Sketch of the layout

I am often asked if I have a track plan that I can show people.  I do not--but if someone with the skill to draw a detailed track plan volunteers, I would be very grateful!  I have sketched a very basic plan to give a sense of the two levels of the layout--each grid line represents 12 inches (click on the sketches to enlarge them).

Lumber by Rail!

Patterson's Mill Begins Shipping By Rail

(click on photo to enlarge)

With flatcar loads of logs arriving at the mill almost daily, Patterson's Sawmill in Northampton has long been a major customer of the Carleton Railway, but the mill owners had become accustomed to shipping their finished products by truck.  That is about to change. The flatcars that previously left the mill empty are now likely to be loaded with lumber destined for markets in the eastern US and Canada.  The Carleton Railway's marketing department convinced the mill owners that rail is a reliable and cost-efficient mode for delivering their products to market.  In the photo above, three carloads of wrapped lumber await their departure on the next "Northampton Local."