Millville Classification Yard

I am now laying track for the Millville Yard -- a double-ended terminal yard at the east east end of the railway.  This section of the layout will actually have three levels, with the Millville yard at the lowest level.  In the photo below you can see the CPR Gibson Subdivision main line on the far left, with a siding, two Arrival/Departure tracks, four double-ended classification tracks, and a bypass track.  The engine terminal and yard lead will be at the far end of the yard (just around the corner to the right). Beyond the yard will be east-end staging tracks (representing the Gibson Subdivision toward Fredericton).  

Layout Progress: Bull Lake

The ice has just melted on Bull Lake and although the cottages still look deserted, in a couple of months the lake will be busy with families enjoying a relaxing getaway.  The 12 daily trains on the line normally do not even slow down as they travel through Bull Lake--there isn't even a passing siding in the community--but from June to early September the local passenger trains stop at the little station.  Bull Lake is a tiny community, with few year-round residents, located along a rural road (NB Route 595) near the Carleton/York county line

With the completion of the scenery in the Bull Lake section of the layout, the scenery is now basically complete on the two levels in the new section of the layout.  However, the benchwork for the third and lowest level was installed this week and the track is about to be laid for the Millville terminal yard and east-end staging.  That will complete the layout.  Then I can focus on maintenance, on updates to the older parts of the layout, and on the installation of a signalling system.  I am hoping/planning for regular operating sessions beginning in the fall. 

NMRA Achievement Award

 I recently completed five years as President of NMRA Canada.  It has been a wonderful opportunity to work with volunteers from across Canada as we seek to promote the hobby and serve the NMRA members who live in Canada.  I now have my Association Official Award to place beside my Scenery Award.

More Waterville Progress

The past couple of months has seen slow but steady progress, especially in the Waterville section of the layout.  The following photos show areas to the east of the previously posted photos.

The community church and parsonage dominate the residential neighbourhood on the west side of town.

This view from beside the station shows the Waterville Enterprises property, including the Esso bulk plant, a large potato storage warehouse, the building supply complex, and the cattle pens.  All are served by rail.  

Here is another view of the same area:

To the east of town, these houses are next to the industrial area that is dominated by the large BQM Meat Packing Plant. 

Waterville Neighourhood

These photos of the rural neighbourhood on the eastern side of Waterville, Carleton County show the considerable effect of the Carleton Railway's mainline re-alignment on the residents there.  By digging through the rock to make room for the mainline, the neighbourhood was cut in half by the railway.  However, a small wooden bridge serves to connect the homes on the two sides of the track.   The photos below give some sense of the area.  Even though these folks are farmers, they also tend good-sized vegetable gardens near their homes (just as most folks did in the real Waterville, NB when I lived there in the 1980s). 

I still have lots of details to add before the scene is complete, but all of this time in the house is providing some extra time to work on the layout.  

Waterville scene work

With my travel plans for this month cancelled, I am working from home and spending some time working on the layout.  Here is my latest project:  a roadside vegetable stand in Waterville (a JL Innovative Design kit). 

2020 is here

In the photo below, the work day is just about to begin at the tiny Clark Lumber Mill as #22 (the Fast Freight East) heads toward Millville on the main line and then on to Fredericton via the CPR Gibson subdivision.   

Although it perpetually remains 1965 on the Carleton Railway, a new year in the real world means setting new goals and priorities for the layout.  Since the open house and first operating session om the expanded layout in October, I have been concentrating on maintenance (track cleaning, locomotive wheel cleaning, soldering and filing, coupler spring replacement, etc.).  With a larger layout, there is more maintenance to do.  My goal is to be ready for regular, scheduled operating sessions in 2020, which means completing some projects first (staging tracks at the east end, some wiring updates, and possibly even a dispatcher position).