Boy Scout Troupe Visits the Layout

Local Boy Scout Troupe Pays a Visit

A musician friend of mine is a Boy Scout leader and he asked me if I could host his troupe.  There's no better way to promote the hobby than to have a group of youngsters visit to run the trains in my book!

It's always fun to host visitors to my model railroad, and recently a group of local scouts and cubs wanted to come by. These young lads are very enthusiastic to learn about model trains. I enjoyed a fun visit. 

The boys enjoyed viewing the layout, and each lad was given the opportunity to run a train into North Dover, blow the horn at the crossings and use the bell in the yard. They also switched out a local industry as they teamed up to be part of the North Dover engine crew.

One lad found interest in the smaller of locomotives, the 44-tonner. He was impressed that such a little engine could pull a cut of cars...indeed it is the "little engine that could"!

Another lad was given the throttle as a crewman on the Maine Central. We see his train arriving Boundary Road on the outskirts of North Dover.

A couple of the Scouts crewed the North Dover switcher, Alco 1170. Here we see them heading into the siding at Haney Fuels to lift a tank car.

A great time was had by all as evidenced in this picture with many smiling faces!

Scenes From an Ops Session

Views from an Ops Session

The following pics were snapped during a recent operating session.

This shot was taken during a recent ops session.  A crew is working the yard at the duckunder portion of the layout.  The RS2 is blocking traffic in a long cut of cars and when the work is finished, the FT  pair trio-ed with a Boston and Maine F2 will be hostled on to the train for its run into North Dover and beyond.

The units are now on the train and the whistle has blown.  Shortly she'll be on her way.  This is the view from the entrance to the room.  These are the staging tracks that surround the layout.

A lower angled view at the same location.  Because these were staging tracks, I originally was not going to scenic them.  However, when I refurbished my crew lounge, I chose to do so as this area is what you see when you look over to the layout room from the lounge.

Here is an interesting shot taken from one of the corner access areas in the layout room.  You can see the train progressing on the ouside staging track.  Note how the staging surrounds the layout!

The train has exited the tunnel under the main street of town and will soon arrive the station platform in North Dover.  Oops, I'll have to adjust the front coupler on the diesel locomotive!  Yikes!

An aerial shot of the same location.  This scene is reminiscent of a similar one located in Bellow's Falls, Vermont.

Great to have you pay a visit!

Mike Hamer, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

The Duckunder Section of My Layout

The Duckunder

This image above shows the staging area on the crew lounge side of the duckunder area of my Boston and Maine layout.  

This image above shows the staging area on the crew lounge side of the duckunder area of my Boston and Maine layout.  The two tracks to the right can be used to stage two trains or they can be used as a small yard to make up trains.  This allows a crew to have more work rather than simply take a staged train out on its mission.  The interlocking tower is an American Model Builders craftsman kit.

This "going-away" shot with the FT's shows B&M train MP3 (Mechanicville - Portland) traversing the diamond with the Maine Central.  This scene is located right above my duckunder on the layout room side of the duckunder.  The MEC track is a dummy track serving as a scenic element.  The interlocking tower is a plaster craftsman kit.

Nice to have you pay a visit!

All the best, Mike Hamer, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada