Wordless Wednesday #529 - A Great Start to an Evening on the Valley Line

Wordless Wednesday #528 - NHRHTA Convention This Weekend! ALL are welcome!

 

Labor Day Weekend - 78 Years Ago . . .

I'm told it was 78 years ago - the Friday of Labor Day Weekend, September 3, 1948 - when an 8 year old little boy went down to the Old Saybrook station platform to watch trains. The sun was going down - it'd be totally set within a few minutes - and in the gathering dusk a dull roar like thunder could be heard . . .

Looking eastward down the tracks, toward the gathering darkness, the sound seemed to get closer and he could just start to make out what looked like a plume of smoke - or maybe it was two? That didn't make sense. Almost all of the trains on the Shore Line had diesel locomotives now, but, as loud as a pair of back-to-back DL-109s are, they sure don't sound like this . . .

It was the glimmer on the rails, lighting up the curve in the far distance, that was the first giveaway that a train was for-sure coming. Of course, the little boy knew a train was due. He'd been into trains for as long as he could remember and he knew how to read a timetable.

He knew that the approaching train had just crossed the Connecticut River and was accelerating hard off the bridge. It sure sounded like it - and the distinctive bark meant this train had to have a steam locomotive on the point. And with it being a little past 7pm, that meant it had to be The Merchant's Limited.

But was it early? The Merchants wasn't due through Saybrook until 7:17 . . . but just then, the train came blasting around the distant curve - exhaust roaring and headlight blazing! Before he could fully comprehend it all, The Advance Merchants Limited flew by at 65 miles an hour behind not one, but TWO! I-4 Pacifics with 23 heavyweight parlor cars on their tail.

In the rush of the passing train, little John Pryke could just make out the glow of two fireboxes and just as quickly as it had come, it was gone again with the tail sign receding quickly toward the sunset.

As the dust settled and the thunder of the Merchants' passing began to fade, the impression of the sight seared itself into the little boy's memory, and sparked a passion for the New Haven Railroad that would last the rest of his life and spur him into recreating this memory in miniature, someday.

* * * * * * * *

I try to relate this story at or at least near the anniversary of this event, which is all - mostly - verified as true. Especially since it not only inspired John to a life-long love of the New Haven RR, but - indirectly - influenced my choice not only of prototype, but of era and locale. John often mentioned visiting his grandparents in Old Saybrook and going with them down to the station to watch the trains go by. And he remembers seeing the double-headed, steam-powered Advance Merchant's Limited the Friday evening of Labor Day Weekend, 1948. It was this event, more than anything else, that he always pointed to as the inspiration for getting into model railroading and trying to recreate the New Haven in HO scale.

In fact, all of John's layouts - all featured at one time or another in books or the pages of Model Railroader - were firmly set in space and time: Southern New England's New Haven Railroad was the space, and the time could only ever be "September, 1948."

Now, almost thirteen years after John's passing, I'm closer than ever to being able to recreate this memory in miniature. I have the Old Saybrook station scene as a highlight on my layout and, while I don't mind varying my chosen era within the narrow confines of "1947-1949," for all intents and purposes I'm modeling the Autumn of 1948.

I think - and hope - John would be proud of the effort. And I know he'd get a kick out of seeing a little HO scale version of his 8 year old self on the Saybrook station platform, waiting for another train to go by . . .

* This post originally appeared 9/27/2018, 70 years to the month since the event took place. I've reposted it not only to commemorate such an important time in John's life, but to remind myself that preserving these memories is one of the reasons for embarking on this project in the first place.

Wordless Wednesday #527 - The Current State of Things (where I left off weeks ago...)

 

Wordless Wednesday #526 - A Visit to the Chatham (MA) RR Museum

Canaan Railroad Day - August 8, 2026

I first heard about "Canaan Railroad Days" way back in the 1980s, but never made it up there. Then, for many years, they didn't have them.

Finally, some years back (not sure exactly when), the Housatonic Railroad decided to bring them back. And, even though I typically avoid going to "Autumn" places during the summer (I've only ever visited North Canaan, CT in the fall and winter), I decided to take my still-new-to-me drone up for a visit.

But the main impetus was that one of my favorite locomotives would be there - an EMD SW1 - and the prototype for the NHRHTA's latest collaboration with Rapido Trains would be there too - the Roger Williams. Of course, it'd be fun to hang out with ChrisZ at the NHRHTA table (and maybe drum up a few more members) as well as BillS from Rapido.

So, herewith are a few of the photos and videos that I took during the day. Hopefully they give you a bit of a sense of the day and that you enjoy them!

Throwback Thursday: Talking Ops Podcast

Way back in early June, I was the featured guest on a "Talking Ops" episode of the Around the Layout podcast. From the show description:

How can you turn your layout into a historical reenactment? For our Talking Ops guest Chris Adams, that was the mission when he created his layout, The Valley Local. Chris shares how his passion for history drove his desire to have an operating railroad that immerses his operators into a full late 1940's experience. Chris also shares how his methods for running his operating sessions have evolved to balance his passion for prototypical accuracy with a enjoyable time for guests.

Here's hoping you click here and give it a listen!

Wordless Wednesday #525 - Another Article! (Staging Yard in a Box)

Tuesday Tips: Cufflinks and Toggles

What do cufflinks and toggles have to do with one another, you may ask? Well, as you'll see, one is a way of protecting the other. Allow me to 'splain....

It may not be apparent in the view above, but sometimes when operators have to lean over this part of the fascia to reach the back of the layout, they may <ahem> come into contact with those toggles . . .

And if you happen to lean into these toggles, you may inadvertently turn off the command station and/or the power. Yes, it's happened - a few times . . .

So, while trying to think of something that could protect the toggles, I came across this . . .

This is a cufflinks box. I don't even know why I had it nor how I got it. But it was just laying around and I happened to spot it at the right time.

When I opened it and felt how nicely it popped open, stayed open, and popped closed, I got a wonderful, awful idea . . .

Why not drill some holes for the toggles? So that's what I did.

Thankfully, the toggles themselves don't poke out too far (though apparently too far for some operators :^) . . .

. . . to allow the box to shut. Talk about an elegant solution!

And as you may have guessed from the previous photos, I came up with this a while back (still trying to catch the blog up to current times) - so here it is as it looks today. Classy!

While I was going through all this, it occurred to me that every time I powered up the layout a bunch of engines would power up as well. Not only does that create a bit of a racket (especially when you're just troubleshooting something, or wanting to run one engine), but creates an unnecessary power surge on the command station.

So I decided to proved some "cut-out" switches for the tracks that those engines typically occupy.  I had not plain-ol' toggle switches on-hand, but I did have a few spare wall light switches. Those turned out to be a more elegant solution (detecting a theme here?) and - bonus! - no soldering required.

First step is to use the faceplate to help locate the switch.

And I traced around the switch itself to get an idea of how large to make the opening in the fascia.

I used a 1" spade bit to drill 3 holes, one on top of the other . . .

Then it's just a matter of cutting one wire that's supplying power to the track you want to isolate and attaching the two ends to the screw terminals on the switch.

This creates a nice, intuitive on/off switch for the track (even better if you label which track it controls!).

Now I can store engines on "Yard 1" and not have to worry about them starting up until I want them to start up.

Being so successful with one track, I figured I'd next tackle multiple tracks . . .

Using the same techniques I described above, I used one switch to cut power to a pit track and another switch to cut power to my entire west end staging yard (for an article on this "Staging Yard in a Box" check out the September 2026 issue of Model Railroader :^)

This project was a little more complicated than the earlier effort since it involved more wires and required more careful attention to the location of the switches themselves so they'd fit nicely in the switchplate/cover.

But, again, a nice looking solution to a common problem. If you can't source toggle switches (and having Radio Shack disappear makes that more difficult), or if you don't like soldering, try giving regular light switches a try. You may find that you prefer them, despite their taking up quite a bit more space on your fascia.