LOTS of stuff added to the website

In addition to working in Wethersfield, I've been trying to beef up the Valley Local website with distilled versions of the information scattered all around on this blog - as well as some new website-only content.

So be sure to head over to http://www.thevalleylocal.net and check it out. Addition highlights include a whole new section on "Prototype Inspiration" where I've posted some of the photos that really got/get me into doing this project (along with a very evocative essay on the Valley Local by Tony Koester, courtesy White River Productions), photos of some of my modeling, and an extensive new "tips" section which has a lot of information I think you'll find useful.

There's also a new "accountability" section <g> where I post my layout goals & highlights, mostly so I don't forget them, and I've added a lot of content to the "Trains of Thought" section as well as the "Projects" section (found under "Modeling").

These are just the highlights - lots of other stuff has been added in the past couple of weeks. So if you have some time during your morning coffee break or lunch, browse around and let me know what you think - and if there's something more/different you'd like to see.

Happy Friday Eve!

Friday Fun - Valley Line Crew Info

Despite my recent hemming & hawing, I'll be hosting my first NMRA Regional ops session in a few months. So in preparation for that I've created a new section over at the website called "Valley Line Crew Info" where new operators can get oriented as well as find additional information and details on the layout. The goal is to provide a great "first introduction" to Valley Line ops and (hopefully) answer ahead of time a lot of the questions that first-time operators might have.

But it's most definitely a work in progress. So, especially you more seasoned operating veterans (and most especially anybody that's operated the Valley Line before), please weigh in and let me know if I'm forgetting anything and what else would be helpful to add!

More Website Additions!

For a "wordless" Wednesday, a whole lot of words (and pictures, and files) got added to the Valley Local website today...

• Divided & reorganized the "Operations" section into "Prototype Info" and "Modeling Info & Ideas"
• Added "Deja Vu" under the "Trains of Thought" section
• Added a whole new "Clinics & Presentations" section
• The "Modeling" section really got a workout:
• "Photos" section got filled in a bit lot
• "Projects" section now includes some of my modeling, including articles on:
• Building the Saybrook Tower Control Panel
• Modeling the New Haven's DERS-2b (RS-2) #0510
• Modeling the New Haven's DERS-1b (RS-1) #0669
• ProtoFreelancing the coal tower/conveyor at Valley Coal in Wethersfield
• Modeling the Mattabessett river bridge on the Berlin Branch

I'm trying to add content as much as I can, but it's a pretty daunting task. In a lot of ways, it's just a duplication of what's already on the blog - but it is more organized and user-friendly, and represents the "best of the best" from the blog. So even if you've been following the blog from Day One, you should be able to find the most important info without having to dig around too much (that's my main reason for maintaining the 'site, after all). And, assuming you haven't been following the blog from the beginning, you'll see some stuff at the website you probably haven't seen before.

So check it out when you get a chance and let me know what you think, what you'd like to see added, and whatever other suggestions for improvement you might have.

Adding to the Website

I expect many of you come directly here to the blog. But did you know that I have a website as well?

All along, my goal in doing the blog was to be able to update frequently and easily - keeping track of my progress for my own records and enjoyment, and hopefully for your information and enjoyment as well. But the blog has always been intended to be "fleeting" - which is to say, it's organized chronologically rather than thematically (though the "Topics" links on the right hand side do a fair job).

The website, on the other hand, is where I archive/organize/store the real meat of my research and the most favorite of my blog posts - all organized and laid out for ready reference. The only problem is, it's more of a pain to update and change.

So lately, I've been trying to remedy that. To wit - if you haven't been there in a while, you'll see recent changes to the "Layout Tour" section (I added pages on Old Saybrook and Shailerville Bridge), the "Operations" section (added "Crew Call"), the "Choosing an Era" section (how I settled - at least temporarily - on the Fall of 1948), and added a brand new section called "Trains of Thought" (with apologies to Tony Koester and Kalmbach Publishing) where I hope to collect some of my more wandering/wondering ruminations.

And if you've never been to the website, hopefully you'll be pleasantly surprised by all that's there - including a track plan (which, given my recent expansion, really needs to be updated), particulars of the layout, and all the other topics I mentioned above.

Whether you've been to the website before or not, be sure to stay tuned. I plan to add content there much more regularly (and before I forget, again, how to go about updating it!).

So go on over to http://www.thevalleylocal.net and check it out!

Don't Forget the Website

If you only ever access this here blog via Google, from a bookmark, or via email (you do know you can get new posts automatically via email, don't you? :^) you may not be aware that I have a website - http://www.thevalleylocal.net - which is where you'll find more detailed & permanent research & content related to The Valley Local poject. Bonus - new blog posts get posted automatically to that site's homepage as well, so you won't miss anything if you go to the website (but if you only access the blog, you may very well miss what's put on the 'site).

While I've been pretty good at keeping the blog updated, I've only recently gotten more comfortable with updating the website on my own. But prompted by an email I received from JimD (of Cheshire Branch fame), I decided to collect my operations-related posts under a new "Operations" heading on the website. Click here and check out the left sidebar. In fact, since I realized that there are other "key posts" that I keep referring to in my own research and always have to look up, I've decided to start putting them on the website as well for quicker and easier access.

I still have some further updates to do - for example, the "Layout Tour" pages on the 'site don't reflect the latest progress (most having been posted shortly after I started the blog in Oct. 2013), and I haven't anything there about the Old Saybrook to Shailerville Bridge portion of the layout. While I know many have seen posts on those towns before, I can't expect anybody new to my blog to dig back through old posts to see what's happened.

As I get better about updating it, my plan is for the website to contain the latest and best of what's going on with the layout, as well as prototype research material that'll be handy for ready reference. So be sure to check out the website from time to time to see what's new. And if you haven't subscribed to get new posts via email and would like to, check out the subscribe button in the upper left or click here.

As always, if you have any information to share (a 1947 Engine Assignment Book perhaps?) or would like to weigh in on something, let me know in the comments or email me directly. One of the reasons to do all this is to meet other like-minded folks and enjoy this great hobby together, so it'd be great to hear from you!

Friday Fun: Valley Line Website & the New England/Northeast RPM

Just a quick post today to highlight a couple of fun things . . .

First of all, for those of you who don't know (and if you access this blog directly, you may not know), there's a Valley Local website, in addition to this blog. While I've been pretty good about keeping the blog up-to-date, I haven't been nearly as good with the website. It's just easier to update content on the blog - but I hope in the coming weeks/months that'll change.

And I've already started :^) If you go to http://www.thevalleylocal.net you'll see that I've updated my trackplan & construction details to reflect the expansion I've been working on - and to finally show the layout in its final form. It's certainly not pretty, but it's better than nothing for now...

Speaking of expansion, one of my first tasks will be to update the "Layout Tour" section to include all the changes/additions that have been made since Nov. 10, 2013(?! the last time it was updated).

My plan for the site's future is to really bump up the main reason I have a website in addition to a blog - that is, to have a repository of information on the Valley Line in all its aspects, all organized in one place for easy reference. The "Choosing an Era" section is a good example of what I mean. There'll be additional sections devoted to "Operations," "Motive Power," "Structures," etc. including how I've gone about modeling each of those aspects.

So be sure to check out the website - in fact, you should bookmark it and go there first from now on so you see the updates as they pop up, and you can access the blog directly from there as well (all the recent posts are at the center of the home page).

Why all this sudden interest in the 'site? Well, for starters, I've made a boatload of progress in the last 18 months both in construction and research. And while I've done a good job of posting about all that on the blog, access to all that content isn't very user friendly (you're limited to clicking on the Topics list on the right side of the page). So I want to get all that great information distilled, cleaned up, and easily accessible in one place.

Also, I'm working on a presentation for the New England/Northeast Railroad Prototype Modelers Meet (NERPM) which will be held in just a few weeks. As you may have guessed, the subject is (loosely) "Modeling the New Haven Railroad's Valley Line" and as I've been getting my info together it occurred to me that a lot of this information needs to get on the website at some point soon.

Speaking of the NERPM, it's moved from Collinsville to Enfield, CT and will be held Friday & Saturday, June 3-4. My presentation is currently scheduled for Friday afternoon at 2:30 and I hope also to have the layout open for tours on Sunday, June 5.

If you've been to to the Springfield show, but have never attended a protomeet, you really owe it to yourself to give it a try. If Springfield is the Club Med vacation, the NERPM is a cozy weekend at a B&B - shorter in duration, a lot less stress, and all about quality over quantity. Which isn't to say there won't be a lot to see and do. There are over 50 clinics/presentations over the two days, which go from 9 in the morning to about 10 each night(!), as well as a model display room and a wide variety of vendors. But at least as important, the more-laid-back atmosphere gives you more time and opportunity to visit with other like-minded modelers.

So check out the links and make plans now to join us - hope to see you there!

Slow Summer Sunday: Simple Subscription & 'site

Somebody recently mentioned that they enjoyed the blog (which is always appreciated), but often forgot to check in. And during particularly productive times like now, he'd miss a bunch of posts.

Well, there's an app for that!

If you're in the blog (as opposed to the website) - and if you've read this far, you're in the blog - you should see a little window titled "Receive New Posts Automatically" over in the upper-left-hand portion of the screen. Like, here:

All you have to do is type in your email address and hit "Submit" and you will automatically receive new posts (natch'!). My buddy thought this was pretty helpful - hopefully you will too!

And speaking of the website - you did know there was a Valley Local website, didn't you? From looking at my stats, it looks like many of you access the blog directly and may miss the website.

Is that such a big deal? Well, not too much - at least not yet. While the blog is regularly updated, the website is where I've been archiving the most important research and information that I've distilled from my posts - and I plan to do that even more in the coming months. My hope is that the site becomes the go-to place not only for information about the Valley and Air Lines, but will become one of the leading resources of general info on the New Haven RR and Southern New England life during the early post-war era.

That's a fairly tall order, but with your help - by supplying information through comments on posts or by contacting me directly - the site will become more and more informative and useful.

So, if you haven't before, be sure to check out the Valley Local website. And in case all my hyperlinks in this post weren't enough inducement, the URL is http://www.thevalleylocal.net/ :^)

Thanks again for visiting, whether through the website or the blog. At the risk of getting a little corny, this project wouldn't be the same without you stopping by.

Quick reminder about the website

While blogs are a great way to get content posted quickly and easily, actual websites tend to provide a much more permanent record - though they are a bit more difficult to keep up to date.  Those of you that access my blog directly (through http://blog.thevalleylocal.net) may not know that I have a website dedicated to the Valley Line as well at http://www.thevalleylocal.net .  That's where I "archive" the information that I've distilled and want to be sure and keep, posts that require more permanence, etc.



Perhaps most importantly, the website makes it easy to access this more permanent material - and it's also where you'll find a (rough) trackplan and layout tour.



So if you haven't already, be sure to browse around the website.  The "About" link is much more detailed than what Blogger provides and - better than that - you can get ready access to the most important info about the railroad as it evolves from blog postings to archived articles.

First Time Here? Then click here for the Valley Local website and more information!

Welcome!
Click Here for the Website

I hope you enjoy exploring the site and will provide some feedback. To help you on your way, here are some quick tips/info to get you started...

• Be sure to check out the website - here you'll find a full track plan as well as additional info on the layout, construction particulars, prototype information, modeling projects, and LOTS of photos. Blog posts are automatically posted on the website homepage as well, so you won't miss anything if you bookmark the website and start there.
• Speaking of photos, click here for the quickest way to get a feel for what I'm trying to accomplish. There you'll find photos comparing real life scenes to how they're modeled.
• Check out the "About" links for more detailed information about the Valley Local project, and a bit about why I'm even doing this.
• The website is where the best content is most organized, but you can find a list of topics here on the blog by checking out "Topics" on the right hand side of the screen.
• Speaking of finding content, you can also search the blog by entering your search terms in the Blogger/Google search box at the top left corner of the screen.
• Finally, consider subscribing to the blog by entering your email address in the "Receive Posts Automatically" box on the upper left part of the screen - that way you'll be notified whenever there's something new.
• Don't forget to check out the other great blogs that are listed on the left side of the page. There are a lot of talented folks there that you're sure to find informative as well as entertaining.

Thanks for taking the time to look around - and let me know if there's anything you'd like to see more of and especially let me know if you have any information or photos that will help make this project better. Thanks again for stopping by!