Thinking outside the Box(es)

Boxes, boxes, everywhere! Amazon boxes might be the most common—used to deliver items from Amazon, and then many of us reuse them for sending things to friends or selling on eBay to clear out things we once "had to have." But the boxes I really want to talk about are those that hold all our model trains. When I started model railroading, boxes were mostly the standard Athearn blue boxes (or yellow for those who go way back). The only "fancy" boxes came from brass manufacturers.

As models grew more detailed and traveled longer distances, protecting them became crucial. Life-Like, with their Proto 2000 line, introduced some clever packaging. They separated the body shell from the chassis to protect delicate details from rough handling. However, these boxes took up much more room—often as much as two or three older Athearn boxes! Today, most manufacturers pack their locomotives in boxes similar to the old brass models, but instead of simple plastic wrapping, they use a series of plastic sleeves and shells. This trend spread to passenger cars, with molded plastic shells inside cardboard boxes, and then to freight cars, and even some Ready-To-Run (RTR) structures in clamshell packaging.

All this led me to wonder: what should I do with all these boxes? I faced a dilemma—should I keep boxes to store models when they’re not on the layout? Should I toss them, or maybe use them for craft projects? The older Athearn boxes are handy for storage or as project boxes, a place to keep parts for in-progress builds. The newer boxes, though, aren’t as versatile, and storing them empty eats up space. Some might say, "Keep them for resale value!" And that’s true—models with their boxes do resell better. But I don’t resell much, especially finished models.

My friend Brian J. came by to help with my layout and pointed out my rather messy basement. With his encouragement, I finally made a decision:

Here’s what I’m keeping:

- Locomotive boxes, except for Proto 2000 and yellow Atlas boxes. Those can be hard to work with, and Atlas models can be tricky to remove from their molded Styrofoam.

- Brass boxes. I don’t own much brass, and it feels wrong to toss those.

- Boxes for unstarted models. These are for projects not yet ready for the layout or models that need modifications or weathering.

The rest are going. I make an effort to recycle plastic and cardboard, and I save any instructions, spare parts, or decals. This decision fits me well since my wife and I don’t plan to move, and I’m not looking to sell off the collection. I know this wouldn’t work for everyone—collectors or those who move frequently might cringe! But for me, it’s been freeing to clear out all those empty boxes.

Building Worcester

I have finally  started on building Worcester, I have 8 plus feet of benchwork laid out. I plan on keeping the yard one level to keep things simpler. I have also used modeler's license to have the N&W main line run past the engine hose vs the Providence and Worchester house. Since the yard is flat, I used 3/4" plywood and then coved with homasote. I like the latter for large flat areas as it is easy to spike to and make changes as needed.  The photos show with the bride to the B&M/B&A connection (staging yard). I have also mocked up the engine house to help me plane out the yard. The engine house was used by both the New Haven and the Boston and Maine. Later the Penn Central and now the Providence and Worcester. It was built in 1953, so it is one of the most modern faculties on the NH. 

Here is just a sheet of plywood and the engine house mockup,
Micro Engineering turnout templets and an American Limited
 sanding tower.  

Same spot, now wit the homasote, with it cut to blend into
where the door to the outside.

This is the Walthers sanding tower I will modify to
 more closely match the prototype.

Here is the the whole area with the left out bridge.

Next steps is to lay the roadbed on the lift out bridge and plan the yard and engine facility. There will also be bulk (team) tracks with a 30 ton over head crane, two or three oil dealers, a few coal dealers and some other industries. I also plan to put the NH freight house into the upper righthand corner of the Worcester benchwork. 

 

Bridging the Gap

I have been busy spending time out doors that I have not made a lot of progress on the layout, but I have bridged the gap from the north end of my plan, the NH's Worcester yard to the staging yard that serves both the north and south ends of the layout. That is east and west ends by the timetable. This is not s simple singe track removable bridge, but a multi tack affair that will also contain a 90 degree curve. I am making it overlap the a section Worcester to keep the joints of the rails at 90 degrees, not on a curve. I am hoping tis will make things reliable in the future.  I will also have scenery on it as well.  

This is the gap, with the plywood laid in place and my track templates
arranged. Worchester is on the Left, staging to the right. 

Another angle.

Here it is cut down to size and with a portion of Worcester added. If it looks
familiar, his used to be a little coroner of South Boston from John Pryke's layout.

I use simple shelf pins to align every thing,
I got this idea from Chris Adams.

That is my progress for now, I am hoping that I can get deeper into construction as we head into fall, I will post updates as I make progress.

Layout construction starts again!

I have been working with a friend of mine, Brian J, working on layout design. He has helped me make some decision and change my way of looking at the layout, all very positive things. I have always imagined the standing on the west side (ok, the railroad technically an east/west line by timetable, but it physically runs north/south with north being east. Is that clear, like mud?) So, standing on the west side of the railroad the trains heading to Worcester from Norwich would run right to left. Brain suggested running the other way, basically east (north?) is left to right. This also move staging from one end of the room to that other end. The big thing is it moves Worchester to the longest straight wall. 

I have bought into the new plan and started to get moving on it. Another friend of mine, Ben D. was over a week or two ago and we reinstalled what use to be my temporary staging yard back into place. This time is it is well braced to be able to work with a removeable bridge that will span the doorway that leads out of the basement via a bulkhead. Here are a couple of photos of the progress.

I had to reorganize some stuff in the basement, but it is a positive change.
My portable table saw fits nicely under the staging yard.

This is the gap I need to bridge. I plan on using 3/4" plywood as the base.
I will also use it to extend some of the staging yard tracks.

My tool box fist under it as well, buying some more floor space.
Yes that is a Frisco 14-4 for the club.

Of course the rest of the summer is very busy, so I think I will not have much progress until mid-September. 

 

 

I've been reconsidering my layout lately. Now that I've wrapped up my master’s degree program, I find myself with more time on my hands. They say time has a way of filling up any empty space, and that's certainly been true for me. Between completing school, attending two graduation ceremonies (mine and my son’s), launching a new version of operations at the North Shore Model Railroad Club, and starting a larger vegetable garden with my wife, including building a fence to fend off the ever-multiplying rabbits, I've been quite occupied. I even gave a presentation at the New England Prototype meet and had the chance to tour some impressive layouts like Mike Confalone’s Allagash and Neil Scofield’s Canadian Pacific in Vermont. Seeing these layouts in person was a real treat, far surpassing any photos or videos.

Back at the North Shore club, the recent scenery work is truly remarkable, though some areas could use a refresh. Still, the scratch-built and kitbashed structures give it character. But all this exposure has me reevaluating my own layout plans. Initially, I was set on modeling Norwich, Plainfield (including Wauregan Station), and Putnam. Then I considered adding a peninsula to expand and possibly incorporate the South Worcester yard. However, after some reflection, I've decided against a helix and multiple decks due to space constraints and cost concerns. I want to maintain an open center in the room for various reasons and keep construction time and expenses down.

So, I'm reverting to an along-the-wall layout and considering reducing the number of towns to create more open space. I'm consulting track diagrams to identify areas with significant business activity to keep crews engaged. This might mean dropping Norwich from the plan, as it's a freelanced section with the Thermos company factory. Still, the experience gained from working on it is invaluable. I'm thinking of consolidating Plainfield and Wauregan Station into a single area and adding Putnam along with the La Rosa Pasta factory and Knox Glass factory just south of it. From there, I'll transition into South Worcester, where there's plenty of industry and a two-stall diesel house shared with the B&M.

Overall, I'm still fine-tuning my staging plans, but I've got a work session scheduled with friends, so you might see some new benchwork going up in the coming months. Stay tuned for updates!

 NEW ENGLAND/NORTHEAST

RAILROAD PROTOTYPE MODELERS MEET

IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE AMHERST RAILWAY SOCIETY

MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR THIS YEAR’S EVENT:

MAY 31- JUNE 2, 2024 I !

THANK YOU ALL FOR MAKING OUR 2023 MEET A GREAT SUCCESS!

THANKS TO ALL WHO ATTENDED, VENDORS, MANUFACTURERS, AND PRESENTERS FOR HELPING US HAVE AN EXTREMELY SUCCESSFUL 20TH ANNUAL MEET IN 2023.  WE HOPE WE WILL SEE YOU AT OUR NEXT MEET IN 2024, IN SPRINGFIELD, MA.

Please check this site for and our Facebook page for updates.

Great door prizes and a chance to see some fantastic model work!

Bring some models and your friends!

Here is a link to the website:

https://nerpm.org/

This is my favorite model train event of the year.  It is a great opportunity to learn, exchange ideas, meet up with old friends and make new ones.