I’ve completed the WGR bench work, and having spent the last few days staring at it I’ve concluded that I’m not happy…
I was pleased with the design when I conceived it, and I’ve had an opportunity to think about it for a few months and in that time found little fault – always bearing in mind that this was a small layout, and with that came trade offs. Despite this, the one aspect I couldn’t visualize was the grades, as well as the volume of hidden track. Now having had an opportunity to take a better look at things I realise that both are a bigger trade-off then I imagined. Hence, I’m starting over…
So what’s next?
The baseboard is still good and I can ‘easily’ remove the risers, and the track and turnouts I’ve ordered can be repurposed. The only issue at this point is re-evaluating how I want to go about representing the WHR prototype. Despite best efforts I don’t think it’s possible to capture both the essence of the region as well as operations in a small space.
The more I consider it, the more I’m leaning towards doing a single element of the WHR – such as the Windsor Yard. I would like things to be continuous run – so I’ll need to give this some thought! Stay tuned!
0 thoughts on “Rethinking the WGR”
Scott says:
I’m tuned. Errr… maybe I’ve been tuned!
Ed says:
Modules dude! Don’t have to worry about radius, grades, or compromises… Ed
Model Railroader says:
I’d love to do modules… problem is, no local clubs (or any I’m interested in)
Allen White says:
I’ve been watching your work with a lot of interest. I have spent a lot of time thinking up track plans for the Windsor & Hantsport myself.
I think you should remove Windsor Junction completely. It does not figure in to the main operations of the railway – no gypsum goes there, and there are no customers on the line between Windsor and Windsor Junction. Interchange traffic with the CNR is not that great. Windsor Junction does have a lot of modelling potential – but not for this situation.
The main focus of the railway is the movement of gypsum from the quarries to the loading facilities at Hantsport. If I was developing a track plan in this space, I would stick with the Windsor yard and one good scenic element from outside the town. You can’t even approximate either a quarry or the loading facility, so those are both out.
You have a good handle on the yard – it is pretty simple anyway. I feel that the three best scenic elements around the yard are Fort Edward on the hill above, the old Maritime Textiles plant across the road, and the long storage track on the causeway.
For the other main element of the layout, you might consider the bridge over the St. Croix River to the east. It would be an interesting challenge to model the river at low tide with all the exposed mud.
Model Railroader says:
Hi Allen – thanks for the insightful comments. I’ll post my solution (which seems to fit your thinking!) very soon. Thanks for noting some of the land marks surrounding the yard…