DelawareAndHudson Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 I've been reading Dominic Bourgeous' new book covering the D&H's traffic and customers in the 1960-86 period and also working my way through my D&H and Guilford DVD's again. It has me wanting to run some really long trains behind big consists of Guilford power. I started cleaning up the train room today and cleared enough of the existing benchwork to lay down some track and break out some locomotives and cars to keep myself motivated. My goal is pretty simple. I am going to build one module/vignette based on a rural section of the D&H - B&M joint track between Crescent and Mechanicville Yard. This will allow me to run trains from both roads from the 50's through late 80's as there won't be any buildings or anything to set the era. I'm mainly focused on the 70's and 80's up to 1988 but on occasion, I might put together a 60's era train. I'm not planning on any switching in this initial section, just one scene that really long trains will roll through while I kick back and watch. Link to Dom's book and the publisher, Railroad Explorer. http://www.railroadexplorer.com/ Remembering Guilford DVD http://bkvp.com/rem-guilford.htm Jason Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold roundhouse Posted July 15, 2013 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 15, 2013 A great line up of locos. Nice mug too Ian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
squeaky Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 I love the Guilford stuff, I see you have an SD26, great loco! Can you tell me what Guilford locos you have as I'm trying to build a collection, which so far is 2! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DelawareAndHudson Posted July 15, 2013 Author Share Posted July 15, 2013 I love the Guilford stuff, I see you have an SD26, great loco! Can you tell me what Guilford locos you have as I'm trying to build a collection, which so far is 2! Off the top of my head, I think this is what I have for actual Guilford painted locomotives: U23B - #288 GP39-2 - #350, #358 SD35 - #614 SD26 - don't remember all the numbers, I think there's 8 in full G paint plus a couple undecs. I'd like a few Santa Fe's to patch also U30C - #663 I am severely lacking in GP40-2's (both B&M and GTI repaints), GP40's in patched Conrail and Penn Central paint with big G's on the hood, any Maine Central power like Harvest Gold painted GP38's, U18B's, and U25B's, and actually any B&M painted power. Most of my locomotives are in various D&H paint schemes. Over the years, Atlas has done many Guilford painted units. You can find them on Ebay from time to time. Here's some to watch for: U33C - GTI/D&H lettering #651, #652 U23B - GTI/Maine Central lettering #280, #288 - I think U30C - GTI/B&M lettering #663 SD35 - GTI/Springfield Terminal lettering #614 SD26 - GTI/Springfield Terminal lettering GP40 Hi Nose - GRS/Maine Central? lettering GP40 Low Nose - Guilford paint, not sure if it's GTI, GRS, B&M or MEC lettering GP40-2W - GRS/MEC lettering They could do their GP38 in full Guilford with B&M lettering. They can also do lots more GP39-2's in Guilford paint with D&H lettering in the 370-389 numers and also in the 7400 numbers as a number of the 7400's were repainted into GTI paint but kept their original numbers for a while. They can always do more SD26's. There were 34 of them and I think Atlas has only done 6 road numbers so far. Hope that helps you out. Jason Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DelawareAndHudson Posted July 15, 2013 Author Share Posted July 15, 2013 A great line up of locos. Nice mug too Ian Ahhhhh yes. That is my Guilford "water tank" courtesy of Ebay. Amazing what you can find for sale some days. Jason Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Boucher Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 My goal is pretty simple. I am going to build one module/vignette based on a rural section of the D&H - B&M joint track between Crescent and Mechanicville Yard. This will allow me to run trains from both roads from the 50's through late 80's as there won't be any buildings or anything to set the era. I'm mainly focused on the 70's and 80's up to 1988 but on occasion, I might put together a 60's era train. I'm not planning on any switching in this initial section, just one scene that really long trains will roll through while I kick back and watch. Off the top of my head, I think this is what I have for actual Guilford painted locomotives: U23B - #288 GP39-2 - #350, #358 SD35 - #614 SD26 - don't remember all the numbers, I think there's 8 in full G paint plus a couple undecs. I'd like a few Santa Fe's to patch also U30C - #663 I am severely lacking in GP40-2's (both B&M and GTI repaints), GP40's in patched Conrail and Penn Central paint with big G's on the hood, any Maine Central power like Harvest Gold painted GP38's, U18B's, and U25B's, and actually any B&M painted power. Most of my locomotives are in various D&H paint schemes. They could do their GP38 in full Guilford with B&M lettering. They can also do lots more GP39-2's in Guilford paint with D&H lettering in the 370-389 numers and also in the 7400 numbers as a number of the 7400's were repainted into GTI paint but kept their original numbers for a while. They can always do more SD26's. There were 34 of them and I think Atlas has only done 6 road numbers so far. Hope that helps you out. You need one of these http://www.flickr.com/photos/50387839@N03/9006710415 http://www.flickr.com/photos/50387839@N03/9007892066 And if you look closely, you'll see an SD-26 is the second unit in the consist... BTW - define "long". I model both N and O, each scale has a different threshold for "long" IMHO. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DelawareAndHudson Posted July 15, 2013 Author Share Posted July 15, 2013 Mike, Nice pictures. Thanks for sharing them. I have 686, 687, and 689 on order. When Athearn gets around to actually producing them is anyone's guess. http://www.athearn.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=ATH98050 ' define "long" ' Ok. I'm shooting for 100 cars plus a caboose and 3-8 locomotives in HO scale. Depending on car length and number of locomotives, the train might vary from 55' to 65'. I'm initially shooting for a single scene of the D&H - B&M Joint Track in the woods. I attached an aerial view from Bing showing a spot in the woods I like. Has a variety of deciduous and evergreens, some grasses, and a bit of a wet spot with cat tails and reeds. This location was double track up until after CP Rail took over the D&H so my model will be double tracked. Jason Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Wintle Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 Ok. I'm shooting for 100 cars plus a caboose and 3-8 locomotives in HO scale. Depending on car length and number of locomotives, the train might vary from 55' to 65'. I'm initially shooting for a single scene of the D&H - B&M Joint Track in the woods. I attached an aerial view from Bing showing a spot in the woods I like. Has a variety of deciduous and evergreens, some grasses, and a bit of a wet spot with cat tails and reeds. This location was double track up until after CP Rail took over the D&H so my model will be double tracked. Jason If you have a limited viewing area, you'll probably find that you can get by with 30-50 cars and still give the impression of a 'long' train. It is only where you want a western 'vista' view that a train of that size will look too small. A prototypical length train will likely be overwhelming. I occasionally set things up to run my ~60 N-scale wells (mix of singles, 3-units, and 5-units), but I find that, running through a scenic area, 30-35 gives the impression of a long train. Similarly, 40 bathtub works as a unit coal train. But, if you have the space and the cars (and enough motive power to shift them), then go for it. An area like your Bing shot could double for a lot of north-eastern North America (actually, there are areas like that anywhere east of the Dakotas and north of the Carolinas), so you don't have to limit your roads. Adrian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DelawareAndHudson Posted July 15, 2013 Author Share Posted July 15, 2013 Adrian, What I am trying to recreate is that feeling of sitting trackside and watching a train that seems to go on forever. Even out here in wide open but flat Indiana, you rarely can see an entire mile long train. Do I intend to make every train 100 cars? No. But I'm building a super simple but long layout to allow me to do that. More often than not, trains will probably be 40-60 cars and that is plenty long. Part of this exercise is simply to see if I can build my track smooth enough to reliably run a 100 car train. Initially, the whole thing will be a double track loop around 2/3's of the basement with just the one finished scene. If I enjoy that enough, I will start adding additional storage sidings to store additional trains and likely add a second detailed scene. Actually modeling Crescent where the Joint Track splits on the west would be interesting. D&H leaves Crescent on a single track main to the west that soon splits into the north and south legs of the wye to go to either the north end of the D&H/Canada or south. The B&M used to be double track west of Crescent and also had a siding. The track arrangement varied a bit over time so if I ever do model this location, I'll most likely pick the track arrangement from the late 1970's. As far as limiting my roads, it's mainly that after 30 years, I keep coming back to the same things: the D&H and Guilford/B&M/MEC. That is what I grew up with. I have dabbled in modern NS at the Conrail split, NYC in the transition era, etc. Every time I have gone down one of those other roads, I eventually find myself selling it all back off as it starts to cut into my funds for what I truly enjoy. If I were rich, it would be different. I still have a handful of switchers for a Penn Central/early Conrail branchline type switching layout. The nice thing about Guilford though is it's almost like modeling 10 or 12 different railroads. Depending on what year/month/week you are modeling, it's perfectly legit to have 20, 25, or more different paint schemes on the line, especially when you throw in things like the Bow, NH coal trains with Pittsburgh & Lake Erie power or Conrail power. Occasional visits from Susquehanna locomotives, Chessie and it's components, NS/N&W/SOU, CP Rail, Amtrak, etc. Go back to the late 70's, and the D&H regularly hosted all manner of N&W power (N&W owned the D&H at that point), UP, SP, Conrail. I've even seen pictures of Santa Fe SD40-2's on the D&H. Prior to Conrail in April 1976, there were daily joint trains run with both the Erie Lackawanna and the Lehigh Valley. That stretch of Joint Track between Mecahnicville and Crescent also hosted B&M's joint trains with the NYC/PC/CR. All this is still more variety than I can afford . Frankly, I'm hoping one my friends will 'lease' me a few of his EL SD45-2's and a decent length pig train so I can run the PB-99/PB-100 piggyback trains that were a joint EL-D&H-B&M operation and frequently ran with big EL power. So by "only" modeling the D&H and Guilford, I am not really restricted at all when it comes to variety. I still have so many gaps in my roster for common Guilford locomotives that it will take me years to fill out the roster properly. My narrowed focus is still quite a free for all. Jason Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talltim Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 There seems to be more Guilford modellers here than any US forum! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DelawareAndHudson Posted July 15, 2013 Author Share Posted July 15, 2013 D&H/Guilford train ABBU - Albany to Buffalo - ex-Detroit Edison locomotives http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=3209040 Grain train in 1970 - D&H U30C, RS-11, EL C424, SD45, and SDP45 http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=2576248 NYC GP40 - PRR SD45 - NYC GP40 at Mecahnicville in the B&M yard. Probably came across the Joint Track on a B&M-PC train http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=2549837 PC-B&M run through train on another day on the Joint Track http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1414721 EL SD45's at the sand tower in the D&H Mechancville Yard http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=2617155 D&H freight with four C628's http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=657612 D&H (Amtrak era) passenger train crossing the diamond at XO Tower. The track it is crossing is the B&M mainline into Mechanicville Yard http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=2916337 Set of four Lehigh Valley C628's at Oneonta, south of the area I'm modeling but common on trains in my area http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=2721110 P&LE U28B's eastbound out of Mechanicville on the Joint Track http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=2802508 Solid Guilford at XO Tower http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=254334 ex-Detroit Edison, D&H, and ex-PC/CR six axle leaving Mechanicville http://photos.nerail.org/s/?p=7515 Bow coal train with ex-PC power in 1979 - add this to the list of trains I'd like to model! http://photos.nerail.org/s/?p=18099 ST 638 still in full Santa Fe paint trailing at Mechanicville http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/st/atsf638am.jpg SD45 and SD26's http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/st/st683m.jpg Maine Central 261, 228, and another U25B at Mechanicville http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/mec/mec261bm.jpg Simply more variety than I can afford to model. Jason Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DelawareAndHudson Posted July 15, 2013 Author Share Posted July 15, 2013 There seems to be more Guilford modellers here than any US forum! Tim, Part of that may be due to the typically strong negative feelings that Guilford invokes. The first train picture I ever took was of a Guilford locomotive at the D&H's Fort Edward yard the day after Christmas 1987. Guilford is what I spent my formative railfan years around. I have a friend that is 17 years older and he grew up with the classic era B&M. He HATES Guilford because it destroyed his B&M in his view. That type of feeling is common with many people over the age of 45 or so. Not really much different from the way the NYC and PRR guys view Penn Central. I think Penn Central and Guilford are great. It's partly a generational thing I suppose. Jason Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glorious NSE Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 Bowser has also done their U25B in GTI/MEC (#225/226, they say still in stock too!) - they have also run it in MEC gold, and have pre-orders open for Rock Island patched to MEC! I think Athearn has done the HH SD45s as well, so most of the 'staples' can be done without huge work I suspect? SD39s are probably the hardest? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talltim Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 There's the Intermountain U18B in GTI and MEC too. On eBay all brands of GE locos appear far more frequently than EMDs Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talltim Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 ex-Detroit Edison, D&H, and ex-PC/CR six axle leaving Mechanicville http://photos.nerail.org/s/?p=7515 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Boucher Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 Tim, Part of that may be due to the typically strong negative feelings that Guilford invokes. The first train picture I ever took was of a Guilford locomotive at the D&H's Fort Edward yard the day after Christmas 1987. Guilford is what I spent my formative railfan years around. I have a friend that is 17 years older and he grew up with the classic era B&M. He HATES Guilford because it destroyed his B&M in his view. That type of feeling is common with many people over the age of 45 or so. Not really much different from the way the NYC and PRR guys view Penn Central. I think Penn Central and Guilford are great. It's partly a generational thing I suppose. Jason I'm exactly 45 years old. I have memories of watching the B&M in the Lawrence, MA, yard, hoping I would see a train everytime we went through Ward Hill, MA or crossing the Merrimack River in Haverhill, etc. Don't remember Maroon and Gold, but the big McGinnis interwoven B&M on the side of the GPs is strong in my memory. (and since my initials are MB, I used to write my initials exactly like that McGinnis logo!) the first train picture I ever took with my own camera was of a solid blue GP-40-2 in Plastow, NH in the early 1980's (and I was shooting on the wrong side, so its basically a silhouette, so I can't read the #) So yeah, when Guilford took over, it was a BIG change, and a lot of people really resented it, especially those with friends who were railroad employees, due to the confrontational attitude management had with just about everyone who wasn't on the management team. My local model RR shop would sell bumper stickers saying "Pat McGinnis, Please come back!" which says a LOT about the attitude about the big G. A lot of people view Guilford the same way British Rail fans view Beeching. As for me, I didn't have my own car and a decent camera until Guilford had painted everything, so almost all my pictures all have a big G on the side of a grey diesel, rather than Blue, or those mixed bag consists when they first took over. But, while I was finally able to get out chasing trains, I would much rather have been able to take pictures of Bluebirds. However, my 8 year old son regularly sees Guilford, Pan Am, NS, and occasional BNSF power going through Fitchburg and Leominster. So, he likes Guilford. Like Jason said, its what you grew up seeing... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Boucher Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 Ok. I'm shooting for 100 cars plus a caboose and 3-8 locomotives in HO scale. Depending on car length and number of locomotives, the train might vary from 55' to 65'. I'm initially shooting for a single scene of the D&H - B&M Joint Track in the woods. I attached an aerial view from Bing showing a spot in the woods I like. Has a variety of deciduous and evergreens, some grasses, and a bit of a wet spot with cat tails and reeds. This location was double track up until after CP Rail took over the D&H so my model will be double tracked. 100 cars is definitely "long" That should test your locomotives pretty well, but I suspect you'll need broad radius curves. I'll admit that I usually like some form of structure in a scene. Bridge, farmhouse, something like that. At least a "signature" element like a rock outcropping. Or even something "oddball" like the concrete silo things on route 9N just north of Ticonderoga, NY, which I have to believe are associated with the D&H, as the track is on the other side of the road, but there's nothing else around (https://maps.google.com/maps?q=ticonderoga,+ny&hl=en&ll=43.927564,-73.418214&spn=0.001016,0.0053&sll=43.13298,-72.325744&sspn=2.325047,5.427246&t=h&hnear=Ticonderoga,+Essex,+New+York&layer=c&cbll=43.927566,-73.418215&panoid=um3cy93a3bbYvgay6m3Oxw&cbp=11,357.68,,0,0&z=18) I know that there needs to be areas of a layout where it transitions from one "town" to the next, but I've always felt that there needed to be something in a scene unless you're trying to get people to NOT notice that part of the layout. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
highpeak Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 I have to agree with the analysis of why Going Real Slow is resented by a lot of those who followed the old constituent roads. My first acquaintance with the MEC was when I came over to the US to get married. My father-in-law introduced me to a local railfan (Robert Baker Sr, some of his photos can be found in various books on Maine railroading) who was well connected with the road. Visits to Maine would include several sorties to take pictures, generally starting with either a visit to the yard in Brunswick to get a lineup sheet from the operator (an interesting guy called Henry Preble) or to one of the bigger locations. MEC was happy to let you sign a release (and if you went to the general office in Portland you'd usually come away with the latest MEC Messenger magazine), Rigby was OK as long as you stayed on the sides of the yard, and so on. Happy days. Then, well, we all know how it went. I have no idea what would have happened to my old stamping ground around Brunswick with the two branches (Lewiston Lower and Rockland) as the 80s rolled around if Guilford hadn't taken over, I doubt Mr. Miller's MEC could have kept them going much longer than Guilford did. But it just seemed like the new owners didn't make much of an effort, stories abounded of cars sitting down in Rigby for a week or more before Guilford could be bothered to run a train up to Brunswick, which did nothing to retain what business there might have been. And where there had been a welcome, there was now a keep out. The new management under Fink Jr. seems to have a new and more positive attitude. The deindustrialisation of much of Maine in the last 30 years means it's a very tough row to hoe, but at least they seem to be looking for business and trying. The business train with the F units looks smart (and MEC's old business car is apparently well looked after at Waterville), they're making a valiant effort to do some heritage repaints using appropriate engines and it seems altogether a brighter outlook. As the years rolled on, my modelling interests went the other way, back to the 50s. But I think your scheme of a long train rolling by sounds like a very pleasant way of kicking back and sitting trackside. Try and get at least one big boxcar doing the rock and roll, there was always one that made you take a step back! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DelawareAndHudson Posted July 16, 2013 Author Share Posted July 16, 2013 There is no doubt that Guilford slashed and burned railroading on the D&H, B&M, and MEC. As you hinted at though, just how much longer would the Maine Central be able to keep doing business as usual? The D&H, as much as I love it, was in rough shape by the time Guilford bought them. From what I have read in various books and gleaned from employees that were around in the late 70's and early 80's, much of the D&H's financial distress was due to the roads owner, the Norfolk & Western, essentially treating the D&H like an ATM machine and only taking money out of the railroad and never reinvesting to improve it. The other part of the problem is Conrail had an unfair advantage over the D&H. Nearly all of the D&H's expanded routes were over Conrail lines which meant that Conrail controlled D&H trains. How do you think that worked out? Lots of stories of D&H trains sitting for hours while Conrail ran their own trains. Guilford also took an incredibly hard line with labor. Much of what they pushed for is pretty much normal business these days; 2-man crews, engineers and conductors used interchangeably, elimination of cabooses, and so on. As much as many of us would like to see the old branch lines still in operation, the line through Crawford Notch still handling road freights, our favorite paint schemes still in use, myself included, but whether it was Guilford or someone else, things were bound to change. The Guilford way was probably a bit more hard edged than another company might have been but eventually things would change. I think a lot of the behavior that Guilford exhibited was the result of a hard-nosed businessman doing a brutal cost-benefit analysis of just how much revenue could be expected from these marginal operations. Everything that changed or happened on the D&H was not Guilford's fault. The D&H abandoned the picturesque Rutland & Washington branch and embargoed subsidiary Greenwich & Johnsonville before Guilford took over because there wasn't enough profit to be made and no hope of new customers. They sold their line from Whitehall to Rutland to Vermont Railway's Clarendon & Pittsford subsidiary, again because it made more sense to shed the line and let the Vermont Railway maintain it. The Vermont Railway was the primary benefactor of this line as it provided an important interchange gateway. The D&H had very little in the way of revenue customers on this line in the early 80's so they were mainly hauling interchange traffic back and forth for VRS. As attached as we might get to a certain line, locomotive, or railroad, the railroads exist to make money. That's really their only purpose at the end of the day. WE can travel back in time in some manner with our models though. I think I'd head for Richmondville Hill to watch the D&H fight it's way up and over the hills if I had a time machine. As I mentioned though, I grew up with Guilford. My grandmothers used to take me railfanning before I was old enough to drive. They were incredibly patient and indulgent with me. Trips to Fort Edward, Mohawk Yard, Colonie Shops, Kenwood Yard/Port of Albany, Whitehall and other locations on the D&H. Selkirk Yard, Amsterdam, Utica, and other Conrail locations. Even Rutland, Vermont on the Vermont Railway. I was very fortunate so those mid-to-late 80's Guilford years are my happy childhood railfanning years. I spent about 20 minutes late last night running that consist of 6 locomotives and 15 cars back and forth on 21' of track. Put my face down on the layout and watched it from near scale railfan height. It's as close as I'm going to get to hanging out at Mohawk Yard in the summer of 1987 until I get a time machine. Jason Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
highpeak Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 It has to be said Guilford's timing was terrible really. The early 80s saw a pretty deep recession, and industry started closing down, mills changed hands and still went out of business and so on. The late 70s had looked to be pretty good, not just for MEC but for railroading in quite a lot of Northern New England. MEC had done some interesting things with the ex-RI U25s and they'd had a steady program of refurbishing the GP38s, doing some rebuilds on the GP7s and the lone GP9 they bought. The B&ML got money for a fair bit of track rehab, as did the St. Johnsbury line (hard to pick a name, it changed so much!) The B&M started to look like it was on the rebound and had those new GP40s. The merger history is a bit odd. B&M and the MEC were not merged but shared management for years, until it became obvious that B&M's long term debt refinancing was going to be a problem and the MEC parted company. Spencer Miller often said a merger with the BAR might have been a plus, but since he and Bucky Dumaine didn't exactly see eye to eye on things including who would be running the merged roads, that never happened. But from a railfan perspective who cared, there was enough stuff to go chasing and photgraphing, including for a while the first run-throughs and repaints. The early Guilford paint really looked sharp when it was fresh, I think this working was the piggyback train Guilford put on out of Bangor, the picture is taken somewhere just south of Rigby yard. The trains weren't very long and every one I saw only had one engine on it: Given that harvest yellow got dirty pretty quickly, we had our doubts about this idea: I don't think I would say I resented Guilford, I just lost interest in taking pictures, and that had a lot more to do with bringing up a family, settling in Connecticut and needing to spend my vacations visiting my family in England. Change goes on in the real world, but the beauty of the model world is that it can always be 1954 or 1978 or 1987, to your taste. I do like your idea of a simple layout that gives you that trackside view that we got when train chasing. I think the key would be to build in different vantage points so that today you set up your camera by that grade crossing, tomorrow you got the train going over the river or coming through the trees, that kind of thing. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DelawareAndHudson Posted July 17, 2013 Author Share Posted July 17, 2013 How about this for an entrance/exit to staging? http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=333233&nseq=7 The south portal of Belden Hill Tunnel. Here's the rub though. This is what the tunnel looked like into 1984. http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=33698&nseq=36 After 1985 when the big clearance project was done, it looked like this: http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=331155&nseq=8 Since I want to be able to move my era around by simply switching equipment, I need to find locations that didn't significantly change between 1977-78 and 1986-87. I can't make everything perfect for both periods so I am going to focus on the late 70's for track arrangements, signals, buildings, etc, but something that changed as drastically as Belden Hill Tunnel will just be ignored. Besides, I don't have room to model that end of the railroad. My focus is going to be Schenectady-Mohawk Yard- the Y to Mechanicville and some of the Joint Track and Ballston Spa. Here is another location on the Joint Track that I like. It's the Carlton Road overpass. This spot is located about 1/2 mile west of the 'middle of the woods' spot I showed earlier. Carlton Road Over Pass - Southward view.JPGDone (uploaded 105.33 KB) A few more miles west, past the end of the Joint Track, the B&M crosses over the D&H on a long fill across the Aplaus Kill valley on it's way to Rotterdam Junction. The D&H at this point is a north-south line. This location is about one mile north of the north end of Mohawk Yard and another location I hope to include on a layout at some point. This is a location that did not change much between the 70's and 80's. Today, it is somewhat encroached by houses to the west of the D&H but there is still enough trees to make it look like it's in the woods. If I were ever to move back to New York, I would try to either buy or build a house with a view of this over-under crossing. Jason Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Boucher Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 How about this for an entrance/exit to staging? http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=333233&nseq=7 The south portal of Belden Hill Tunnel. Here's the rub though. This is what the tunnel looked like into 1984. http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=33698&nseq=36 After 1985 when the big clearance project was done, it looked like this: http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=331155&nseq=8 Since I want to be able to move my era around by simply switching equipment, I need to find locations that didn't significantly change between 1977-78 and 1986-87. I can't make everything perfect for both periods so I am going to focus on the late 70's for track arrangements, signals, buildings, etc, but something that changed as drastically as Belden Hill Tunnel will just be ignored. Besides, I don't have room to model that end of the railroad. My focus is going to be Schenectady-Mohawk Yard- the Y to Mechanicville and some of the Joint Track and Ballston Spa. Here is another location on the Joint Track that I like. It's the Carlton Road overpass. This spot is located about 1/2 mile west of the 'middle of the woods' spot I showed earlier.Carlton Road Over Pass - Southward view.JPG Carlton Road Over Pass - Southward view.JPGDone (uploaded 105.33 KB) A few more miles west, past the end of the Joint Track, the B&M crosses over the D&H on a long fill across the Aplaus Kill valley on it's way to Rotterdam Junction. The D&H at this point is a north-south line. This location is about one mile north of the north end of Mohawk Yard and another location I hope to include on a layout at some point. This is a location that did not change much between the 70's and 80's. Today, it is somewhat encroached by houses to the west of the D&H but there is still enough trees to make it look like it's in the woods. If I were ever to move back to New York, I would try to either buy or build a house with a view of this over-under crossing. BM overpass above DH.JPG Jason Those two are exactly the type of scene I was thinking of. Glad you could find those right in the same area you were thinking of modeling. And the fact that the road has curves in it helps you a lot when it comes to blending it with the backdrop, or hiding it before it gets there. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Wintle Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 Here is another location on the Joint Track that I like. It's the Carlton Road overpass. This spot is located about 1/2 mile west of the 'middle of the woods' spot I showed earlier.Carlton Road Over Pass - Southward view.JPG Does that location actually have traffic lights for the one-lane underpass? It looks like there is a vehicle stopped at a stop line at the top of the pic, but there doesn't appear to be a stop line at the bottom. Adrian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DelawareAndHudson Posted July 17, 2013 Author Share Posted July 17, 2013 Yes, there are traffic lights on both sides. They are well back from the tunnel and I cropped the picture down to focus on the tracks and the bridge/tunnel. I haven't been through there in years. I'll have to take some pictures of that location next time I make it back to NY. No idea when that might be though. I could probably ask my dad to get some pictures for me. He lives just a couple of miles from this spot. Jason Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DelawareAndHudson Posted July 19, 2013 Author Share Posted July 19, 2013 Just ran across some more variety. UP SD40-2 in Mechanicville Yard. This likely came across the D&H from Binghamton all the way up to M'cville. http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=3043878 Jason Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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