The Aston Spur
Hey there.
In the summer of 2018, I started building a small (2x7) HO scale switching layout in a spare bedroom in my matchbox (condo) located in Toronto, Ontario. Now (December 2020), I have made enough progress on my layout to post it online. I'm also quite bad at documenting things, so I'm using this blog as a way to archive what I've done and learned while building the layout.
I have relied heavily on ideas coming from the many wonderful model railroad blogs out there. Model railroading, like so many hobbies, is both a solitary and community activity. I am building the layout by myself. But my inspiration and ideas have come from a community. Starting a blog is a way to connect with this community.
One final caveat - I am not a natural at blogging or photography. While I'm used to writing, everything else involved in a blog is daunting. So please bear with me as I try to figure all this stuff out.
But...as Marty Di Bergi said at the start of This is Spinal Tap, "Enough of my yakking - let's rock and roll."
The layout concept
First, the trackplan:
Sorry for the crude jpeg. I'll follow with some pictures shortly.
The time period is the early 60's and the railway is the CPR in its tuscan red glory.
The layout is not based on a prototype.
The concept of the layout is a single town (Aston) with two industries.
1. Aston Growers (Cold storage of produce).
2. Generic (name to be determined) Canneries. This industry is inspired by the now closed American Canning Company in Simcoe, Ontario.
There is a walkway connecting the two buildings to emphasize that AG supplies GC with produce.
"Aston" the town is located somewhere in near northern Ontario - Canadian shield country but far enough south for produce to be grown.
The idea is that the AG and GC are the last two industries on a branchline that has been shortened to Aston. There is enough traffic to merit decently maintained track, but the line is hardly a priority for the CPR's track gangs.
The layout purpose
Less is more. I've always subscribed to the idea that the key to a believable model railroad is that the trains should be overwhelmed by the scenery and not vice-versa. Industries should be big. Track layout should be simple and sensible. And finally, there should be spots on the layout that are pleasing to look at even without trains (what a revolutionary concept).
While I'll expand on this in a future post, I wanted a layout that balanced scenery and operations. Prior to 2018, I had not actively modelled trains for 20 years. So I needed to keep things simple and give myself a testbed for learning the hobby all over again. When I stopped modelling in 1998 or so, I was still in the DC, Code 100, lichen/ragweed/foam era. A lot had happened in the hobby since then.
And like many modellers, I can't help but buy rolling stock and engines even though I don't have a place to run them. Between E-bay True Line Train purchases (Slab sided hoppers! CPR Reefers) and Rapido (too much to mention), my closets were getting full of rolling stock that needed to stretch its legs once and a while. So, the layout functions as both a test track and a display track.
Finally, I made the decision to join the DCC era. This was something totally new to learn - programing engines, figuring out functions and just generally learning how engines run differently in DCC.
One last thing - I wanted to layout to look nice in its home. To the end, the layout rests on a custom built cart and is trimmed by old barn board.
Specs
I've already mentioned the prototype is the CPR and the time period is the early 60's.
Size: 2x7
Track: Micro-engineering Code 83.
Turnouts: Peco Code 83 no. 6 ("mainline") and no. 5 (spurs).
Grade: none
Benchwork: insulation foam on plywood.
Height: 38"
Roadbed: Cork and foam
Backdrop: Painted MDF with commercial backdrops and painted backdrops.
Control: DCC - NCE Powercab
Operating the layout
Because of the small room, all staging is done on the layout. There are 6 car spots - 2 at Aston Growers, 2 on the building track for GC and 2 separate tracks under the unloading shed.
Train length is maximum 3 cars + caboose + engine. The engine is either an Atlas S-2 or a Rapido RS-18.
Aston Growers receives Reefers and Boxcars. I can't imagine local growers would ship much produce to AG by rail, so only one of the two spots sees regular use for outbound loads.
GC ships canned food out on the building track (2 boxcars) and receives materials on shed track 2 (boxcars/tank cars) and sugar on shed track 1 (slab sided hoppers).
There is a enough room for another car on the building track if I ever decide to model an open load.
I've only had the full track layout to play with for 3 months or so. It has become obvious that switching becomes very tedious if the train has more than 3 cars.
In my next post, I'll share more about the layout and provide a quick tour.
