Grand Opening and Open House: October 4 - 5

The Carleton Railway will be celebrating the "grand opening" of the newly expanded layout on Friday evening and on Saturday, October 4 and 5.  Model Railroad fans are invited to see what has been accomplished since the layout room was expanded in 2017 and an additional 160 feet of main line was added to the railway.  Come on Friday evening (6:30 - 8:30 p.m.) or on Saturday (10 a.m. - 5 p.m.) to tour the layout, to learn about shipping potatoes by rail in the 1960s, or to participate in an operating session on Saturday afternoon.  More details will be posted by mid-September.

 

This recent photo shows the west end of the small rural community of Rosedale, 

part of a new section of the layout.

Excitement in Clarkville!

The recent completion of Clarkville's own passenger station has led to lots of excitement in the tiny rural community.  Although Clarkville has been located along the mainline for many years, never has a train stopped there and most crews probably were not even aware of the community's existence.  Once the new timetable takes effect this fall, the community will be served daily by the Capital City Commuter train as it travels to and from Fredericton.  Although the Carleton Railway's two daily limited trains (the Nor'Easter from Boston and the Mail Express from Montreal) will continue to run through the community without even slowing down, residents seem very satisfied that a daily connection to the outside world will make life better.  Although the community is small, the fact that the longest passing siding on the railway is now located here should make it a great train-watching spot. 

Meanwhile, far to the west in Rosedale, local folks seem to be taking their new passenger station in stride.  The new and long passing siding here will make life much easier for both passenger and freight train crews.

 

More Progress

Once again, a great group of workers arrived last night to finish up the wiring for the expanded Carleton Railway.  Seven SJSMR club members did a lot of soldering while I installed the new circuit breakers and the new NCE power booster.  By the end of the evening, all tracks in the new area were live and the first train travelled from Silverdale to Waterville.  Thanks guys!

Soldering Party

Sincere thanks to the eight SJSMR members who showed up in my basement to solder the wiring for the layout expansion.  I am getting anxious to see trains running again, and having the help of so many friends was a major encouragement!  Having eight people do more than two hours work equals about a month that it would have taken me.  And it was a lot of fun too.