Blood Sweat & Tears Railroad

Created by Gary Courtemanche

The Blood, Sweat and Tears Railroad is a freelance branch line set in the 1930s and portrays several eastern locals conveniently brought together by model railroading. There are elements of traditional, quaint New England waterfront, a bustling Northeastern cityscape, rural Ontario and even an Appalachian mining town.

Inspiration for the layout came from a couple of sources. John Allen has been a big influence on the Blood, Sweat and Tears, and the high trestle over Solo Valley was inspired by a scene on John’s Gorre & Daphetid Railroad, the bridge over Royal Gulch. Another modeler that has been a major influence is George Sellios, who’s Franklin and South Manchester is known for its big, busy cityscapes. The city of Dissonance on the BS&T borrows much from the F&SM.

The model railroad construction is simple and makes use of readily available materials. It employs typical modelling techniques to create the overall appearance of a well detailed, complete railroad. Benchwork consists of 1″x3″ lumber assembles into a box shape with 5/8″ plywood on top; where needed, the benchwork is supported by 2″x2″ legs. Homasote was placed on the plywood to provide sound deadening and to provide a surface for the scenery, structures and roadbed. There are no grades on the layout, and since the benchwork is perfectly flat, there is no need for risers. All the buildings and scenery could be built right on top of the Homasote. In the areas where the scenery dropped below the level of the benchwork, the plywood was cut and a false bottom built to the lowest level of the scenery.