ABOUT THIS PIKE......

The theme of the SR&M RR is the steam to steam transition period in New England. The roads will be the B&M, Rutland, NY,NH&H, CV, B&A and D&H. I also have some plans for some New England narrow gauge (yes, it did exist) and logging. I plan to have scenery ranging from cities to countryside. Buildings are based on New England prototypes or are freelance. All structure are made from my kits, kit parts or scratch-built. There will be two single mainlines with several peddler freights moving about. The trackwork is within a 25' x 30' space and the benchwork occupies a space of about 24' x 26'.

Started in 2000, by late 2005 only some partial trackwork was done. A bigger effort then began, first with ripping out all the lighting and starting over with a fluorescent and incandescent system embedded on a dropped ceiling. I also did the following:

• All the track work was finished, about 1/3 of which was hand-laid. We hand built all the turnouts, wired for DCC (North Coast Engineering) and installed operating switch machines on both main lines.

•Added passing sidings to both mainlines.

•Started the hills & mountains scenery. One run of finished hills, mountains and backdrops is 20' long. A lot of trees were made!

•Finished the Wrisley Papers scene , the river valley/water scene at Millville. the Thorndike Mills, Conway Mills complex and finished most of the scenery connecting these areas.
PLEASE NOTE: All buildings, etc. on the South River and Millville layout are copyrighted and may not be replicated for commercial purposes!
The track plan above was developed around a single mainline and was modified as needed. The second line, which leaves the "y" at the yard area and goes into a loop in the furnace room (in red) was added recently. The addition of a track crossover just above the lower dam was added at the same time. These two changes radically changed the operating characteristics.

Most of the completed scenery shown was done from late 2006 through the first week of 2007. We're happy with the results and plan to add a lot of detailing to these ares while we expand our finished areas. This most recent period has been very gratifying as I finally feel that the real fun part has begun. After years in business, I finally have my hobby back!

This presentation would not be complete with without giving credit to some significant help I have received along the way. Dick Elwell helped with planning, benchwork, wiring, DCC and keeping me from making bad decisions. Karl Laskey talked me into doing a new lighting system. He also did the lion's share of planning and construction of the lighting system.

These are pictures of a work in progress. Little is in the final form as there is always plenty of extra detailing to do. Many scenes are shown as slightly different angles of the same area. I use these as study shots to determine where I will go next in modifying my plan.
The first set of pictures is to give you an overall view of the current layout. Click on thumbnails to enlarge!
As we swing to the left, you can see a bit of the yard.
This picture shows about 2/3 of the layout. Millville is in the foreground. A looking up the isle from the bridge to Millville. In this view, you can see the island next to the Millville and it's backdrop areas.
Aerial view looking towards Robinsons.
An aerial view of the Millville River and bridge.
The Thorndike/Conway complex as seen from Millville.
A view over an edge of Millville to the hills in the distance.
Looking under the bridge towards Delabarre Tap & Die.. Rutland No. 81 crossing the Millville river bridge.
Another view of Rutland No. 81 crossing the Millville river bridge with Robinsons in the background.