I have been intending to start a layout thread here, to discuss the design and progress of my N Scale "Housatonic RR. " So, here goes. This Layout thread will be covering my modeling efforts in building the N scale version of the Housatonic RR (HRRC). This has been a project that started over a decade ago and sat dormant for a while as family and job obligations took their rightful priority. During the pandemic, I started to make some more progress and will use this to bring you up to speed and share current progress. I will attempt to update this thread when time permits, with current progress and some photos showing the progression over the years. I apologize, in advance, if the entries seem a bit out of order. Some history: The original Housatonic Railroad was chartered in 1836 and was later acquired by the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad in 1892. At that time, the railroad was 175 miles long, with 60 passenger depots. Though the last passenger train ran on April 30, 1971. A portion of the railroad was then land-banked until 1983 when the line from Canaan to New Milford, Connecticut was reopened and the Housatonic Railroad name was used again. The railroad expanded to Pittsfield, MA in 1991 and expanded again in 1992 to include the line from Derby, Connecticut to Beacon, New York. The railroad now consists of 161 miles of rail lines devoted to freight transportation. It is headquartered in Canaan, CT and also serves a major customer (Specialty Minerals) via a short segment of the former Central New England (CNE) railroad line. For now, here are some layout specifics: The shelf layout is built in a 13' x 21' room with extensions into a closet and a future extension into a 6' x 10' walk-in closet. The layout currently runs along the walls as follows: 6' x 13' x 21' x 13' x 11' and the track railhead height is 53" from the floor. It is in a spare bedroom on the second floor of our home which is both air conditioned and heated. I am modeling the general time frame from 1995 to 2015. The layout is designed as a large switching layout, with the intent of making model industries reflect the appearance and actual car capacities of the customers of the real HRRC, along with other readily identifiable buildings and locations. Some of the customers have since gone out of business or changed names, but they live on in my N scale world. The actual Housatonic RR passes through some beautiful New England scenery. I omitted a lot of the scenic running areas, in order to have larger realistic industries and operation potential. I also have included a fictional scenic location on the layout, which is named after a dear friend of mine from the Montreal area. I admired the tall steel viaduct on his layout and said I wish the Housatonic had something like that. Louis said, it is your model so include it. I used modeler's license and added "Letourneau Gorge" as part of the layout. I attempted to make it look plausible, even though there is no bridge like that in Connecticut. The layout is intended to operate as more of a switching / point to point, but I have allowed for continuous running with a track that runs along the entire length of the backdrop and passes through some of the buildings. The entire length is accessible for cleaning and maintenance, as the buildings and their roofs are removable. The Housatonic RR interchanges with CSX in Pittsfield, MA (staging tracks in the closet - lower left side of the track plan). Trains are brought to Canaan, and then sorted for road jobs on the southern and northern ends of the line. Loads and empties are then reassembled into a train to be brought back to CSX in Pittsfield, then rinse and repeat. There is one foreign road that uses Housatonic trackage, which will allow for me to have foreign power on the southern end. First it was the P&W, then Guilford, and currently PanAm (for now ) runs stone trains from the Tilcon Quarry in Wallingford, CT to the Tilcon Stone Plant in Danbury CT. They run the stone trains during the construction season over a portion of the HRRC trackage. I originally started the layout with Lenz DCC for control. I have subsequently switched to ESU wireless DCC, since the majority of my locomotives have now been converted to DCC sound. I removed all of the throttle jacks from the fascia, since the throttles are now wireless walk around control. Trackwork is all Atlas code 55 n scale track and turnouts, with Micro-Engineering bridge track on bridges and the viaduct. All equipment is running on low profile wheels, mostly metal, with some still to be converted from plastic low profile wheels. This is the most recent (2021 ) track plan I had drawn up, although some modifications have been made on the layout to improve operations and reliability of trackwork. Please note that the small room shown on the top left will be a future expansion and the track plan there is far from what I have been recently thinking about. For now, the track runs from the continuous running track all along the backdrop, along a temporary shelf in the closet and comes back out to cross Letourneau Gorge.
Here are a few general overview photos of the layout as it stands today. There is a lot of building detailing and weathering to be done, but this gives you an idea of progress made to date. There are also some progress videos on my youtube page: https://www.youtube.com/@N-scaleHousatonicRR/videos The HRRC Shop and yard. Specialty Minerals, in Canaan, CT Canaan Union Station Crossing the Housatonic RR's namesake river, the Housatonic River in New Milford, CT The only fictional location on the layout, Letourneau Gorge," named after a real friend from Canada, hence the beaver dam and lodge. Cornwall Bridge, CT. The old depot is now a private residence. I'll post more photos and progress shots as time permits.
This will be a most interesting thread @pomperaugrr . Thanks for the thumbnail history of the real Housatonic Railroad and the detailed information on your outstanding N Scale railroad. As I progress into the scenic aspects of my railroad, I'm sure I'll have some questions for you.
pomp, I just found your thread. Excellent scenery and layout! I have lived in New Milford and South Kent, and now live not too far from Canaan. The local scenes and industries are very well done. Scott
I have not had any layout time this summer, but I will share this very basic, unedited, general overall view of the portions of my layout that have basic scenery in place. Details need to be added to the industrial scenes and weathering is really needed on rolling stock and structures. The video is not the smoothest example of cell phone videography, but, what the heck. There is still an eleven foot section extending to the right of the last scene in the video that still needs scenery, and I am planning an expansion around the walls of another adjacent 6' x 10' walk in closet.
The attention to detail, the large industries, the water detail, etc......never get tired of looking at it. Unbelievable work on your part Sumner
pomp, Thanks for the video! The part where the train goes thru downtown New Milford brings back memories. I lived two house from the tracks on South Street in the late 80s. Did some drawings of the locomotives rumbling by. Did my laundry at the laundry mat on 202 near the crossing. In Canaan, there is a great brewery in the station! Scott
Beautiful work-how deep are your shelves? I’ve put in HCDs for a a part of my layout and was considering going narrower for other parts, but the depth really gives some realism I think. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Wow, so glad you posted that video, REALLY shows the details of your layout! I've only seen the pics, but the video ties it all together!! Beautiful layout you've built, for sure!!
Thank you. The shelves range from 24" to 30" deep. It is a bit of a reach in the corners, but I am happy with the overall depth. If I were to do it again, I would stick with 24" deep shelves all around.
What did you use for the structures of Specialty Minerals? Are those HO scale Walthers Blue Star Cement kits or is that kitbashed? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
