Welcome to the New York & Putnam RR. A 16’x12’ freelanced layout based on New York Central prototype Putnam & Harlem Divisions. Dream, plan, build - that’s what they say in MRR right? I dreamed of this layout for 12 years - since leaving my old small Chessie System layout in my first house. A divorce, re-marriage, and 2 houses later I was finally ready to plan the NY&P. Planning took about 2-3 years with many redesigns and much sharing on this forum. Building began in earnest a few months ago.
Here is a quick pictorial as to progress on the NY&P:
click pics to enlarge
The track plan on paper:
Room is painted and electrical outlets added:
Benchwork complete:
Foam and track installation so far (3% grades are complete):
Brewster Yard under construction in background, Mahopac siding in foreground
The graded, double track in the background will be in a tunnel:
This is where the Nepperhan industrial spur will be - the only #4 turnout on the mainline will be in the empty space between the tracks:
Excellent progress!! Just shows that good planning really pays off. Looks like you are going to have areal fun MRR to operate. Keep us posted on progress.
Thanks guys. Sometimes I feel like I planned this one to death but so far the intense planning has worked and has paid off big dividends in my opinion. I must admit that there are times when the project can seem rather overwhelming for one person to do. Especially when life is tugging at you from ten different directions. Work progresses slowly but surely.
Not having a well stocked LHS has also been a problem in buidling the layout. Everytime I need supplies I have to order on the Internet and wait for the supplies to arrive. I was watching a show about the Trans-Siberian RR in Russia and how most of their supplies didn’t even arrive the first year of construction - this made me feel somewhat better off and that things could be worse. LOL!
On the plus side, foam has made the job much easier for me compared to my last layout. I plan on sculpting much of the landscape out of the foam and the rest will be plaster cloth and cardboard strips. The decision to use Kato unitrack, while controversial, has proven to be a great decision for me. I find it far easier to work with than the old Atlas flextrack I used on my first layout. And after I ballast it and weather it, I think many will be hard pressed to tell the difference.
