Narrow-Minded - Part 2

Hopefully the first part of "Narrow-Minded" peaked your interest in narrow gauge railroads. Now you're probably wondering how to model them....

For the longest time, if you wanted to model a narrow gauge railroad, you had to purchase brass locomotives and rolling stock. A wide variety of products were available for many different prototypes, but they were expensive.

The Bachmann On30 Mogul.

A Backwoods Miniatures critter on a Bachmann HO chassis.

In the late 1990s, Bachmann released a O scale (1:48) 2-6-0 Mogul based on a Colorado & Southern (3' gauge) prototype. There were two unique things about it. First, it was plastic, and second, it was an On30 locomotive. On30 (also known as On2½) uses O scale models that run on HO scale track (16.5 mm), which scales out to be 30" wide in O scale. It's an inexpensive way to model "thin gauge," and it can be used to represent a variety of different gauges. One of the coolest things (in my opinion) about On30 is that you can modify HO locomotives to get some really unique results which are full of character. This scale has led to the creation of several small businesses which offer rolling stock and locomotive modification kits. Today, On30 is the most popular scale used to model narrow gauge. If you're looking to get started in it, check out The Pacific Coast Air Line Railway. It has a variety of information on locomotives, rolling stock, track, and scenery.

The two model railroads below show what can be achieved in On30.

Dave Meek's Thunder Mesa Mining Co.

Troels Kirk's Coast Line Railroad.

   
I was first introduced to On30 when I received a Bachmann Christmas Mogul and some passenger cars from my next-door neighbor. After some Googling, I learned a lot about the scale and quickly gained interest. Model Railroader Video Plus's Olympia Logging Co. project railroad also intrigued me. I liked the idea of narrow gauge railroading with locomotives that weren't much larger than HO standard gauge motive power. But then I realized that all the structures were O scale, which meant that they would take up a lot more space. This wasn't good because I don't have much space to work with. Alas, there was a solution! While I gained knowledge about On30, I learned about another scale that is similar - HOn30.

A Marsh Creek Miniatures 3D Printed Porter.

A Minitrains 0-4-0 locomotive modified by Chris Schmuck.

HOn30 (or HOn2½) follows the same principle as On30. It is HO (1:87.1) scale locomotives running on N scale track (9 mm), which also scales out to 30" in HO. It can also be used to model a variety of gauges, but it's most commonly used to represent the Maine two-footers. Originally, the first HOn30 equipment was produced by Associated Hobby Manufacturers (AHM) in the 1960s under the name "Minitrains." Bob Hayden and Dave Frary pioneered in in the scale, building several layouts: the Elk River Line, Thatcher's Inlet, and two versions of the Carrabasset & Dead River. Several HOn30 brass models were produced in the 1980s and 90s, after the Minitrains line went out of production in the 70s. The scale wasn't very popular at the beginning of the 2000s, but recently, it has been making a comeback. Both Big City Hobbies (BCH) and a German company have revitalized the Minitrains line, allowing many to get started with high quality, well running models. (The German Minitrains focus both on European and American prototypes and are available from the Original Whistle Stop and Caboose Hobbies in the U.S.) 3D printing and small businesses have greatly increased the number of products available. Even Bachmann has gotten involved with the release of "Skarloey" in their Thomas & Friends line. This scale is perfect for me because it is just like On30 but in a smaller space! If you're interested, check out the HOn30 Home Depot for more information. Also, take a look at Rich Brungard's "HOn30 Modeler Roundup" on his business's (Marsh Creek Miniatures) blog.

Thatcher's Inlet, built in the 1970s.

Chris McChesney's Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes No. 10 and White Birch Water Tank.

   
I've hope you've learned how inexpensive (compared to brass) narrow gauge modeling can be. Give it a try, whether you choose On30 or HOn30. I'm really excited myself to hop aboard the HOn30 express and have fun as I go for the ride!

Narrow-Minded - Part 1

In the late 19th Century, when the United States was beginning to develop a network of railroads, many prospective entrepreneurs chose to build narrow gauge lines, influenced by some which already existed in Europe. These "thin gauge" railroads have track where the distance between the rails is less than 4' 8 1/2", which is standard gauge. The most common width is 3', but a variety of other widths exist, such as 2' (common in Maine) and 30".

3' gauge No. 6 on the Baltimore & Lehigh RR, a predecessor to the Ma & Pa.

But why would anyone want to build a railroad that couldn't interchange cars with a standard gauge line? Well, this was the way to go for a cheap, quick, and easy railroad. Narrow gauge railroads provided great economic savings as they required smaller infrastructure and equipment. As a result, each railroad had a unique locomotive roster and owned all of the rolling stock on the line. Also, they could have tighter curves and steeper grades, allowing them to go places where standard gauge couldn't.

The narrow gauge boom quickly died out towards the turn of the century as most lines were either abandoned or consolidated to form a larger railroad which was converted to standard gauge. However, some managed to stick around.

Restored WW&F No. 9 in Alna, ME.

A cluster of railroads with only two feet between the rails served the harbors, mills, quarries, forests, and farms of Maine from the 1870s to the 1940s. Their diminutive equipment included forney locomotives (0-4-4T and 2-4-4T) and boxcars that were 28' long. George Mansfield was influenced by a narrow gauge line in England, and as a result, he constructed the Billerica & Bedford in 1875, the first two-footer. Eventually, five two-foot railroads emerged from several mergers: Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes; Wiscasset, Waterville, & Farmington; Bridgeton & Saco River; Monson; and Kennebec Central. (These are in order from longest to shortest length.) The last in operation was the Bridgeton & Saco River, which closed in 1941. Fortunately, Ellis D. Atwood, bought its remaining equipment, along with two Monson locomotives and SR&RL rolling stock, which he operated on his cranberry plantation in Massachusetts. Eventually, his operation expanded into a tourist attraction, named the Edaville Railroad. Thanks to Atwood, many pieces of two-footer equipment were saved. Today, there are five locations with two-footer museums. (Some also have operating equipment, too!)

1. Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes Railroad Museum - Phillips, ME
2. Wiscasset, Waterville, & Farmington Railroad Museum - Alna, ME
3. Bridgeton Historical Society Musuem (Bridgeton & Saco River) - Bridgeton, ME
4. Boothbay Railway Village - Boothbay, ME
5. Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Co. & Museum - Portland, ME

No. 15 with a tourist excursion.

The East Broad Top Railroad and Coal Company operated a 3' gauge line in central Pennsylvania. It transported coal from its mines to the Pennsylvania Railroad interchange in Mount Union, PA. Mount Union also was where the railroad conducted a unique process. It put narrow gauge trucks on standard gauge freight cars, which allowed them to be delivered to customers along the line. The railroad also provided passenger service using coaches and gas-electric "doodlebugs." In April 1956, operations ceased. The employees went home but never returned, and as a result, the shops and facilities were left exactly as they were in the 1950s. The railroad was purchased by the Kovalchick Salvage Corporation and was going to be scrapped, but fortunately, its president decided to reopen the line as a tourist attraction in 1961. It held public excursions until 2011, when the railroad was shut down again, because its owners and the East Broad Top Preservation Association (which operated the line from 2009-2011 through a lease) could not reach an agreement. Currently, it is cared for by members of Friends of the East Broad Top and will hopefully be reopened sometime in the future.

There are many other narrow gauge lines still in existence. One that comes to mind is the Denver & Rio Grande Western. I'd write a summary about it, but most of my knowledge lies with railroads in the east.

Check back in the next week or so for the second part of this post which will concern modeling narrow gauge railroads, particularly by using HOn30 and On30 scales.

Prototype or Freelance?

Happy 2016! Since it's a new year, maybe you're thinking about starting a new model railroad. But what to model?

A specific prototype can be a great modeling subject. Basically, all the work is done for you. You don't need to think of paint schemes or town names; you simply recreate the railroad as it was (or is) in the real world. Resources are easily available, as manufacturers produce models lettered for popular prototypes, and there are historical societies for almost every venue. There are several notable prototype-based layouts. Some that come to mind include Bernie Kempinski's US Military Railroad and Tony Koester's Nickle Plate Road.

Looking at a list of railroads, one may become overwhelmed by how many there are to choose from. There are many factors which go into choosing a prototype, such as location, commodities hauled, and unique aspects (e.g., special classes of locomotives and name trains). There is no limit to the prototype you choose! Here's a list of the many railroads which I have considered to be the subject for a layout. They are roughly organized by the era (from earliest to latest) I would model them in.

Class I's:  

Amtrak and NS trains in Newark, DE.

• Western Maryland
• Chesapeake & Ohio
• Norfolk & Western
• Pennsylvania
• Baltimore & Ohio
• Reading (Wilmington & Northern)
• CSX
• Amtrak
• Norfolk Southern

 

Shortlines:

• Maryland Central
• Peach Bottom
• Baltimore & Lehigh
• York Southern
• Pomeroy & Newark
• Maine 2-Footers (Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes and Wiscasset, Waterville, & Farmington)
• Mower Lumber Co.
• Moore-Keppel & Co./Middle Fork
• Buffalo Creek & Gauley and Elk River Coal & Lumber
• East Broad Top
• Maryland & Pennsylvania

  

  Maryland & Delaware grain train leaving Snow Hill, MD.

• Stewartstown
• Narragansett Pier
• Port of Wilmington, DE
• Mississippi Central
• Alaska Railroad
• Octoraro
• Maryland & Delaware
• Delaware Coast Line
• Bay Coast
• Wilmington & Western
• Middletown & Hummelstown
• Walkersville Southern
• York Railway (Genesee & Wyoming)
• Maryland Midland
• East Penn (Octoraro and Wilmington & Northern lines)
• SMS Lines (NJ line)

The Allagash's engine facilities.

But what if you don't want to follow a specific prototype? Maybe you'd like to tweak a prototype's history, location, or other attributes. Then freelancing is for you! Freelancing allows the modeler to create whatever he/she can imagine. It can be as realistic or as fictional as you would like. A specific type of freelancing is "proto-freelancing," which draws from the real world. Proto-freelanced layouts can draw inspiration from specific prototypes to convey the feeling of a real railroad (which never actually existed) or a specific theme (e.g., harbor, logging). They can also focus on an actual prototype, modifying it to suit what the modeler desires. For example, one could electrify the Baltimore & Ohio, even though it never had wires above it in the real world. Some notable freelanced layouts include Mike Confalone's Allagash Railway and George Sellios's Franklin & South Manchester.

Freelancing offers much more flexibility and creativity than prototypical-based modeling. However, it can pose some challenges of its own, as you don't have a "road map" to follow telling you things such as which industries the railroad served or what the locomotives were painted like. Nevertheless, freelancing is a great approach to model railroading.

I wish you the best in whatever approach you choose for your next model railroad. I do have one word of wisdom which comes from a successful and well-known modeler, Paul Dolkos. (Paul's current layout, the Baltimore Harbor District, focuses on several prototypes which served the industrial areas of Baltimore. He does have a few areas based on prototype locations, but others are freelanced. It's impossible to tell which is which, as he has done such a great job of capturing the essence of the industrial backwaters of Baltimore.) His advice is to decide on a theme/locale/era, and then plant your stake in the ground, thus sticking with that theme and not swaying from it. This will help you remain focused on your layout, and it will result in a highly realistic model.