Recreating Rob Mountenay’s Merkiomen Valley Branch – Part 3

The pleasure of recreating Rob’s layout is largely derived from reverse engineering is creative decision through the lenses of my own art of model railroading. Such a blatant case is the coal dealer shed. This little structure, on the edge of the layout, if a very common prototype found across North America. It isn’t special in any way, shape or form, hence making it more attractive to me.

After a lot of online research, I was able to discover the kit used on the Merkiomen Valley Branch was none other than an old Mil-Scale craftsman kit. It wasn’t a fancy one, but rather something quite basic as would be expected from a product designed in the 1970s. I was able to locate the original drawings on WorthPoint and to guesstimate the dimensions out of pictures.

Big enough to fit a 40ft hopper

From what I gather, the building was big enough to shelter an entire 40ft long coal hopper, making it quite compact. Looking at the kit pictures and comparing it to real prototype pictures of coal trestles, I became convinced it was kind of wrong. The kit didn’t provide any ties for the rails and they were glued directly on diminutive stringers. To my architect eyes, it didn’t make any sense and I decided to redesign it in a more realistic way. To accomplish this goal, I had to make the shed slightly higher to accommodate the extra lumber.

Old white paint still visible

Soon, I decided to make my own lumber from a weathered spruce picket from my garden and some half-painted scraps of pine. My idea was to use reclaimed wood to obtain a much more realistic texture before final weathering. Everything from posts to planks was cut on my table saw, textured with 60 grit sandpaper and sanded with 180 grit paper to remove the fuzzy fibres. I made sure to keep some old paint and weathering here and there. The wood was then stained with a mix of India ink and alcohol. I hadn’t used that recipe for a long time, preferring oil paint washes and AK products, but honestly, I can see me reusing India ink more often in the near future.

Reclaimed wood is varied in appearance

To build the structure, I created a cardboard template that would ensure the general dimensions would be right whatever the lumber discrepancies. Each frame took about 20 minutes to build.

 

A template really takes away any risk of errors

Planks were then glued on to create partition walls between each coal bin. I then proceeded to create the trestle deck. Once again, using a template. A pair of stringers were glued on evenly spaced long ties to form the holes in the deck where coal would pour.  Smaller ties were added to support rails and planks were installed to create the gangways for crews. The model was ready for assembly.

 

Poor quality lumber is used at the gangway ends

At this point, the deck was inserted between the 5 frames, creating a 3D structure. Then I cemented the distressed and pre-weathered styrene novelty siding on the long side. At that point, I knew the structure was both squared and braced.

Waking sure everything aligns

Other styrene sides were added until the basic structure was done. Pieces of wood were glued inside to simulate gangway railings. I kept the last bay without any railing thinking I could later on install an access ladder there. I also added horizontal beams on each side walls to complete the structure and a wooden buffer was added to stop cars.

Inside view before adding end buffers

Finally, I used my worst pieces of lumber to add planking at the bottom of the long back walls. These planks would be ultimately half buried in the scenery where they would have started to rot away slowly due to humidity build up.

 

Small yet effective!

As completed, I really like the way it turned out. The reclaimed wood really added a touch of realism to the visible structure. It has that color and quality of old barn wood. As for the dimensions, I quite like them. It’s both imposing yet small enough to not overshadow the entire scene.

 

Ready to pick up some coal!

I will probably glue the structure to a plywood base, add texture, ground, vegetation and coal before setting it in place permanently on the layout. The roof will be added only when most of interior details will be done. I've yet to decide if the structure will be painted white, grey or red, like Rob's model.

Recreating Rob Mountenay’s Merkiomen Valley Branch – The Speeder Shed

By “recreating”, I really mean it. It’s an interpretation from available pictures of Rob’s work but using my own creativity and as much scratchbuild techniques to make it a truly personal work of art.

Rob's original speeder shed (credit: Rob Mountenay / JOMRD)

The first thing I recreated was the speeder shed located by Moyer depot. Rob used a very typical specific prototype that he probably scratchbuilt or built from a kit. While it would be nice to do so, I happened to have an unassembled Walthers kit on hand. As you know, I’m not a fan of Walthers structures ubiquitousness. They stand out too much for my taste, however, if I had to build a speeder shed, it would hardly be different than a Walthers kit, so I decided to customize it a little bit.

 

Adding texture is easy and highly effective

First, I added a distressed wooden pattern on the plastic using coarse sandpaper and a razor saw blade. I felt it would give a more organic texture to an industrial product. The doors received the same treatment, but I also took care to scribe the lines between each wooden components making the doors. It was to emphasize it’s an assemblage and not a single piece moulding.

 

Adding nails improves the monolithic aspect of plastic parts

Second, the wooden platform also got the same distressing treatment, and nails were also added with the help of a metal point. I also used the razor saw to add deeper lines between the planks on the side. Once again, a neat trick to reduce the look a plastic monolithic part.

Crude original windows replaced with custom ones

 

Texture is added to the new windows

Another thing that bothered me were the windows and trims. They looked both minimalistic and unrealistic, so I decided to replace them with customized Tichy windows. The door also got new trims, and all these plastic components were distressed. I felt this little modification made the entire building look more authentic and gave it personality.

 

The concrete foundation is textured too

Finally, I used a stiff brush and solvent cement to give a more realistic concrete look to the concrete foundation. The trick is to dabble the melted surface with the brush until it creates a bumpy surface. Don’t be afraid of overdoing it because you can always soften the surface later on with more solvent or with a light sanding. This technique works also well for imitating steel surfaces, particularly the heavily rusted ones.

 

Finished model ready for painting

Painting shouldn’t be too complicated, and I may elect, later on, to add paper shingles on the plastic roof if weathering fails to capture a realistic look. All in all, these little modifications took less than an afternoon and add a great impact. It is a great way, while building brand new kits, to give them more depth and realism without embarking on a full kitbashing adventure.

Building my own version of Rob Mountenay's Merkiomen Valley Branch

This year has been extremely productive in terms of model railroading. I’ve been building stuff almost non-stop since January, hopping from one of my favourite theme to another. I’m glad most Monk structures are done and almost completed (except the feed mill), I had a blast weathering modern hopper cars and finishing the QSSR after more than a decade and now elected to do something I call the freedom layout which is a little outside of my usual purview.

I decided to build what I call a freedom layout. Something I didn’t design and felt offered great opportunity to simply practice my art. The idea is to remove the hours, weeks, months or even years of agonizing over a track plan. The reality if things is that railroads are codified things. A siding will always be a siding, a passing track will always be a passing track. Stations are generally always build following the same generic rules. A coal dealer and a fuel distributor are similar across the continent. They vary in details and implementation, but it’s all a flavour over an underlaying theme.

 

I generally love, as an architect, to be able to say the track plan is my own design. That I controlled all aspects of layout building, but sometimes, you just need to let it go. The Monk subdivision is my personal take on a nice prototype-oriented layout. However, there are all kind of things I want to build which cannot fit that prototype. Also, I have a lot of rolling stock without a purpose, including all the Harlem Station cars. So I thought to myself, while looking at 4’ x 8’ plans when exploring Quebec & Gosford concepts, that maybe I could try something that free my mind from planning and focus only on executing and exploring my personal creative process. No more analysis paralysis.

 

For some reasons, Robert Mountenay’s Merkiomen Branch caugh my eyes. The layout was well balanced, keeping all the strength of the Alkali Central, but making it more universal. I particularly appreciated the two towns, the scenic rural side and the more urban one. Each scene was well composed and used interesting structures that would make sense together. I really liked it and thought it would be a neat opportunity. The layout would be set in my old kitchen that is bound to be restored to its 19^th century appearance when it was a spacious 16’ x 17’ living room.

 

Lance Mindheim had pioneered that idea of a public gallery of small layouts into a neat space and I thought it would be perfect. In fact, since a year, the Stanstead module has been exhibited in that room and everybody visiting the house loved it. Having the trains in a public room, not in a corner of the basement, removed the creepiness associated with model railroading and made people appreciate the intricate work and the realistic appearance. At the end of the day, my hobby finally got its recognition as art and not just as some trivial pursuit (even if it is!). People may say all they want, but modelling railroading generally captivate most peoples.

 

So, I made up my mind of building a replica of Rob Mountenay's Merkiomen. I had the material in the basement and enough space in the old living room. I had many other reasons for that too; one being to have a neat loop to test, break in and run locomotives, an excuse to reuse all my American-themed buildings and rolling stock, and first and foremost, the simple joy of building a classic generic layout with a cheesy track plan yet trying my best to use it as a canvas to express my intentions in my own personal style.

 

My first impressions were that working with someone else's plan was a little bit weird. As I mentioned to Chris Mears, I felt like an imposter at times, and on other moments, it felt like replicating a “prototype”. Yet, with my experience acquired over the years, it's like running on a perfectly well-maintained track field after having trained over rough forest trail. You just bolt from the depart line and you are at your best!

 

After a day, I reached that level of completion

That doesn't mean I didn't add my touch to Robert’s plan. I've been optimizing the layout with #6 turnouts for sidings and was able to use two #8 on the mainline/interchange, which means I will be able to run some larger locomotives and rolling stock if wanted or needed for programming and break-in period. Large 24’’/28’’ Walthers curved turnouts were also used, which made the track flow nicely. I also reorganized the passing track so it would no longer require weird moves on the interchange track.

 

Construction and track laying was straightforward and in a matter of a few days, all the basic stuff was in place. The fun could start and that meant building the structures. Early on, I decided to set the layout somewhere around Pennsylvania. I’ve had the chance to railfan the area twice and kind of knew it a little bit. My 1950s rolling stock being mainly PRR, Erie and Reading, it was an easy and obvious choice that overlapped with Robert’s own era and prototype. For some reason, the Reading was extremely attractive to me because, as a kid, I always gazed at Bachmann’s yellow boxes of the late 1970s and early 1980s, obsessing over that Reading I10sa Consolidation. That was the fist HO model of a large steamer I had ever seen and it made a durable impression. Also, Reading and PRR structures in rural areas shared many characteristics and a somewhat similar paint scheme. That would make my life easier. Add to that attractive Reading coal hoppers and I was hooked about the idea of restoring and improving an old Bachmann Plus 2-8-0 as the main star of the layout.

 

This 1950s from John Diobzko's collection provided inspiration

After a while, while searching over the internet for suitable prototypes, I discovered by sheer luck many old pictures that clearly were Robert Mountenay’s source of inspiration. It was fun to see these structures and how he reinterpreted them. At that point, I knew that I would be replicating the same prototypes he used, but doing it my own way. I would redraw my own set of architectural drawings from the prototype pictures, select the building materials and do it my own way. Once again, it was all about applying my own artistic flair to something already existing. Robert’s work was simply making the selection for me, but the final editing would be my own take. So far, I completed the coal trestle by reinterpreting the old Mil-Scale Jacobs Coal Co. kit used by Robert. I found the instructions online and adapted them so the result work look better and more prototypical (more on that specific structure later!). I’m currently doing the same with the stations, the feed mill and the lumber supplier.

A low-quality picture from an auction site provided enough information (source: WorthPoint)

Elsewhere, I’m thinking about making different choices. By example, I don’t like the Easton Mill which always struck me as caricatural and suffering from poor proportions. I will replace it with a wooden clad or asbestos clad small creamery that fits better the theme and provides a more balanced scene. Once again, I’m making my own drawing based of well-known kits on the market, but giving them my own twist.

At the end of the day, using Robert’s layout as a plan enables me to dip further into scratchbuilding and personalising items. The time saved from planning is reinvested in crafting the elements one by one with deeper scrutiny, which provides a certain level of freedom. The same applies with the structures. Since I'm not replicating a specific prototype, it is all about capturing the essence of the place in a realistic and informed manner. Al that said, I hope this little side project will provide even more experience when I will be tackling the Monk Subdivision.

Quebec & Gosford Mk. II?

A few weeks ago, the Quebec & Gosford Railway layout idea reemerged from my brain for a reason I forgot, but that was probably linked to some YouTube recommendation. Thom Radice had John Ott presents 4-4-0s colorful paint schemes of the 1850s and 1860s. It sparked something in me! Since the QSSR is now officially completed, I need something to work on and sure, the old time train bug bite me.

For some reason, I’ve been exploring this idea but around the concept of a 4’ x 8’ layout. Yeah, that outdated and unsophisticated footprint that any seasoned modeller will tell you to forget about. Well, if you live in an old house like mine full of doors and windows, forget about the neat little shelf layout in a bungalow spare bedroom. Such spaces don’t exist in 19^th century houses.

Also, space constraints aren’t that rigid with old time locomotives. I was watching Norihasa Matsumoto’s layout on YouTube once again and couldn’t believe this immerse HO layout was only 3’ x 6’ and using 15” radius curves. But it works. 4-4-0s and 2-6-0s don’t need much more and if you use 36ft cars and smaller, that’s alright. So Matsumoto sent me on a weird journey where I decided to go back to my younger days when I designed layout using 18 inches curves. I wouldn’t venture there with modern rolling stock, but for old time, it enables a lot of things. The beauty of older railways set in mountainous terrain is they were by nature serpentine, curving around every obstacle and finding their ways by hugging the topography. This aesthetic is part of the charm of old time, even if this is an exaggeration made my generations of modellers.

My vision of a 4’ x 8’ is truly two 6 feet long modules back to back with curves linking them. I always considered that a scene over 7 feet loses its immersive power and thus, I prefer to keep that dimension when designing a cohesive scene. This is about the size of the QSSR, which is plenty large to fill your field of vision.

 Thus, I started to explore what could be done on a good old plank of 4’ x 8’ plywood with 18 inches radius. I looked online for published track plans. The first one was the Red Wing layout who was featured in Model Railroader back in December 1994. I kind of liked the yard that could be operated while a train was running around on the mainline. That’s an interesting feature to be able to have two trains in motion while performing shunting chores. The idea of a yard offered that originating point, with a possible interchange track and an engine house.

Cody Grivno’s Red Wing Division (source: Trains Magazine)

At this point, it was clear to me the layout would feature two towns back to back. One probably based on Roberval (or any other location with a large hotel such as Lake Edward) and the other one on Lake St. Joseph due to its attractive set of structures.

Lake Edward in the mid 1880s (source: Library of Congress)

This original concept was clear, you operate using two trains. One is westbound, the other eastbound. No turntable, you use two 4-4-0s that face a different direction. Each switch sidings on its respective trailing end, including one engine doing the yard work too. Both trains can pass each other in the big town, for visual interest. Each town would have its own saw mill and empties and loads would be constantly swapped between each other.

Lake St. Joseph (source: Library of Congres)

Meanwhile, I was also looking at the Cumberland & Ohio layout designed by Michael Tylik. I liked how it proposed two towns and a mill. Quebec & Gosford was home of several saw mills and I started to explore the idea that empties and loads could be swapped through connecting sidings. An old trick when dealing with open cars since you doesn’t have to swap loads. The Q&G rolling stock being mainly flat cars loaded with firewood and lumber, it would be quite a neat trick.

Michael Tylick's Cumberland & Ohio (source: Trains Magazine)

This gimmick would enable me to better replicate Lake St. Joseph which didn’t have a siding and to model a more prototypical version of Lake Edward. This later location did have a small yard and even a roundhouse back in the days since it was a division point.

First draft of Quebec & Gosford

While discussing with Chris Mears, I started to question the presence of the yard. It was interesting, but didn’t truly fit the narrative. It was also adding a lot of tracks to what was supposed to be a simple layout. That said, I still think that both of these track plans have a lot of merit. In fact, I was surprised how I could replicate with very little compromise two iconic scene of the prototype within the boundaries of a 4’ x 8’.

The plan evolved in a way that removed the yard to focus on the idea these are middle of the line station and the originating point and destination are irrelevant. The connecting mill sidings were kept but I didn’t have the space for them inside the curve. So they ended up on the outside of the curve in clear sight. The gimmick of two mills could no longer work and I elected to simply keep on mill and one siding. You pick cars on one side, move around the layout, and set them at the other end. This would imply that cars would be left on the passing track for the other direction train to pick them up. Not an uninteresting move.

Revised plan with the prototype scenes

But after designing all these variations on a 4’ x 8’, I asked myself how such a behemoth layout could fit in my office space. The answer was simple. It would fit, but my work environment would suffer greatly. It was time to think outside the box. Funnily enough, the answer came from Michael Ramsey, a young modeller on YouTube who created a fictitious tourist line called Westport & Shelter Cove Railway. Michael’s work is whimsical, but his genuine interest in the hobby and unusual ways to achieve his goals make his content relevant.

I was curious to see how he had managed to build is folded dog bone layout with 18 inches radius curves. Using XTrkCAD, I redrawn his layout plan and fitted it in my office space. Michael had to fit his layout in a corner and I also had a corner. I was surprised to see that not only it fitted my space, but that both returning loops were creating an alcove big enough to accommodate my desk in its current position. My room being bigger, I started to wonder if I could stretch the design and so, it sparked another train of thoughts.

Over the last few months, I’ve been working on the QSSR and would leave stuff on the floor (boxes, scenic material, supplies, tools, etc…). Naturally, these cluttered the space but I could clearly see where I walk and where I never go. This untidiness left a visible trace of room usage, hence, where a layout could be built.

However, until now, I had never thought of these underused areas as prime space for layout building. Most of these areas in the office aren’t and can’t be used for normal activities. By leaving stuff on the ground, I was, in some way, mapping the room. It was now time to gather a little bit more data such as clearance at the top of the staircase and around my desk.

I also remembered the lessons learned when I was working on the QSSR possible expansion. One of them was that I could build a loop in front of the gable window because the blinds are always down. This window is in fact facing south west and the sun warms the room quickly, thus me always leaving it shuttered to keep the room cool.

Knowing these things, I enlarged Mike’s track plan by stretching the loops by about 3 feet on each direction. Imagine my surprised when I discovered that the new straight tracks it created were about the size of the QSSR and both town on the Gosford layout. I could even replicate the scenic S curve I had designed for Lake St. Joseph. Since I didn’t want to see a train runs twice through the same scene, it would mean a hidden returning track would be required behind low hills and tree lines. Not my cup of tea, but nothing bad either. A staging loop could be implemented so two or even 3 different trains could be operated and even automated if desired.

Exploring the large dog bone design

Beyond that, the new layout had merit; my desk was now in the middle of an alcove surrounded by trains. Lake St. Joseph, which had no siding or turnout could be operated without having to leave my desk. The station and the bridge would be right in from of my face, creating a perfectly framed signature scene with the houses and hotel far in the background.

On my side, where I need more space, a narrow shelf would depict a stretch of mainline build along the river and the cliff, making it a perfect choice for such a tight space. Then, behind me, where I can set storage drawers and I have full access, the town of Lake Edward would take the prime spot. When visiting the room, it would draw immediately the attention.

At first, I also imagined adding mills on each returning loop, figuring out it would be a good use of space. However, since then, I’ve removed them. When I look at saw mill pictures on Quebec & Gosford, they are very far away from the track, generally by a pond and no siding is in sight. In fact, in most cases, they moved the lumber with teams of horses to the nearby public siding. So, I thought to myself, let’s get rid of them and make the mainline run look bigger. A neat trick would be to keep a portion of the loop visible, so you can see the train far away and turning around the corner as if it was running along a meander or circling a hill.

Green: town modules, yellow: removable lightweight modules

Most people will consider that I have sacrificed a lot of operation potential, but don’t forget this old time layout is more about looking at gorgeous 1860s-1919 trains than anything else. My office is perfect to railfan, but less for switching. I don’t have the ceiling height under the gable to have a layout that is at eye level, but when I sit on my chair, the height is perfect for railfanning.

Will I move along with this new track plan? Maybe. It’s tempting… but I have to device a way to build a lightweight modular layout than can be moved around when I need to do wiring or messy scenic jobs. One thing is sure, with most of the Monk Subdivision structure being already built, I will need new projects to keep me busy and Gosford would offer a few fascinating and iconic buildings to replicate.

Ciment St-Laurent - All Structures Done... Almost!

The loading building is more impressive than I recalled

This for some “real” Hedley-Junction updates about the Murray Bay Subdivision. Over the springtime, our efforts focussed on completing the Ciment St-Laurent structures. These buildings are both huge and somewhat complicated. This is the last big signature piece of the layout and as such, cutting corners isn’t an option. We also tried to install a working rotary beacon on the GE 44-ton switcher, but this is a story for another time!

The visual impact over the yard is quite dramatic

The cement plant silos are a complex assemblage of PVC drain pipes, MDF and dowels. Louis-Marie outdid himself with his carpentry wizard skills. Honestly, I’m surprised he succeeded so well given the complexity of this structure. The result is an impressive and almost overpowering entity that towers over Villeneuve yard. For sure, that’s only the outer shell and asbestos cladding, railings and gangways will need to be added to finish the model.

The bagging plant structure was completed, albeit missing its weathering. Fascia and canopy supports were added to complete it. I’m really pleased with this somewhat mundane but useful structure that adds interesting operation opportunities.

Cardboard mockups are your friends in case of doubt!

We also built a MDF core for the office and laboratory building. It was the brain of the plant back in the days. However, this structure will require more attention to its finishes since it was built in typical 1950s style with curtain walls and yellow brick. It is a project that can only be achieve from the comfort of my workbench.

Testing the spacing between the mock and siding

The final structure is the workshops which were located east from the laboratory. It was used to repair trucks and machinery. Originally, it was rail served, but in our era the siding had long been pulled off. This building is also very mundane but required a good level of scene composition. Jérôme made a cardboard mockup and moved it around until it looked right. The layout is too small to replicate the full structure, and it was several dozen feet away from the yard. We really wanted a small access road to run along the shops as seen on the prototype.

The final MDF core in place

A MDF core was then built, and we then again tried to nail down the exact dimensions. We found out that if we removed about 3/8” at the back of the building, it would look perfect. So, the entire structure met the table saw and lost some deadweight! As usual, the asbestos cladding was done with fine corrugated cardboard.

The core was too close to the track... thus we had to cut it!

With all the plant structure cores done, it’s just a matter of adding finish, painting and weathering. That will probably be a big project that will need to be done at my home.