Here is what looks to be the final version (or close) for my Maryland Midland RR circa 1995.

I spent some time this weekend re-assembling the Siever's benchwork (great stuff!) from my previous layout in my attic space this weekend and it fits pretty nicely.  This benchwork is over 12 years old and this is the third layout that I have used it on.  Here is how it looks in the room:

I was all set to model the Western Maryland when I stumbled across the Maryland Midland railroad on Facebook.  That led to a whole bunch of research and the idea of modeling a modern short line evolved.  I have to say that I have been inspired by all of the very nice Iowa Interstate layouts on this website.  The tough thing is that I have no experience and very little knowledge of modern railroading and so I am on the tough part of the learning curve. I actually started in HOn3 and Sn3 and them moved to HO steam.  For the past 12 years I've been modeling th

This is the design that I have decided will be most likely be built.  They say no battle plan survives the first shot, so it is probable that I will end up modifying it once I start building.  There were several other ideas that clearly I liked including the Fairmont Belt Line and the Virginian layout, but I know the WM a bit better, I discovered that I still own some WM equipment from 15 years ago (I remember how well those Stewart F7s ran) and the GC&E branch is appealing to me.  There are also new WM engines coming soon, including state-of-the-art F7 and RS3. 

I've made the move to West Virginia and the railroad room in the attic is measured and ready.  Unfortunately I still have considerable unpacking before I can start building.  In between unpacking boxes I've been doing a few sketches on Cadrail.  the first is a depiction of the GC&E branch of the Western Maryland between Bergoo and Webster Springs.  The branch has a narrow gauge feel to it which isn't surprising since it was narrow gauge when WM bought it.  it would support simple slow operations between the two track fiddle yard and Webster Springs.

We made a recent trip back to our house in West Virginia and concluded that expanding into the other part of the attic would be a very expensive proposition, so I've decided to build a layout in the current finished room with heating, AC, windows and lighting.  It is about 25 feet by 11 feet, depending on how high the layout is built due to the issue with the sloped ceiling.  I carefully remeasured the room and as soon as I got back started some new designs.

Here is a new track plan for everyone to give their opinions about.  This is owes much to Eric Hansmann as he wrote about this line for a Layout design Journal article he wrote on using short prototype segments for layout designs.  The actual FBL is a very old industrial area just off of the B&O line through Fairmont West Virginia.  It went up a steep grade and then serviced a number of industries including glass factories in downtown Fairmont.  It had a remarkable amount of industries in its short 2 mile length.

We have decided that the new railroad will go into a smaller but finished attic room in our new house.  The issue will be the slope of the ceiling in the room and how high I can build the layout and still have a backdrop.  I've been doing some sketches in Cadrail and I am going to post some of them and get people's opinions particularly concerning operations.  The Ripley branch is relatively simple, just like the prototype.  Ripley is only about 50 minutes from my house and that should make research easier.

I have been buying books about West Virginia railroading and have learned lots over the past 6 weeks.  My future railroad space appears to be about 14 x 40 feet so that is what I have been assuming for my sketches.  The first I am going to post is the Campbell's Creek Railroad based on Todd Hanson's very fine book: Campbell's Creek.  This  railroad has many of the things I am looking for including lots of mines and features to research and build.  It interchanged with the Kanawha and Michigan RR (NYC) east of Charleston WV.

As I have stated before, I like to build model railroads based on prototype information, typically in areas that I am living. For the past 10 years I've been modeling a small portion of the Tonopah and Tidewater around Goldfield Nevada circa 1915.  I like scratch building and kit bashing to get what I want.