I am a new modeler but I have collected a number of Boston & Maine Buddliners, Engines, and freight cars.
I would like to Build a HO layout from North Station, Boston to Wakefield MA and also to Beverly, MA
Has anyone made any layouts for Boston & maine Railroads that they might share pictures, tips, or recommendations
Thank You
Gidday, [#welcome] to the forum. Over the years the “Model Railroader” has published articles on the Boston and Maine. These may be available second hand.
Paul Dolkas, Modeling the Boston & Maine, September 1986: The Boston & Maine’s New Hampshire Division, December 1995.
George Dury, The Boston & Maine Conway Branch, December 1988.
David Popp, Great Layout, Great Tips. David Kolsonis tells how he built his B & M HO scale layout. May 2004.
Thomas Oxnard, *Modeling the Mainline of the Minuteman, 1950’s railroading on the Boston & Maine in New England.*December 2009.
Cheers, the Bear.
The New Haven & Cape Cod with the bride over Cape Cod Canal included by John Pryke is pretty famous. From Boston to Hyannis and Provincetown however.
Paul
There is a B&M group on Yahoo that is very active on both model and prototype subject matter.
search for it under this name BM_RR
Also the historical group is very active nice Bulletin and Modelers notes publications their own forum is not as active as the above mentioned group
here is one site with a lot of B&M info
http://www.faracresfarm.com/jbvb/rr/bmrr/b_and_m.html
Be sure to look at this section and his B&M Eastern route layout and Rowley River modules
Ron High
Hi Jack,
Why stop at Beverly? You can go a little further north to Gloucester, and Rockport, and get some nice waterfront scenery, if you like to do that sort of thing.
Check your Messages.
Sam
Wakefield is on one line, Beverly on another, making for some interesting modeling possibilities.
In addition to the Model Railroader articles mentioned, you might want to look up George Drury’s Gloucester Branch track plan in the “Classic Railroads You Can Model” book.
If you are in the Boston area, pay a visit to Maine Trains in Chelmsford, MA. The owner, Gerry, is very knowledgable in local railroad history. The store is also well stocked with B&M models and books.
Check this web site out for some Boston maps that include railroads leading in and out of Boston for the steam and early diesel era. They have several years of the same location so watch out for the year you want to present on your layout. A few maps appear to be incomplete scans but I found it very helpful.
The above mentioned article by George Dury on the Gloucester branch is well worth studying if you want to model the North Shore portion of the old B&M. The author did an excellent job of laying out the tracks in most of the stations. They match closely the configuration shown on the old insurance maps of the early to mid 20th century. You can view his article online through a Google “preview” portion of the book.
Dury’s one weakness is a failure to show any photos of the stations. Many of these were unique, as they predated B&M ownership. Indeed, the entire eastern division from Boston through Beverly and on to Portland was built in the 1830s by the Eastern Railroad, with the Gloucester branch added in 1849. Even after the Eastern’s arch rival, the B&M took control of the line in 1884, it long continued to run it under separate management, preserving its distinctiveness well into the 20th century. Views of many of the stations can be found online at: http://www.lightlink.com/sglap3/ . Some still stand, though the current owner, MBTA, does not use them and they sit abandoned in odd places.
The basic tracks, however, are still in place, and so you can travel over the old mainline from Boston’s North Station to Newburyport or take the branch to its Rockport terminal. Thus this is a road you can still ride and experience firsthand. And if you stop off in Beverly, which is the junction point for the branch, make sure to visit the Walker Transportation Collection housed in there for more information and great photos of the lines in question ( see: http://walkertrans.org/cars.htm ).
Frank