New Construction -- and a New Blog Name

No, I'm not building a new house - and ours is definitely not "new construction" having been built in 1892!  But I'm off to a good start with the new layout sections.  The 18" x 96" Monson village section has been framed out using the same construction techniques that were used on the existing layout sections, but it won't be installed until the upper valance and backdrop are in place and painted.  Those pieces are cut and primed, and the backdrop might get a base coat this week.

The photo below shows how the new sections will be supported. The upper valence/shelf will be extended around the room to support the upper fascia and provide additional storage, but this time instead of using shelving tracks I'm suspending a 20" shelf (i.e. 2" deeper than the benchwork to allow for good foreground lighting) from the ceiling joists using the threaded rods seen here.  As I did previously, the backdrop will be free floating and will be sandwiched between the benchwork and upper shelf and the wall. The rectangle made of furring strips is to prevent the backdrop from bowing out into the window well.

Meanwhile I've decided to keep updating this blog rather than starting a new one, and have renamed it "HOn30 to the Quarries" in homage to Robert Jones and his book on the Monson RR, "Two Foot to the Quarries."  Eventually I might get a new URL and have this one redirect, but I'll stick with the old URL for now.

A New Adventure

With my interest in prototype modeling growing over the past two or three years, this freelanced layout has not been getting a lot of attention. While I like all of the Maine two footers, my two favorites lie at the extremes: the 112-mile SR&RL, modernized with safety appliances in the teens under Maine Central ownership, and the 6-mile Monson RR, which was the remotest of the two footers and never moved on from stub switches and link-and-pin couplers.  

So with the recent and impending release of some of the most iconic Monson equipment and buildings in HO scale, including the Vulcan forneys from Toma Model Works and the combine and Monson Junction station from Otter Creek Construction Co., I've decided to turn my Monson-inspired freelanced layout into an actual portrayal of the Monson Railroad, including the town of Monson with the depot, Maine Slate Co headquarters, and engine house; the slate quarries just outside of town; and the junction with the Bangor & Aroostook 6 miles away.  

Here's the current iteration of new track plan, with the junction replacing the town of Thomaston on the current layout and the railroad wrapping around the walls to end at one of the quarries, with three other quarries represented by sidings - two operational, one not:

The layout would reuse the existing benchwork and even part of the roadbed in the current location of Thomaston, so for the time being Thomaston and the curved trestle will remain in place and connect to new layout sections representing Monson village and the quarries.  The staging yard has already been removed and the adjacent track and fascia sections pulled out in preparation for installing new benchwork:

I might continue this story here or I might start a new blog to document the new layout.  Stay tuned...