Friday Fun - Hartford's State Theatre

One of the best "side benefits" of modeling a particular time and place is opportunity to really get into and absorb that time and place - everything from the music, to the movies, the cars, what going on in the world at the time. In fact, I embrace this aspect of the hobby explicitly when I share what I've learned in the Crew Calls I send out before my operating sessions.

It really creates the closest thing to a time machine that I can imagine - and it's a great way to get my operators to join me on my journey into the past.

The only downside I can imagine is that there's no "new" old stuff being created - it's all back there in the past, and not being added to. But some of it is still waiting to be (re)discovered - and every once in a while, just when you think you know everything there is to know about your chosen era, you discover something new.

That happened to me this week.

I was listening to Benny Goodman's 1938 Carnegie Hall recording of Sing, Sing, Sing for about the millionth time, and was mesmerized my Jess Stacy's piano solo toward the end. That sent me down a rabbit hole to learn more about Jess Stacy (which is a really interesting story, btw) and the BG band of the late 1930s.

Other than the time traveling aspect, what does all this have to do with the Valley Local? Well, this site isn't just about the model railroad I'm building in my basement - it's as much about the time and place that sets the stage. And while it predates my chosen era by about 10 years, for one brief, shining moment, the famous Benny Goodman Band played at the State Theater in Hartford, CT - only a few blocks from the Valley Line - and BG even performed a special song for the occasion called The Hartford Stomp.

Here's the full broadcast:

And you can hear The Hartford Stomp below:

Another fun find down that rabbit hole was a series of programs broadcast by Hartford's WTIC radio that focuses on that golden era. Click here for that. And for more about Hartford's State Theater (which, at the time, was New England's largest theater, with almost 4,000 seats), click here. If you want to learn more about the Big Bands that used to perform in Connecticut, click here.

As you can probably tell, these little research rabbit trails can be an especially enjoyable part of this great hobby. I thought I had heard everything that Benny Goodman ever recorded, and now - thanks to following one of those trails - I've discovered a lot of new music that will provide the perfect background and soundtrack for a day operating on the Valley Line.

Portals into the Past: Railfanning the Batten Kill RR

What do you think about when you think about October?

The smell of wood smoke? The crisp nip in the air? The brilliant fall foliage? The shushing sounds your shoes make through the leaves after they've fallen to the ground?

What about ghosts? Sure, there's Halloween, but what about the ghosts of the past?

I've always thought of the month of October as the perfect time to see some ghosts. As the leaves reveal their true colors, right before they fall from the trees, and things begin to slow down a bit, we can start to recall - or sometimes we have to imagine - what life used to be like, before all the craziness of modern life.

And if you find yourself in just the right spot during the month of October, you might just think you've fallen through a portal into the past - and if you're truly lucky, you might just see some ghosts of 1950s railroading in upstate New York.

That's what happened to me on a recent Autumn day, exploring the Rod Serling countryside along the Batten Kill River. Follow along as I share some of the memories with you . . .

Evoking the old D&H, switching the feed mill near Greenwich Jct., NY

The main ghost, spotted - Former D&H RS-3, near the end of its life and fading, like so much of the foliage surrounding it, but still serving the same stretch of railroad it's run on for years - shot through the Rexleigh Covered Bridge.

And just off to the right, you can make out the ghost of an old mill along the river....

Southbound through Shushan, NY - only the modern vehicles spoil the specter of a mid-20th century meet between two freight trains in small-town America.

Two ghosts, divided by 100 years - Station built c. 1852, Locomotive built 1952

21st century digital zoom softens the colors and captures an echo of railroading from almost 70 years ago.

Our fading pumpkin of a locomotive makes its way over the railroad's namesake river and past a fading farm.

A little paint, a little polish, and a lot of elbow grease, and this ghost of a car might just live to chase another train on another day . . .

Grab shot tension

New meets Old

The gathering clouds and fading foliage provide the perfect metaphor for a farm which has seen better days.

Heading back north from Eagle Bridge, NY

Ghosts sometimes do cast a reflection...

Cornfield, barn, trees, engine - all fading, evocative, beautiful.

Only another unfortunately parked vehicle spoils the illusion of 1950s railroading, including one of the last (if not THE last) crossing sign of this type in the country.

Nature's Reclamation

Mirrored Streaks of Weathering - Heading back to the Junction, and finishing up for the day.

I hope you've enjoyed this little portal into the past - and that it's inspired you to keep your eyes open, especially during this time of year. You may find a few happy hauntings of your own. And if you do, I hope you'll share them here . . . I'm always looking for new opportunities for a little time travel . . .

* * * * *

Given the ephemeral nature of the BKRR, you really can never just "find yourself in 'just the right spot" when trying to capture it. You need a guide - someone who knows the place as well as the member of the family that it's become. My guide for this once-in-a-lifetime trip was Ken Karlewicz, who went out of his way - literally and figuratively - not only to give me the heads up that the BK was running the RS-3, but to make sure I was in every good location at every right moment all throughout the day. While "finding oneself in just the right spot" works well as a foil for telling a story of ghosts, the reality is that it doesn't actually happen that way, and never by accident. Thank you, Ken, for an amazing day and especially for sharing your love of the BKRR.

Technical Info: All original, unretouched, unfiltered photos shot with iPhone SE

More on Cycle Trains....

As I've been doing some research lately (on the NHRR's J-1 class Mikados, in case you have any info to share ;^) I came across the following article from the May 2, 1936 issue of Railway Age magazine which covers the New Haven's cycle trains shortly after the first one ran.

Hope you enjoy this additional little journey down Memory Lane . . .

Wordless Wednesday #307: Chet's Layout, c. 1985

Wordless Wednesday #305 - Connecticut Industry

What used to be . . . and in just part of the state!

Thursday Word(less) Wednesday #266

(sorry for being tardy - late night at work %^)

Evocative of the Valley Local, and the look to which my layout aspires - but can't quite get to yet.
Everything about this scene, from the composition, to the scenery, to the photo backdrop, and - bonus! - the haze at the horizon, is just about perfect.
FB photo of Steve Goaring's Illinois Terminal RR

Cheshire Branch Videos

Just a quick post to point you to the two videos I took during my visit to Jim Dufour's Cheshire Branch railroad. Keep in mind that they don't really do the layout justice, but - although shot freehand - the image stabilizer did a good job of keeping things steady.

You can see more (and better) videos here (many of which were posted by FlyingYankee59 (who is much better at this than I).

But for a quick taste, click on the vids below - Enjoy!

Admiration as Motivation: Jim Dufour's Cheshire Branch

Thou shalt not covet.

Exodus 20:17

During this time of Thanksgiving, we take time to be grateful for all we have and to appreciate all the little and big ways we've been blessed. Long-time readers of this blog have seen me go on (and on) about how wonderful it is to live where I do, how nice a space I have, how loving and supportive my wife is. And all of that is - and continues to be - true. But they say confession is good for the soul. So here goes:

I want Jim DuFour's model railroad.

Jim's layout depicts the Cheshire Branch of the Boston & Maine Railroad c. 1947-1951 and is one of the best examples of how a model railroad can be used to transport us to a different time and place. It has everything I want in a model railroad: great scenery - true to the geography of the places modeled, flawless operation - even of finicky brass steam engines, and the highest fidelity to all aspects of this particular section of the B&M, from the signal types used to the particular type of guardrail used along Route 12 in southern New Hampshire. And he's done it all by modeling 5 consecutive towns in a fraction of the space I have available. His exhaustive research and obvious skill have created a world where it doesn't take much imagination at all to believe you've taken a time machine and landed right in the middle of a Philip Hastings photograph. Except better - you can interact with the world Jim's created. And it's in color.

Jim and I met at the NE ProtoMeet a couple years ago and discovered right away that we were on almost-identical paths modeling wise - the only difference  being that he's modeling a B&M branchline and I'm modeling a New Haven RR branchline. Well, that and he's obviously much more talented and further along than I am. But it's been really cool to discover how similar our mindsets are and what we want to accomplish with our modeling.

Since I'd been a distant admirer of his layout for a while, I took a chance when I heard that he was having an open house and all-but-invited myself over, dropping Bill's name (hoping that would help rather than hurt :). I needn't have worried though, he graciously extended an invitation to visit and see the layout in person.

I took almost 10 rolls of film 240 pictures while I was there - everything from the vintage 1948 calendar, to the fastclock control panel, to - of course - the layout itself. Most of my shots were for my reference (his State Line area looks almost the spittin' image of much of the Valley Line, especially the southern end), but I got a few that are worth sharing here. I'm sure others got much better shots than I did, and I hope they'll mention so and give us a link in the comments. That way we can all appreciate Jim's accomplishment.

There's a fine line between inspiration and discouragement. All too often, my reach exceeds my grasp and I've sometimes wondered if I've taken on too much. But seeing the Cheshire Branch in person reminds me of what can be accomplished and that motivates me to keep going with my own effort.

In the meantime though, please pardon my occasional covetousness.

And enjoy this little taste of southern New Hampshire in the summer of 1948...

You come onto the layout from staging at State Line. I've never been to State Line, but if the accuracy of the rest of his layout is any indication, this scene is a spot-on model of the real location. But - to me - it looks the epitome of so much of the New Haven's Valley Line that I took probably 2 dozen photos here alone.

Symbol freight headed out of State Line westbound (compass northwest toward Bellows Falls, VT).

The next town on the line is Fitzwilliam, NH

Westbound freight rounding the bend, approaching Troy.

Local freight stopped at the Troy station for orders.

Later, near dusk, symbol freight BX-1 westbound through Troy, NH

Westbound with Mt. Monadnock in the background

Ditto

The cuts at Troy Ledges

After Troy Ledges, the next station is Webb. The eastbound local is waiting on the siding.

Just west of Webb 

I hope you've enjoyed this tiny taste of the Cheshire Branch. Be sure to click the links in the text above for additional photos and videos.

The Crew Call - Another Opportunity for Realism

To me, prototype modeling is even more than modeling the equipment and scenes prototypically. If I'm doing things right, it's the closest thing I can imagine to a time machine. And the research required to do things right is a huge part of the fun.

Case in point - my crew call. In addition to the prototypical paperwork I hand out (Clearance Forms, Train Orders, Bulletin Orders, Switchlists), I've started to let my crews know beforehand what day they're on-duty and what's going on in the world, including the weather forecast - all thoroughly researched and perfectly prototypical. I got the idea for doing this from operating on Dave Ramos' New York Harbor railroad and really liked how it set the mood for the session.

This year - 2014 - it just so happens that the days fall exactly as they did in 1947. So I couldn't resist the extra added bit of realism. Here's my crew call for tomorrow's operating session:

"It looks like our two extra freights now have full crews and will be operating tomorrow, Wednesday, October 29, 1947.

Here's what's going on in the world on that day:

Weather forecast: temps in the lower to mid 60s; fog in the morning, drizzle throughout the day.

The Thomas Committee on Un-American Activities in Washington is investigating the film industry.

Groucho Marx's "You Bet Your Life" premiered on ABC radio on Monday, October 27.

Trial of famous art forger Han van Meegeren begins in Amsterdam.

But none of that bothers our crews all that much - other than the weather, which - while not too raw - could be a bit nicer.  The engineers will have to keep their drivers from spinning on the wet rails, made all the more slick by the fallen leaves.  Be sure your sand dome is filled up before you leave the yard!"

If you want to try adding this extra bit of realism to your sessions, check out the Farmers Almanac online (Ben Franklin would be proud). There's a historical weather section where you can enter the zipcode of the locale you're modeling and the date corresponding to your era. Presto! a forecast for the day of your ops session.

Also, "this day in history" type sites are good for getting an overall feel for the day. I googled "this day in history october 29, 1947" and got links to a bunch of sites with good information. Unfortunately, there wasn't much that happened exactly on this day - so I had to fudge a little, e.g. by mentioning Groucho's show that started earlier in the week. I also checked out Eleanor Roosevelt's diary for the day - pretty helpful for folks modeling the late '40s.

I find that adding this level of authenticity really puts the railroad in context, literally. No longer are you just running trains on a layout (not that there's anything wrong with that), but you're participating in the history of the line & towns your modeling and playing some role in keeping those memories alive.

If you try this out, I'd love to hear about it. The cool thing about a time machine is that you can go anywhere in time that strikes your fancy - and it'd be fun to add your era to the list of places to visit!

A Few Words on Wordless Wednesday #30

This is not the Valley Local.  It's PDX-2, the New London-Cedar Hill (Shoreline) local at Rocky Neck (East Lyme, CT).  The date & photographer are unknown, though I suspect the photographer may be Kent Cochrane and the date is likely c. 1947. I include the photo here since PDX-2 during this time served the lower end of the Valley Line, swung off the Shoreline at Old Saybrook and headed up the Valley through Essex & Deep River to interchange cars with the Valley Local at East Haddam.

K-1d #363 is doing the honors on what looks like a beautiful summer day, hauling a relatively short - but interesting - train of 6(?) cars.  First car is a reefer of some sort, then a wagontop boxcar, outside-braced boxcar, looks like 2 gondolas, unknown boxcar (PRR X-29?) and caboose - most likely an NE-4 wood caboose (which was built on a shorty boxcar frame in the late 1920s).

Looks like the fireman is dutifully facing forward, as you'd expect. But just a minute ago he probably took advantage of the fact that he was on the outside of the curve (and thus couldn't see much ahead anyway), and on the correct side of the locomotive to check out all the pretty girls on the beach.  You see, Rocky Neck was (and is) a very popular state park with a beautiful beach - and the beach is just out of sight beneath the overpass.

Even if PDX-2 didn't figure in my layout's operating scheme, this would still be a great train to model.  Heck, this could be a great scene to model, given the distinctive overpass in the background and the beautifully manicured double-track Shoreline mainline (are you paying attention PeteL?). If you don't mind the overpass splitting the scene, you could even model the beach - and the bathing beauties, if you were so inclined (though good luck finding period-appropriate figures). It also wouldn't be too difficult to just have the overpass on the left end of the scene and focus your attention on the beach - just like our attentive fireman.

It's photos like these that make prototype modeling (and the time travel that it makes possible) so compelling. Unfortunately, there won't be any room on my layout for any part of this particular scene, but the train itself will definitely play a significant role on the Valley Line.

Modeling Influences: Bill Schneider's NYO&W

Well, the holiday season has well and truly hit - with dire consequences for the regularity of this blog.  Since mid-November, other than a follow-up post on CT River Valley motive power, I've only posted the bite-sized candies of the blogging world - the "drive-by" post: Wordless Wednesday.  Modeling and blogging have taken a back seat to shopping and egg-nogging...

So there's not much going on hereabouts modeling-wise - barely a ripple - but there's been some seismic activity in my model railroading world this past week: Bill Schneider decided to retire The Old Woman in the Back Bedroom.

I first saw Bill's New York Ontario & Western in Ted Culotta's Prototype Railroad Modeling magazine - I think it may have even been in the premier issue - which didn't surprise me because it became very obvious very fast that what Bill was doing was "Prototype Modeling."  I'd heard that term before, attached to just about any and every modeling effort that wasn't freelanced.  But this was one of the first times I'd seen it practiced to such an extent.  The only other layout I was aware of at the time that modeled a prototype with such fidelity was Jack Burgess' Yosemite Valley.  I knew right then and there that this level of fidelity would become my standard - or at least my aspiration.

When I finally got to meet Bill & see his layout in person, I was shocked and pleasantly surprised at just how small it was.  I was absolutely astonished how well and how accurately he was able to model two entire towns in the space he had.  And not only did he model the buildings and track layout accurately, he'd modeled the details - things like period billboards & signs, and even flagstone walkways that he knew, from talking to local old-timers, were there in the era he was modeling - and exactly where they had been in real life.  On Bill's layout, everything is in the right place and even some of the figures represent actual residents and railroad employees of the time.  The only way you could experience Roscoe or Livingston Manor, NY in the early 1950s any better is with a time machine.  With this level of fidelity to the prototype and attention to detail - especially given the limited space - I knew I'd found a true inspiration for my own modeling effort. I don't mind admitting that my layout seeks to do for a branchline of the New Haven Railroad what Bill was able to do for the O&W.

Although Bill's current iteration of the O&W will move on, literally and figuratively, I know this won't be his last modeling effort.  Can't be.  Anybody that talented and that passionate about recreating a specific time and place has to give vent to his art & creativity somehow.  Of course, he has an open invitation to work his magic anytime he wants on the Valley Line - provided 1947 isn't too far back for him to travel.  But whether he comes down the Valley or not, I'm very much looking forward to his future efforts and especially to the continued inspiration of his art.

Modeling Monday: NEB&W Ops Session

Before I came across the New England Berkshire & Western, I was just a typical model railroader.  While there's certainly nothing wrong with creating your own fictional world and operating a fictional railroad within it, the NEB&W was my first exposure to prototype modeling.  While the NEB&W is technically "proto-freelancing" (it never actually existed IRL, but it's easy to forget that), this was the first place I saw actual real-life scenes being replicated in model form and operated just like the prototype.

So whenever I get a chance to visit - and especially to operate - this railroad, I jump on it.  It's one of the surest-fire ways to recharge my motivation and inspire my own proto-layout project.  Here are a few pics from the past weekend's ops session.  Whether you model New England railroads or not, I bet you'll see something that will get your modeling juices going....

Here's a good example of what they're doing - a nice bridge scene on the model...

And right below it, on the fascia, is a picture of the prototype scene (unfortunately, I forgot to note the location).  I used this same idea on my railroad.  Even - or especially - when you don't have scenery, it helps show visitors what you're planning.

While the NEB&W has been around since at least the 1970s, they're always up to something new.  Here's the start of their latest - a model of the Rutland's Addison Branch.  This is where the famous covered bridge will go.

The famous East Shoreham covered bridge - image taken from a great website dedicated to the Addison Branch.

 

Another under-construction scene on the new Addison Branch.

When you enter the layout room(s), this is the first scene that you see on the right.

A little further down the line from the previous scene.

Looking back up the line.  I'm only about 15 feet into the room at this point and already hitting modeling-inspiration-overload.

Chateauguay - the northern-most big city & yard on the railroad.  The "Oldensburn & Lake Richilieu" comes from the north and interchanges here.  Running the O&LR transfer job was my first task of the day.

Another view of Chateauguay - the O&LR track curves in front of Arendt Lumber.  The rest of the track is NEB&W territory.

Forgot the name of this town, but love the scene since it looks very similar to the CT River Valley area I'm modeling.

North Bennington, VT.

Prototype photo for comparison (taken from here)

 

Bartonsville - The (prototype) covered bridge in this scene was washed away in 2012, but recently rebuilt.

Comparison prototype photo, taken from the NEB&W Facebook Fanpage (which, if you're into prototype modeling, I highly recommend - you'll see lots of side-by-side comparisons between the prototype and what they're modeling.  Very inspirational!)

 

Rutland Yard

Scene inspired by the prototype Delaware & Hudson's line along Lake Champlain

Some fantastic bridge modeling in Green Isle

It was a long but fun-filled day.  We got through an entire 24hr operating day with, literally, dozens of trains, all run on a schedule governed by a 4:1 fastclock.  Randy deserves kudos for doing such a great job as dispatcher and it was great getting to spend some time with Bill, Pete, new-friend George and other old friends.