Notes on Designing, Building, and Operating Model Railroads

Shawmut scale test car

Several months ago, Perry Squier shared photos of a scale test car he was building for his Shawmut layout. He shared photos and notes of the finished HO scale model recently. It is frequently used in his operating sessions. Here’s Perry with the details.

I model the Pittsburg, Shawmut & Northern RR (the Shawmut) in 1923. The railroad at that time had three scale track locations: St. Marys Yard, Prosser at the junction of the Olean Branch, and Moraine at the junction of the Wayland branch. All of these locations are included on my layout but I never modeled the weigh scales.

Unboxing

With the Wheeling Freight Terminal layout standing and wired up, it’s time to unbox the freight car fleet. Nearly all of my kit-built freight cars have been stored away in Plano boxes like the one in the lead image.

Setting up again – part 2

With all the layout sections back on their legs and bolted together, it was time to connect the wiring. Two wires connect one section to another via a Euro-style nylon barrier strip. The lead photo shows how wires from an adjacent section are about to be connected to the barrier strip.

Setting up again

I found the bolts! This was an important step for the HO scale Wheeling Freight Terminal layout. A couple sections use legs that are attached with bolts, washers, and nuts. All the section joints are bolted together. The proper hardware is an important component to set up the layout again.

Basement progress

As we settle into our new home and undertake a few upgrades, I’ve been able to push progress on the hobby space. I recently built a frame for my workbench. As seen in the opening image, it is doubling as a computer work station area at the moment.