I finally made a start on the construction of my new Montana Central layout, South Lewistown. Only a couple of baseboards up so far, the layout is in an outside shed, it has been lined out and will have a heater to control the temperature. The layout will go round the walls of the shed in a continuous run with an upper level with a couple of large industries on, a lower level will also be added for off layout storage and access to the rest of the world (well the Burlington Northern). It will be set in the mid 70's as I love the variaty of power available to us BN modellers in that period. in the below photos I have placed some rough locations of the rear most buildings on the main switching area, until I get the rest of the baseboard up and some track laid it will be difficult to work out where exactly they will go. The buildings are in a bad way, they all need rebuilding as have been transported about in boxes for the last 4 years. Will give me plenty to do!
Only in my head, I don't like to have anything set in stone and see what fits, but I will base it on my old layout. Sent from my HTC Desire HD A9191 using Tapatalk 2
Aha. Gives you a chance to weather, modify, detail them. Make them a smidgen more interesting and less "seen em before." Happy railroading.
Nice choice! Any chance of a MILW interchange and some MILW power? I know Boxcab E50's thinking it...
Who knows! Some modelers liscence will be used as I will have CN power visiting. Sent from my HTC Desire HD A9191 using Tapatalk 2
He was quite excited to have actually done some model railroad work this afternoon. At least modern communications allowed him to show me the progress instantly (as seen here). Good to see it underway Matt Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2
Regarding buildings, I found this one that I started to put interiors in, it needs back dating but reminded me this layout will be operatable in the dark. Sent from my HTC Desire HD A9191 using Tapatalk 2
I like it. Looking forward to seeing more.:thumbup: Sent from my PC36100 using Xparent Skyblue Tapatalk 2
Matthew, sounds like the kind of layout I want to do next - around the walls. Will be watching your progress with interest!
The layout will only be 8' x 6' but in my experience this has worked out ok for operation. Power will be smallish 4 axle locos RS3/11, C424/425, GP7/9/18/20/30/35 and some F units, can't have an early BN layout without F's! There will be a few 6 axle power appearances from SD7's and 9's (and a C636 or 2). Sent from my HTC Desire HD A9191 using Tapatalk 2
A little more baseboard down. The gap down the back near the Windows is where the lower level staging will disappear, it will be steep but the trains will be short and out of view. The mainline will run through the main street, I love street trackage. I will try to knock up a basic idea of what the track plan will look like. Sent from my HTC Desire HD A9191 using Tapatalk 2
A bit more progress on the baseboards, this shows the upper and lower grades, yes they are steep but the trains will be short. This will be a bridge. Upper level, this will be one large industry. Sent from my HTC Desire HD A9191
Being a fan of the Milwaukee Road, I an somewhat familiar with this area. A couple of years ago we were in Lewistown for a bowling tournament, and found out there was a dinner train trip available on the "Charlie Russell Choo Chew". It boarded just west of Lewistown, and ran up to Denton, MT and back on the old Milwaukee Road Northern Division rails, now operated by the Montana Central Railroad. The train consisted of demotorer RDCs that had been remodeled for dining and was pulled by a Montana Central geep. The meal was great, and during the trip, the crew of waiters and waitresses performed a murder mystery involving the passengers. A great way to spend the evening. Here's a picture of the train.
I was surprised to see you mention the Montana Central Railroad, as this is a road invented by stickymonk to match his initials! The Railroad is actually the Central Montana Charlie Russell Chew Choo by steveeshom, on Flickr CMR Power by steveeshom, on Flickr
Not many people even know that this railroad exists. It serves many small communities alomg the old Milwaukee Road Northern Route and is alive and well. It' s been in service since 1985, headquartered out of Denton, MT and operates six ex Great Northern GP9s. It has interchanges with the BNSF at both Laurel, MT at one end and Great Falls at the other.
Yes. The present operation is Central Montana Rail. However, there was a real Montana Central RR. It was a predecessor to the GN transcontinental completion, which reached Butte, Montana during the 1890's.