A friend of mine wants to model the Rutland Railroad. He would like to use the Bennington to Burlington line as his mainline with Rutland in the middle and banches going to Whitehall and Bellows Falls. Does anyone know of an existing layout plan that does this? He’s a serious Modeler and is planning to utilize his whole basement
I seriously doubt he will get a canned layout that models that line and fits his basement. A basement layout typically takes a fair amount of research and multiple drafts of planning. I fear he is either going to have to roll up his sleeves or hire a professional.
He might start by reading my beginner’s guide clickable from my signature.
I don’t recall ever having seen a layout design specifically oriented for the Rutland proper but I seem to recall having seen layout designs for successors Vermont Railway and Green Mountain Railroad but don’t ask me where or when I saw them.
What your friend needs to do is do some reading on the Rutland in order to get the flavor of the railroad and its geography; if there is a historical society/technical group he might check with them for information. Reading should also provide him with information on at least some of the (major) industries served by the road. Depending on just exactly how technical he wants to get in his modeling efforts if it is possible he should/could make a trip into Vermont in order to look over track arrangements in various places. Even though Rutland bit-the-dust almost forty-six years ago it should be possible to get a rather close feel of just where the trackage ran in some - indeed, perhaps, in most - of the towns and villages along the line.
Almost every one of those little towns up in that part of the world has its resident historical authority who just loves to have his brain picked for historical details. Finding these guys are not that hard; ask at stores, gas stations, city hall, etc. You’ll find him!!!
SOME KIND OF A SKETCHBOOK IS OF ABSOLUTE IMPORTANCE IN THIS ENDEAVOR!!!
When he gets back he can formulate his own trackplan based upon information garnished from this trip; he does this by designing modules a la Tony Koester’s Building Blocks and then linking these modules together through
I live in springfield, VT about 40 min from rutland…
I dont have much info to give you at this time, I DO have a January 1962 Right of Way and track map of the Rutland Railroad Bellows Falls junction and interchange with B&M.
I only have the 1 but I will do my best to get it photocopied tomorrow at work.
I can then mail the copy to you if you give me your mailing address.
Also, I can try to contact a friend of mine, I gotta find his email. I believe he had more on the Rutland RR, he’s the one that gave me the Bellows Falls map.
Kevin
To quote - Gomer Pyle, USMC: “Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!”
It is hard to forget the 2-part series Railroad Model Craftsman ran in December 1979 & January 1980 of the NEB&W (New England, Berkshire and Western) club layout, set in 1950, by the Rensselaer Model Railroad Society on the Troy, NY, campus of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
- See the Model Train Magazine Index…
- Allen Keller’s first VHS for Great Model Railroads (Volume 1) was the NEB&W…
http://www.allenkeller.com/GMR01.htm
- The core of the NEB&W’s staging is at their Rutland Yard…
http://railroad.union.rpi.edu/article.php?article=820#rutland
- The Rutland Yard Photo Gallery…
http://railroad.union.rpi.edu/article.php?article=712
- Rensselaer Railroad Heritage Site__…
Check this out:
http://users.rcn.com/jimdu4/ModelingTheRutland/modeling.htm
Seems to have just about anything a Rutland modeler could want. I first saw the Rutland when I was a kid on vacation with my parents in 1959. There was something about that green and yellow paint scheme that I’ve always liked. I still have a few woodside Rutland boxcars today.
Since your friend is unlikely to find a track plan for his basement for the Rutland for Bennington to Burlington, he will have to either hire some one to design it or do it himself. If the latter, then in addition to the resources already mentioned he should get a copy of “Track Pkanning for Realistic Operation” by John Armstrong. Also consider getting “Realistic Model Railroad Design”
By Tony Koester.
Enjoy
Paul
Is the next suggestion to obtain and use track planning software?
Joe
Knowing the area pretty well, I would say this above link gives you the best package of info.
you will have to let me know if you still want a copy of my right of way map for Bellows falls
Kevin
I wouldn’t say so
http://www.modelrail.us/id40.html
Track planning is a lot more than drafting. Time spent reading books like John Armstrong’s Track Planning for Realistic Operation is a much better time investment for a newcomer wishing to design a track plan than is dozens of hours with model railroad CAD, IMHO.
Byron
[#ditto]
Thanks for your thoughtful comeback. My friend, whose name is Paul Roy, actually grew up in Rutland and has followed the railroad from steam days to the present. This will be his second Rutland oriented layout. We were just curious to know if anyone had actually attempted a layout doing what I described. If we can’t find one he’ll just have to invent his own versoin from start to finish. Regards, JIM
I’m going to RPI tomorrow to visit the campus with my oldest daughter. I hope they let people in for a quick look at the layout, since the visit is limited to scholarship winners only. I’m not holding my breath, though.
Try their web site which should have a schedule of availability for viewing. If you can’t see the real thing, the web site is terrific: http://railroad.union.rpi.edu/article.php?article=4630