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 Yeah, that outdated and unsophisticated footprint that any seasoned modeller will tell you to forget about.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.