I have recently put together a website to more fully document my layout.  In conjunction with doing so, I have renamed the former "MEC and B&M Scenic Railroad" to now be called the "Northern New England Scenic Model Railroad".  I may refer to it as the NNES at times for brevity but that is not intended to be interpreted as a planned road marking.  The layout still features Maine Central and B&M roads at this time.

After reading What's neat ,I am intrigued by Jeff Otto's turnout templates .Has anyone used them as I am thinking of investing in one as I have had nothing but trouble with Peco turnouts.

Hoping for some guidance

Smokey Dawson    Australia

First off, I took my Hustlers completely apart. I'm gonna reuse everything in this project except these Athearn motors...

After the last post I tried a boxcab body. I had tried some from scratch but didn't like them. Then I bought two cabeese and tried a kitbash. Still wasn't right. The Cary shell is almost impossible to find and since everyone and his brother apparently wants one the EBay bids get high real quick.

Turns out my old middle school is giving up the layout from last year. I am getting the table at least and maybe items with it. So now the fun part. Designing a track plan. I definitely want a yard of some sort so any ideas. It is a 6'x7' oval and I want HO scale.  Can't wait to start, Keegan

Another busy weekend getting ready for the regional layout tour.  The facia was painted giving everything a semi-finished look:
The decks are painted alternating light and dark shades which converge at the entrance to the layout.

Rob

Today I was able to get into the shop to work on the benchwork.  Since the hollow core doors are 80 inches tall and I only have 10 feet of space available, I needed to trim them down to size.  Now I could have just left one door alone and trimmed the second one to fit, but I would also like to be able to take the layout to shows.  By cutting both doors down to 5 feet, they will also fit in the back of my truck.

It's been awhile since my first blog about the Atlin transfer and I apologize  but life got in the way and haven't been really motivated until recently.

 I have accomplished a lot since my first blog,the basic structures are built and the track has been laid and rough scenery has started.The paper ill complex has been built and somewhat painted,the warehouse area is almost complete,just a few minor paint touch ups and scenery around it is almost done.The main yard is completely done.

Hi everyone,

On a previous blog Trevor Marshall brought up subject of what makes an operating session satisfying and many pointed out that it didn't involve a great deal of work or time. And during the comments particular methods of operations evolved including the use of Fast Clocks. I was thinking about the actual operating session itself and what makes it enjoyable. Many people who operate layouts on a regular basis use a car card system for routing and handling car movements to and from industries on their layouts. Especially those who model prior to 1990.