The potatoes have been planted!
(click on photo to enlarge)
The big potato field in Rosedale has now been completed. It is more than five feet wide (that's 435+ scale feet), and has about 120 rows (each of which required an average of about 10 minutes to install). I also scratchbuilt a small potato house along the edge of the field, added a tool shed, and then included a couple of small cabins to house the "potato pickers" that make the rounds in the fall. The accommodations include all of the conveniences--a hand pump for water, and an outhouse. I attended the national NMRA convention in Hartford earlier this month, and enjoyed visiting many layouts. I also operated on three layouts--the "Operations Road Show" modular layout at the convention, Al Oneto's "Port Sebago and Southern" in Fairfield, Connecticut, and the North Shore Club in Wakefield, MA.
I have been trying to make sure the Carleton Railway is ready for both operating sessions and the layout tour during the MFMR/NER convention in May 2010: http://www.tracksandtides2010.org/
4 comments:
The blossoms should be appearing in about a month. Looking at the field I see very few misses. Must be a good growing season "up there".
Very nice looking scene, Steve! I can't wait 'til our next visit!
Scott
Steve:
Looking nice, alot of hard work.
Question: Would potatoes be stored in the sheds for most of the year, or just long enough for them to be shipped out? Was reading about the major movement of cars during the harvest season on the BAR.
thanks
Doug
Hi Doug:
The short answer is that the farmer/shipper would like to get rid of them as soon as possible, but sometimes the prices were low and/or the market in the U.S. wasn't good, so the sheds were still quite full as late as March or even April. The fall was the busiest time for shipping, but there could be booms later if prices spiked during the winter. Then the charcoal heaters had to be used to keep the spuds from freezing en route.
Post a Comment