I added it in my model world.  Again, this is just a mock up to capture the layout of the actual buliding.





Overall view of 13' section depicting New Milford industries.  From left to right:  Stratas Foods, Neeltran and Kimberly Clark.
 



The final shot is an overview of the New Milford train station and Railroad Street.  Numerous DPM buildings will be modified and placed here eventually.  The station is a combination of two Atlas "Maywood Station" kits.  Again a work in progress.



As you can see, there are very few buildings that can be made from kits, so just about every building has to be extensively kitbashed or scratchbuilt.  This is time consuming, but rewarding.  Please feel free to offer advice as these scenes are close to being finalized, but nothing is etched in stone yet.  I appreciate any and all feedback!

Eric

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Eric, have I ever mentioned how much I dig your layout? Cause I do.

[Philip H]

Eric, have I ever mentioned how much I dig your layout? Cause I do.

+1!

[Pomperaugrr]

Thanks.  I have very little time to do much with it, so the progress is slow.  The prototype is perfect for a model railroad, and allows for solo and small group operations.  I have learned a lot from all of you and will try my best to improve my skills with feedback from everyone here. 

My goal was to represent real customers of the HRRC, in order to provide a real world feel.  Although they are compressed, I am trying to retain the look of large actual industries and their track arrangements yet not compress the car capacity of each.  I read this forum regularly, but don't post much, unless I have something to offer.

Eric

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Which is funny, because most of the time I don't have anything to offer, but post anyway

Like I said, I think what you're doing is very cool, and is precisely what I want to do with my future CR NCR Line layout, but with a different topic.

[GaryHinshaw]

Thank you for posting these updates, this really is top notch work.  I love the space you have and the ways in which you're using it so convincingly.  What is the overall size of your layout?

-Gary

[Pomperaugrr]

Thank you for posting these updates, this really is top notch work.  I love the space you have and the ways in which you're using it so convincingly.  What is the overall size of your layout?

-Gary

The layout is in a 13' x 21' room, with an 11' extension into a closet and the Phase 2 portion will be built in a 6x10 closet.  This is an air conditioned and heated bonus room over our garage.  The layout is cantilevered off the walls to allow full use of the space below it.  In a strange twist of events, I originally had a shelf layout around three walls of the 6x10 closet, but my wife suggested tunneling through the walls into the bonus room.  The old layout was torn down and holes cut through the walls within a week, in case she tried changing her mind...

I'm a lucky guy!

Eric

[milw156]

I really appreciate a model railroad with customers big enough to support it! The N advantage is scenery to track ratios, and the industries are a form of scenery you have really taken advantage of!  Superb use of irregular shapes to add interest & car spotting opportunities. First started following your work last year, have been looking forward to updates, thanx for posting & keep up the great work! I look forward to being inspired by your progress!
Rick

[Specter3]

Keep the updates coming! I think you have a wonderful layout.

[Pomperaugrr]

I made a little more progress.  The Neeltran (transformer mfg. and rebuilding) facility went from cardboard mock-up to first stage construction.  I cut down a Walthers HO scale corn storage warehouse from their ethanol series.  The top portion has the peaked roof and the flat roofed section is the bottom portion of those walls.  The flat roof is from one of the Nu-Line warehouse kits I used to bash Kimberly Clark and Becton Dickenson.  The tan additions are made from one Micro Engineering enginehouse kit.  I still have a lot of doors, skylights, paint and details to add, but this will be the final configuration.





By way of reference, this is the overview of the New Milford industrial area I am modeling on this wall.  I am exercising artistic license in capturing the feel and look of the structures, without getting too caught up in making an exact scale replica.



Model version: (left to right - Stratas Foods, Neeltran and Kimberly Clark)


Eric

[Pomperaugrr]

Here are some more progress shots from this weekend.  I painted the office portion and added glass, doors and rail doors.  The rail doors can be positioned differently.  I made working door runner tracks to allow them to slide up and down for photos.





Progress is slow, but at least it is progress.  I try to fit in some projects in an hour or two here and there.  The big blocks of free layout time never seem to materialize.

Eric

[Philip H]

Eric,
You've probably mentioned this up-thread, but where did you get the orange Schnieder trailers?

Philip

[Pomperaugrr]

I have about 25 of the Schneider trailers, as they are the primary haulers for Kimberly Clark.  The bulk of them are Deluxe Innovations Road Railers that I was able to scrounge up over the past few years.  I knew I would need a ton of these to represent the prototype location.  They are pretty much impossible to find now and the latest 5 pack run was cancelled.  I also have a few custom paints by Ansky98 on e-bay.  The custom paints are alright for the price.  Those are repainted Herpa models.

Eric

[nscalemike]

I love that front office building.  Something you really don't see a whole lot of in N-scale (or any other scale for that matter).  Often we just focus on the back area where the rail service is but the added dimension is great.  By the way, I also like the looks of the dock areas and interested in the moving doors!  More pics please!

Mike