The first track has been laid for the Carleton Railway's Aroostook Subdivision, which has to this point existed only as staging in the basement furnace room. With help from Bob Kane and Bruce Bosence, all of the track has been laid on the four modules that will represent the interchange betwen the Carleton Railway (double-track mainline at the front) and the BAR (single track mainline at the rear that crosses the CR mainline in the foreground) in Monticello, Maine. The Carleton Railway will provide a yard crew (an S-4) that will be kept busy with industrial switching and interchange trafic. A small yard between the two railways should provide ample space for sorting freight cars and making up trains.
The various tracks can be seen more clearly in the view below; the yard lead is at the far end (just inside the double track mainline). The BAR mainline is located so it can connect at the far end with Blake Wooley's BAR modules at Presque Isle (hurry up and get those done, Blake!), and then Blake's modules will connect to Bob Henry's Aroostook Valley Railway at Caribou, which then connects to Bob Kane's Aroostook River Railway at Washburn Jct. All together, the modules will provide an operating Aroostook County layout that will be more than 40 feet long; the two tracks in the foreground can operate independently of the rest of the modules, so at SJSMRR shows the Aroostook County modules can be operated in a prototypical manner without interfering with the trains that are traversing the mainline.
An additional inner track at the southern end is available in case someone wants to entend the operations-oriented modules (anyone want to model Houlton, Maine?).
The SJSMRR Fall Show will be held on November 8 at the Lion's Club (right behind Ken-Val Co-op) in Quispamsis, and the Carleton Railway will be there!
The gray ballast represents the Carleton Railway's Aroostook subdivision mainline (the far end toward Avondale, and the near end toward Montreal) and freight yard. The brown ballast represents the BAR, which crosses the Carleton Railway at Monticello, Maine (the far end toward Presque Isle [Blake's yet-to be-completed modules] and the near end toward Houlton). 
Bob Kane and Bruce Bosence have helped immensely with the project, as did Lou McIntyre earlier in the year. Thanks guys!
The various tracks can be seen more clearly in the view below; the yard lead is at the far end (just inside the double track mainline). The BAR mainline is located so it can connect at the far end with Blake Wooley's BAR modules at Presque Isle (hurry up and get those done, Blake!), and then Blake's modules will connect to Bob Henry's Aroostook Valley Railway at Caribou, which then connects to Bob Kane's Aroostook River Railway at Washburn Jct. All together, the modules will provide an operating Aroostook County layout that will be more than 40 feet long; the two tracks in the foreground can operate independently of the rest of the modules, so at SJSMRR shows the Aroostook County modules can be operated in a prototypical manner without interfering with the trains that are traversing the mainline. 
An additional inner track at the southern end is available in case someone wants to entend the operations-oriented modules (anyone want to model Houlton, Maine?). 
The photo below shows the branchline heading under the "Hyram Myshrall Overpass" on its way to the community of Northampton. The line to the right will eventualy provide a connection to Grafton. The building in the upper left is in Pembroke. 
The photo below shows the new road that has been built (sloping down in the foreground) to provide highway access to Pembroke. An overpass will carry traffic across the Northampton branchline
Progress continues slowly as I work on the new branchline to Northampton. Construction of the branchline necessitated major changes in Pembroke--especially the removal of about half of the real estate in the small rural community. In the photos, you can see that the station has been moved to the east (left), the freight station has been removed, and one of the sidings is gone. Pembroke residents and businesses will still have highway access to the outside world via the crossing by the station and the road that goes down the hill to an overpass across the branchline (not quite completed yet). It has been a very busy (stressful, hectic) summer, so I am pleased to have made some progress on the layout!
I also had to clean up stray ballast along the right-of-way and REALLY dust and vacuum the layout. Once Bob lit his 600-watt spot lights, every piece of dust or tiny cobweb showed clearly in the photos!
Local business and community leaders have been pressuring the railway to install a small passenger station in the heart of the downtown area now that the new Northampton Subdivision passes right through the business district. They envision shoppers travelling to South Newbridge by train to spend the day in the local shops. A small parcel of land on Mulheron Street adjacent to the railway has been offered by the town for the purpose, but railway management has made no commitment.
