The Interchange - Ottawa Valley Associated Railroaders

The Interchange 

Our 43rd Year 

Ottawa Valley Associated Railroaders – OVAR 

by Tom Patterson 

Prince Rupert is the Pacific Ocean terminal 

for Canadian National’s British Columbia 

North Line. Created just after the 

turn of the 19th century as part of the Grand 

Trunk Pacific railway, this port has enjoyed 

a varied history, and currently bears little resemblance 

in form or function to its origins. 

In fact, the transshipment of export 

grains, a barge operation and a persistent 

passenger service are the only common operating 

threads to be found over the years of 

its existence. The purpose of this article is to 

suggest how one might create a model of 

this very unique piece of CN territory. 

As a key element of Charles Melville 

Hays’ grand vision of an alternate rail route 

to the west coast, Prince Rupert was foreseen 

as a rival to Vancouver and American 

Northwest ports. And, in fact, during the 

1920s, after absorption into the CNR, a substantial 

government grain elevator was constructed 

adjacent to the main yard, and a 

minimal volume of ores from the B.C. interior 

were handled. 

Nevertheless, the grandiose plans for 

Prince Rupert never did materialize. In fact, 

the movement of frozen and canned fish 

bound for eastern destinations became a significant 

commodity from the beginnings of 

port operations until the 1960s. Canneries 

were and are very common in Prince Rupert. 

A through highway from Prince Rupert to 

Alberta did not exist until the 1960s. Indeed, 

the first road eastward to Terrace was built 

during WWII by the U.S. Army. As a result, 

October 2003 Issue 378 

A modelling proposal for Prince Rupert 

During the mid-1970s, the original centre of rail activities in Prince Rupert was still a 

busy place. Train #10 is preparing to depart eastward behind F7A and steam generator 

while the yard assignment is pre-occupied with its daily chores. (Stan Styles photo) 

the communities and mills along the B.C. 

North Line were heavily dependent upon 

rail transport, and Prince Rupert served as a 

transshipment point for wide variety of 

commodities, including fuels and chemicals. 

A significant number of warehouses 

paralleled the yard until the 1980s, and LCL 

movements were commonplace. 

As the forest products infrastructure developed 

in the interior, the shipment of lumber, 

paper and wood pulp through Prince 

Rupert increased. In addition, rail cars of 

wood pulp were shipped by barge from 

Ketchikan, Alaska to the Canadian Cellulose 

mill at Port Edward, just south of Prince 

Rupert. 

MVAR loses 2 long-time members 

The Mississippi Valley Associated Railroaders 

has lost two more of its members 

following the death earlier this year of 

Stew Waldron. 

Bruce Young, who had been involved in 

OVAR and the SLD, passed away in hospital 

in Perth in August at age 77 while recovering 

from heart surgery. Bruce always had a 

smile and joke to share with fellow modellers 

and was active in promoting MVAR 

shows. 

Anthony Percy died in June at age 85. A 

former OVAR member, he was a founder of 

MVAR and a fan of Lionel trains. He also 

maintained the HO layout at the Carleton 

Place day care. Both men were active in 

their communities and involved in a number 

of charities and service clubs. 

In 1962, the barge facilities at Pillsbury 

Point commenced shipment to Whittier, 

Alaska, and much of the material required 

for the construction of the Alaska pipeline 

went through Prince Rupert. Known as the 

AquaTrain, this is the largest train barge in 

the world, and is still an effective way of 

shipping traffic to Alaska. 

During the 1980s, the “railway face” of 

Prince Rupert changed dramatically with 

the development of the Northeast Coal facilities 

in the Tumbler Ridge area, and with the 

sharp increase in international grain demand. 

A modern coal terminal and a new grain 

handling facility were installed at Ridley 

...continued on page 3 

On the inside: 

Trainstuff in the U.S. Deep South 5 

A Group of Happy Operators 6 

Former OVARian Changes Mind 8 

September Display Report 10

An era is defined by more than the engines 

by Bill Crago 

Recently, while digitizing some of my 

monochrome negatives, I found the accompanying 

photo, taken in June 1984. CN 

GP40-2L(W) 9578 off an eastbound train, 

probably 338, is performing a switching 

move near a small overpass at mile 86.1 of 

the Beachburg Sub., about a half a mile east 

of the Pembroke station This, in itself, was 

not of much significance. But what caught 

my attention was the loaded open bi-level 

and tri-level auto racks sitting on the main. 

Until about 1960 autos were generally 

shipped in boxcars, four to a car. A rack was 

used to place one over another in each end 

of the car. Some cars had a large end door, 

but this was used only for unloading, not 

loading. Loading was done through the double 

side doors which distinguished automobile 

boxcars from their general service 

cousins. 

CN built their last automobile boxcars in 

1952. CP built some as late as 1957. Over 

the last two years or so, Sylvan has produced 

HO scale cast resin kits for many of 

these cars. 

Loading autos in boxcars was slow and 

labour-intensive. Around 1960 bi-level and 

later tri-level cars, much easier to load and 

capable of carrying about five or six vehicles 

on each level were developed. The automobile 

boxcars were quickly phased out, 

some being converted to other use, often 

It was surprising to discover CN’s open auto racks still in use in this 1984 view. 

carrying lumber. Others were scrapped. 

The open cars were prone to vandalism. 

Some had screen mesh added to foil the 

stone throwers, but by the mid- to late- 

1970s, the enclosed cars with which we are 

now familiar began to appear. The first photo 

of these cars I could find in my collection 

was taken in 1979. 

It was therefore rather surprising to see 

that as late as 1984, CN at least, was still 

making extensive use of open cars. In fact I 

am fairly sure that I saw some, admittedly 

limited use of open cars, for what appeared 

to be transport of used autos, as late as about 

1990. 

So, you ask, what does all this prove To 

me, it showed the value of a photographic 

record, not just of locomotives, but of the 

train consist as well, if we wish to operate 

our layouts with some degree of accuracy 

and authenticity to the era being modeled. 

Memory can be faulty. Before finding this 

photo, if asked, I would have said that open 

bi-level and tri-level auto racks mostly were 

out of service by the mid-1980s. I would 

have been wrong! 

From the Robert Craig Memorial Library 

by David Knowles 

McQuade, Richard, FROM WOOD TO ELECTRIC RAILWAY DICTIONARY 

The Ottawa City Archives has now STEEL: A collection of passenger car plans, (1911): A reprint of the only “cyclopedia” 

switched back to its regular hours so ostensibly drawn by A.A. Merrilees, covering 

devoted to electric streetcar, radial/interur- 

you can visit us: 

the period from 1860 to 1920. Cars from ban, rapid transit equipment. Issued at the 

Tuesdays-Fridays 8:30-16:30 a wide range of Canadian railways are featured. 

apex of the electric railway era, it is an im- 

Tuesday evenings 18:30-21:00, and 

The plans are supplemented by phoportant 

source of data. 

Saturdays 12:00-17:00 tographs of the cars taken at different times Hind, Patrick O., THE PACIFIC GREAT 

Parking is free under the original City Hall in their lifetime. 

EASTERN RAILWAY COMPANY: A useful 

building — turn right immediately after obtaining 

Headon, Fred, THE RAILWAYS OF account of the North Shore Subdivision, for 

your ticket and passing under the WINNIPEG: This follows the BRMNA many years isolated from the PGE mainline. 

barrier. Retain your ticket and get a yellow format established for the sub-series Unprofitable the line was abandoned and 

voucher ticket from the Archives reception. which covers railways in different towns and torn-up, only to be rebuilt when the PGE 

The city is rebuilding the 1954 Bytown cities. 

was finally completed into Vancouver. It 

Bridges and the area in front of the original Bain, Donald, CANADIAN PACIFIC’S was really a short radial operated largely 

building. While a WWII Bren gun carrier MIGHTY NO. 8000: A comprehensive account 

with gas electrics. 

would appear useful to cross the torn-up 

of CP’s massive experimental steam Note: The NMRA BULLETIN has been 

area it really isn’t necessary, and a normal locomotive. A BRMNA style layout. renamed SCALE RAILS. The magazine retains 

car can navigate across the mess. 

Dolzall, Gary W., BALDWIN DIESEL 

the BULLETIN as a section dealing 

Books that have been added to the Library 

LOCOMOTIVES: An account of the diesels with NMRA matters. It will continue to be 

collection during the summer are: built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works. filed as the NMRA BULLETIN. 

2 The Interchange

Port of Prince Rupert 

continued from page 1 

Island. In addition, the gradual demise of 

the yard was offset by the construction of a 

multi-function terminal at Fairview. This 

site can handle specialty grains, ores, paper 

products, Roll-on, Roll-off traffic and even 

steel plates. 

Modeling Prince Rupert 

Should the reader wish to acquire a “feel” 

for the Port of Prince Rupert terminal, and 

who can tear themselves away from their 

layouts for a second to do a bit of web 

surfin’, check out 

www.rupertport.com 

to view some excellent images of the Prince 

Rupert environs. In addition, the publication 

of this article has been timed to coincide 

with a companion article in the October 

2003 BRANCHLINE. It should be consulted 

for more background material and photos, 

Taking a rather conventional approach, I 

have selected HO as the gauge, and the 

steam to diesel transition era as the setting. I 

have assumed that those modellers of other 

gauges have long learned how to adapt HO 

stuff to our chosen world, and that the much 

more varied operational and equipment possibilities 

this era would be attractive. 

Now, the operating themes. The first aspect 

to recognize is that operations at Prince 

Rupert are highly dependent upon its role in 

the CN system. Essentially, it provides an 

interface between ocean and rail transport 

Module plan drawn by Tom Patterson 

methods. Intra-terminal movements, interesting 

on their own, are minimal and dependent 

upon external context. So, this proposal this terminal, and anything more may restrict 

row north of the station southward to the 

assumes that this modular layout is viewed 

the ability to provide a B.C. North overpass. To complete the north end, we 

as a component of a larger layout to provide Line mainline feeder addendum. Fundamentally, 

must find a place to ice those reefers, and, 

rail traffic to and from Prince Rupert. 

the corner of the “L” provides for those of us fixated on detail and fidelity, 

More specifically in terms of design, space for the “wye”, and separates the various 

why not simulate the car shop 

Prince Rupert, to the best of my knowledge, 

personalities of the Prince Rupert termi- 

I had originally planned to avoid model- 

never had a permanent turntable. Apparently, 

nal. Additionally, and based upon personal ling the industrial trackage north of the sta- 

the turntable pit built by the GTP during and painful experience, I have assumed a tion to limit the overall size of this layout. 

initial construction was prone to flooding — minimum of 24" curves and #6 switches. However, the extra 3' beyond the overpass 

a wye, midway in the yard, serves the purpose 

Given these parameters, we must now provides for a reasonable pull-back track for 

of turning equipment. Those who have start the process of selecting the elements of the yard. And, this space would allow more 

not tried their hand at layout design need only 

our version of the Prince Rupert terminal. industries to be added, thereby enhancing 

refer to John Armstrong’s excellent texts At the north end, there is no question con- 

the possibility of operating in ‘stand-alone” 

on this subject to realize the space “crunch” cerning the station, engine house and overpass 

mode. Finally, the extra space makes it pos- 

that a wye presents. This, of course, raises 

near the station. I also threw in a persible 

to extend the layout around the wall. 

two traditional and conflicting design objectives 

sonal favourite, the white CN superinten- 

The south end is somewhat more probsonable 

— a fit into space limitations and a readent’s 

house that overlooks the station and lematic. Obviously, the ferry facility at Pillssonal 

reflection of the prototype. port facilities. If we are talking about the bury Point must be accommodated. Given 

As far as space is concerned, I felt that a 1960s, the government grain elevators and the space limitations, the lead direction to 

minimum of a 12' by 9' “L” configuration the warehouse are mandatory. Furthermore, the ferry has been reversed. However, this 

would be required. Anything less would not it just wouldn’t be Prince Rupert without a “artistic” liberty allows for a bit more water 

allow one to model the diversity inherent in cannery: I’ve “moved” one from cannery 

...continued on page 4 

October 2003 3

Port of Prince Rupert 

continued from page 3 

modeling, and the possibility of an oil transfer 

dock. Complementing the dock would 

be a facility to load oil into tank cars bound 

for the interior. Although the depth of this 

leg of the “L” could have been narrowed, I 

chose to move the Canadian Cellulose mill 

from Port Edward to Pillsbury Point. 

“stand-alone”, a means of moving traffic 

and passengers in and out of Prince Rupert 

would greatly enhance the appeal of this 

proposal. Even a staging yard with an “0-5- 

0” switcher just south of the ferry slip would 

be a great leap forward. Ideally, a run along 

the Skeena River to Terrace, and perhaps a 

branch to Kitimat would be accommodated. 

This could be implemented as an “out-andback” 

loop, or, if continuous running is a 

priority, a loop joining both ends of this layout 

would work. 

About the only consistent aspect of the 

train operations at Prince Rupert over the 

years was the passenger trains. During this 

era, Nos. 196 and 197 operated three times a 

week. These trains handled mail and express 

reefers of frozen fish along with the usual 

mix of coaches, diners and sleepers. A gaselectric 

car operated between Prince Rupert 

and Kitimat during the construction of the 

Alcan mill at this location. 

Otherwise, train volumes varied with traffic. 

Normally, the “Logger” would make a 

regular appearance to move pulp wood from 

the Terrace area to the Cellanese mill. During 

the grain movement season, fleets of 

grain door box cars would be common, and 

a steady flow of gray CN reefers existed for 

the fish traffic. 

rain, the picture would be complete! 

Motive Power 

A limited, but engaging mix of motive power 

during the steam-to-diesel transition era 

existed. The relatively light rail and traffic 

volume of these times precluded anything 

heavier than a Pacific. In fact, a sampling of 

power typically assigned to the west end of 

the BCNL in the transition era would be: 

Representative Steam to Diesel 

Transition Era Power — Prince Rupert 

Type Classes & Road Nos. Typical Uses 

0-6-0 O-18-a Yard Switcher 

2-6-0 Mixed/Freight 

4-6-0 H-10-a (1423-1551) Mixed/Freight 

2-8-0 N-5-a, b (2687-2746) Freight/Passenger 

4-6-2 K-3-g (5612-5626) Passenger 

SW1200 GS-12 Yard Switcher 

SW1200 GR-12 (w/steam gen.) Passenger 

GP9 GR-17 Freight 

F7A, B GF-17 (w/steam gen.) Freight/Passenger 

FP9A GPA-17 Passenger 

All steam locomotives used oil for fuel. In 

addition to this normal fare, passenger trains 

were powered by 1200-series GR-12 diesels 

for a while, and a gas-electric/trailer car operated 

between Prince Rupert and Kitimat 

during the 1960s. The appearance of a 6500- 

series GPA-17 would not be out of line, either, 

but passenger trains powered by other 

diesels must be accompanied by a steam car. 

Should the modeller wish to forego steam 

power, and move into the 1970s, a bit more 

variety could be realized. SD-40s powered 

the SKEENA for a while, and GP40-2 and 

GP38-2 units were teamed up with their 

first-generation brethren. 

Terminal Operations 

Operationally, the intra-terminal possibilities 

are varied, and, in most cases, dependent 

upon freight service to the interior. However, 

the movement of dissolving pulp from 

Ketchikan, Alaska, via ferry, to the mill at 

Port Edward, is a must. 

The AquaTrain operation offers many interesting 

traffic possibilities. We would, of 

course, assume that the Alaska pipeline project 

got started a bit earlier on! This would 

allow us to move fuel, food (both frozen and 

dry), household goods, etc., from the Port to 

Alaska via the AquaTrain. This barge traffic 

would be complemented by that from the 

east, and might include chemicals, piping, 

cement, lumber, mill components and heavy 

construction equipment. Because the barge 

departed roughly every 4 days, a yard track 

could be set aside to accumulate this traffic. 

The servicing of the Cellanese mill and 

the need to ice reefers and spot traffic at the 

warehouse, canneries and fuel depot would 

keep a yard assignment quite busy. Also, 

Scenery 

Given the condensed nature of this model, 

the opportunities for extensive scenic work 

are limited. The backdrop for the north end 

Prince Rupert, at that time, had a Swift Meat should be the city of Prince Rupert, and a 

packing house, along with several heavy industries 

rise in elevation opposite the station to meet 

Operating The Layout 

associated with construction and 

ship building. I have “shoe-horned” these 

features into the space north of the station. 

the height of the overpass should be built in. 

The south end backdrop should portray 

mountain ranges. Water should exist all 

The reader will, no doubt, find this layout 

design rather cramped. This basically reflects 

the situation at Prince Rupert. At the 

Train Operations 

along the inside edge of the layout, and the north end, the three yard tracks should be 

warehouse and cannery should be supported sufficient to hold a modest amount of inbound 

Although we could operate this layout by pilings. If one could arrange for fog and 

and outbound traffic, plus perhaps 

the passenger train consist. The two crossovers 

will be essential to run-around cars 

being switched for the warehouse and cannery. 

In fact, the cross-over adjacent to the 

grain elevator will help the movements between 

the yard and the barge slip. The tail 

track of the wye should be sufficient to handle 

the longest passenger car or locomotive. 

The location of the grain elevator is somewhat 

awkward — it blocks one’s view and 

may be prone to “elbowitis”. It could be 

moved “inland”, and the service track 

placed adjacent to the water. Many thanks to 

Scott Duffus, a CRM reader from Prince 

Along with the station, the locomotive shop at Prince Rupert is one of the few longterm 

Rupert, who provided the inspiration for this 

survivors of the terminal’s original facilities. This view clearly illustrates the article, and who also provided some badly 

face of the locomotive “barn”. (Tom Patterson photo) 

needed editorial help. 


SW oopsie — the hogger must not have seen the “End of 

Track” sign (above); UP oopsie — it’s worse than it looks, 

even! (right). 

Trainstuff in the U.S. deep south 

by Rob Rolfe 

photos by the author 

On a recent series of business trips to 

Southwest Louisiana and Texas I had 

the chance to check out the local rail scene. 

First of all, find the town of Sulphur, LA on 

the map. I couldn’t either, but it is a small 

town near the Texas border along I-10. 

Near Sulphur is a large petrochemical 

area served by rail, pipeline, truck and intracoastal 

barge. Tenants include Citgo 

(CPAX, CSOX, also known as Cities Services 

Co.), Firestone Polymers, Amoco 

(ACPX, AMOX), Westlake Polymers and 

various others. Inbound shipments are simple: 

crude oil and coal. Outbound products 

include a zillion petroleum based products. 

Most of the rail traffic runs on Union Pacific 

over a former Mopac line. The rest is hauled 

by Burlington Northern Santa Fe and 

Kansas City Southern. 

Coal is brought in by well-blackened 

open hoppers. Crude oil arrives mostly from 

pipelines that extend to nearby Gulf of Mexico 

rigs or tanker terminals. Stuff leaves the 

area in boxcars, tank cars or an uncountable 

number of covered hoppers. Finished or semi-finished 

goods can be polymer pellets of 

many types, wax in blocks, pails of oil on 

pallets, and lots of fuel types. Liquid byproducts 

such as butylene go in tank cars. 

UP uses GP38s, B39-8s and older GE 

units. A lot of these are still in the fallen 

flags paint jobs and not a one is anywhere 

close to clean or even in good shape. There 

was a Southern Pacific GP40 on which no 

lettering whatsoever could be made out. 

One B39-8 had been wrecked and sat on a 

siding for months along with a co-wrecked 

slab hopper. 

KCS had newer units in the area; SD70s 

and SD40s in far better shape as nearby was 

their north-south mainline. They had a few 

EMD switchers doing the dirty work. 

One facility called BESELL had at least 

two of their own EMD switchers done up in 

a forest green colour not unlike CASCOs 

former SW8. I coulda swore one was a 

NW2. 

Security in the complex was tight. Some 

of the places had “Sheriff’s Department” 

types manning checkpoints. Others made do 

with rent-a-cops. I had to be careful taking 

pictures but was there long enough to get 

most of what I wanted. The site I was working 

at had armed guards at two checkpoints. 

They were not lads to trifle with, especially 

after they knew I was a “furiner”. 

Half an hour to the north I found the De 

Quincy Railroad Museum in a former KCS 

station. It was in the middle of a wye that 

was the junction between UP and KCS. 

When I first rolled up here was a KCS 

freight just pulling out so I got the camera 

ready and scoped the locos, a pair of SD70s. 

What was the cargo A long line of Canada 

cylindrical grain hoppers. The heck I was 

going to waste film on these. 

I toured the museum, which was done in 

the Santa Fe hacienda style, red tile roof and 

all. There were also two separate waiting 

rooms, one a good size with regular washrooms 

and the other smaller with toilets in 

closets for washrooms. I couldn’t for the 

life of me figure why this was as both had 

mens and womens restrooms so I asked 

the lady. She said, “Oh this here was the 

coloured waiting room.” It apparently had 

been so until 1968 when the station was 

closed. She did have the grace to be embarrassed 

about it. 

Mopac ’boose along the former mopac — now UP — line in 

DeQuincy . 

I was just in time to catch this pair at Port Arthur, Texas. 

October 2003 5

A Group of Happy Operators 

by Mike Hamer 

On behalf of the members of the Friday 

Night Group, I’d like to thank the many 

OVAR members who approached us following 

our presentation last month. Your encouraging 

words and positive comments (emails 

as well) were much appreciated. Inasmuch 

as you enjoyed the many images put 

forth on the big screen that evening, we four 

presenters had the most fun of all! 

With the use of such technological marvels 

as the LCD projector, a laptop computer, 

Power Point software and the digital camera, 

any layout can be “brought to life” on 

the big screen. And, what a thrill it is seeing 

a section of your layout that you take particular 

pride in being viewed by many in such a 

“large scale”! So, kudos to the OVAR executive 

for purchasing the latest in projection 

equipment and many thanks to Bill Meek 

and Peter Cunningham for putting the presentation 

together. 

An hour never seems enough time to 

delve into greater detail during your typical 

presentation, let alone the 15 minutes we allocated 

each of the four FNG presenters in 

our September program. Comments and 

questions fielded as we were packing away 

equipment ranged from the desire to hear 

more about the actual operations of the layouts, 

to how we manage 12 visitors in layout 

rooms occupying such small spaces. Some 

asked about the layout plans of the eight other 

members of the group. 

Let’s begin with a little history. The FNG 

began in January 1997 when I opened my 

B&M layout for its inaugural operating session. 

Present were my good friends, Trevor 

VIA train rolls through Glen Robertson on Bill Meek’s Ontario L’Orignal layout. 

Marshall, Marty Phillips and Stan Conley. 

We stayed in the layout room the entire session 

with Trevor and I manning the town 

switcher and Stan and Marty in care of the 

many mainline trains. After an hour, we 

switched duties and by the end of two hours, 

the session was complete. Drinks and food 

were served, post train-ops, and the session 

was evaluated with much laughter in my 

spare den upstairs. We all applauded the creative 

planning efforts of Trevor who helped 

me realize my dream layout. In fact, Trevor 

has remained an inspiration (from his new 

abode in Toronto) as he has assisted Bill 

Meek, Marty Phillips and many others outside 

the group with the initial drawings for 

their model railroad empires. 

For 2 1 ⁄2 years, we operated each week except 

Christmas at my home... and I tell ya, I 

FP7A emerges from Detroit-Windsor tunnel on John Mitchell’s Canada Southern. 


was itching to run trains elsewhere. Enter 

Bill Meek and John Mitchell. Bill lives two 

streets from me and had become a member 

of the FNG by word of mouth and he really 

caught the operations bug. Having spent numerous 

summers visiting relatives at Glen 

Robertson, a short distance east of Ottawa, 

Bill figured he could create a layout based 

on the L’Orignal/Hawkesbury line which interchanged 

with the CN at the “Glen”. I 

consider Bill the luckiest in the group as all 

he had to do for research was simply get in 

his car and drive for 45 minutes! Thus, the 

seed was planted in Bill’s basement and all 

members of the group assisted Bill in construction. 

Within a short time, train ops began 

at his place and train crews awaited 

their call from Bill’s den/TV room located 

outside the train room. 

Around that time, John Mitchell approached 

me at an OVAR meeting and we 

got to talking. I invited him over for an operating 

session which he thoroughly enjoyed. 

John mentioned that, although his layout 

was nowhere near completion, maybe the 

guys would want to come over some Friday 

evening to check it out. Track was laid solely 

on the upper deck of his double-decked 

layout, but we sure enjoyed running long 

passenger trains and switching out the many 

industries John had already mocked up. 

With that session “in the bag” we began 

running trains at John’s and, before long, a 

mammoth helix was completed and trains 

were running on both levels of this behemoth 

double-decked venture. John’s layout 

manages to keep many train crews busy simultaneously 

and its sheer size requires a 

dispatcher to control train movements. As 

well, a tower operator and yard master are 

on the job in and around the hectic Michigan 

Central Terminal in Detroit. Crews 

awaiting calls simply sit on two sofas placed 

in the centre of John’s layout room as the 

tracks simply surround John’s basement on 

the two levels. 

Meanwhile, Marty was so inspired by the 

landscape of New England and the switching 

potential my small layout offered that he 

ripped out his N-scale Montreal CN/CP 

West Island Racetrack and began a large 

HO layout based on St. Johnsbury, Vermont... 

a rather busy hub for railroad interchange. 

It was not uncommon to spot long 

drags from the CP, B&M, Maine Central as 

well as smaller trains from the St.J&LC. It 

took one evening for the FNG to rip down 

the old and it took Marty a very short time 

to recreate the new. .. a New England empire 

in his basement. 

Alas, good things must come to an end. 

Marty and Mary fell in love with the “Left 

Coast” and moved out to Vancouver Island. 

Trevor fell in love with . .. a lady friend . .. 

and moved to Toronto where he is a freelance 

writer. His work is read on a regular 

basis in RAILROAD MODEL CRAFTSMAN. 

But, as we lose a few, we gain a few. 

Howard Scodras had been a member of the 

FNG for some time, although he felt his layout 

was too small to invite a crowd of a 

dozen fellas over. With some arm-twisting, 

Howard gave in and invited the gang to his 

model railroad located in a spare bedroom 

CN C-424 arrives 

with 

switching job 

on Howard 

Scodras’ 

Ontabec Central. 

of his apartment. Following my crew lounge 

example, Howard played train videos in his 

living room and crews were called into the 

train room at appointed times. Those not 

running trains could watch videos, share 

photographs from recent railfanning trips, 

look at magazines (of the train variety!) and 

generally share in each other’s camaraderie.. 

. not unlike a mini-OVAR meeting! 

Oh... and, yes, drinks and food a-plenty! 

We proved to Howard that it is not the 

size of a layout that counts, it’s the creativity 

in operations! 

We also operate other member layouts, 

and one, in particular will be coming on line 

soon. Jim McSherry is recreating a logging 

railroad based on Vancouver Island and it 

will interchange with the Esquimalt and 

Nanaimo. We hope to be operating there 

shortly. Gerry Berrigan is in the very initial 

phases of benchwork for his N-scale twodecked 

empire emulating railroad traffic in 

Halifax and environs. 

About once every six weeks or so, we like 

to visit a local layout that is not associated 

with the FNG. This is a lot of fun as we get 

to see what others are doing in the hobby 

and the host certainly appreciates an experienced 

crew of operators who will put his 

layout “to the test” so to speak. While time 

and space do not permit a more in-depth 

study of the train operations of our respective 

layouts, perhaps a future INTER- 

CHANGE article can deal with those topics. 

I’d like to, however, leave you with the following 

thoughts. I believe that, perhaps, the 

most alluring aspect of this hobby is the camaraderie 

we enjoy when we get together to 

discuss trains, be it at an OVAR meeting, a 

train show or in each other’s basements. 

And, I believe there’s no better way to test 

your skills and to increase the learning 

curve than by joining a train operations 

group. You’d be surprised at how quickly 

your modelling and construction skills will 

develop. 

Blue B&M Geep crosses a street on Mike Hamer’s Boston & Maine. 

October 2003 7

Former OVARian changes mind — again! 

by Trevor Marshall 

It was inevitable, I guess. Those OVAR 

members who attended the June meeting 

and saw my display of O scale models of the 

Maine two-footers surely knew it was just a 

matter of time. My HO layout, based on the 

Boston & Maine’s Claremont branch, is being 

dismantled to make room for the Somerset 

& Piscataquis Counties R.R. — a freelanced 

Maine two-footer in 1:48. 

I started planning the Claremont branch 

in 1994 or 1995. After several years of collecting 

information and building models, I 

finally had the space for a layout, and work 

began in the spring of 2001. I wrote about 

planning this HO layout in the March and 

April 2002 issues of RAILROAD MODEL 

CRAFTSMAN (RMC), and those articles include 

some photos of the layout. 

I recently reread those articles while encouraging 

a friend to do something similar 

about his layout, and it still strikes me as a 

good idea. So what happened 

new electrical gaps, isolating points and 

wiring frogs to switch polarity as the route is 

switched — and I realized that in the time it 

would take me to make these changes I 

could just handlay the track. This would 

undulate — would lift a driver off the rail 

and bring the train to a stop. I really should 

have stuck to the Code 83 I’d used the first 

time around, which had operated reliably. 

About this time, ennui set in. The Claremont 

Changing goals 

branch started gathering dust while I 

give me full control over the quality of the 

trackwork, and the ability to maintain and built models that would never run on it: 

Simply put, my thoughts changed about 

what I want to get out of model railroading. 

repair the switches — even tear them out 

and relay them if necessary. 

models that were not appropriate for New 

England, or the era, or even the scale. O 

Or, perhaps, they didn’t change so much as 

scale started creeping into my display cabinet, 

and onto my workbench. My first model 

get more focused on what I like to do, which 

3 steps forward, 2 steps back 

is build things. 

When I first joined OVAR in the early 

1990s, I was modeling the Toronto, Hamilton 

& Buffalo Railroad, and had been for a 

So, a few months after completing the tracklaying, 

I ripped up everything back to the 

subroadbed and started over again. This is a 

very hard thing to do. 

trains were O scale (7mm British stuff, actually) 

and I’ve always liked the size and heft. 

Having a friend with a fairly modest O scale 

shelf layout encouraged me, too. 

number of years. But around the time Mike Having taken three steps forward, I was 

Hamer was looking for a theme for his first taking two large steps back. As I was planning 

The 2-foot thing 

layout, we started talking and I suggested 

the B&M. He liked the idea and most OVAR 

members have read about the results in the 

hobby press, or seen the layout in person. I 

had a few books on the B&M, and as I 

helped him develop his layout plan I realized 

the B&M’s branch lines in New Hampshire 

were a better prototype than the TH&B 

for what I like to do. 

The trains were smaller, the equipment 

was older, and there would be more opportunities 

to detail rolling stock, build interesting 

wooden structures, and create engaging 

scenes with a New England flair. 

But I ran into some problems while 

building the layout. First, about two 

months after the last spike was driven, I 

had electrical problems with a number 

of track switches, which were not DCCfriendly. 

I read up on various solutions 

that have been published in model railroading 

magazines, involving cutting 

to redo the trackwork completely, I opt- 

ed for Code 55 rail throughout. This would 

give me nice, light track appropriate for 

branchline railroading. This was also a big 

mistake. 

The Code 55 was really easy to work. A 

couple of passes with a file and a point is 

made: it’s like working with wire. But, as the 

months went on and more of the track was 

installed, I again found electrical problems. 

This time, it was reliable contact between 

the small size of the railhead and the small, 

but stiff-legged 2-6-0s. Any undulation in 

the track work — and what branch didn’t 

But standard gauge was just too big for the 

space I had. Plus, the best model building in 

O seems to take place in the 3-foot community. 

But I wanted to do something really 

different, and I really like New England as a 

place to visit and to model. 

Fortunately, I’ve had a longtime interest 

in the Maine 2-foot lines, and I’d collected 

many books about them over the years. I’d 

even written a layout planning article about 

the 2-foot slate-hauling Monson Railroad 

(published in the October 2002 RMC), because 

I’d thought to myself, “here’s a railroad 

that should be modelled”. 

Realizing I’d become disenchanted 

with the B&M in HO, I started exploring 

On2 in earnest, and really liked what 

I saw. Not only were the 2-footers interesting 

lines, but there’s a wealth of information 

available about them, and a good 

selection of O scale locomotives and 

rolling stock has been offered over the 


years. Best of all, On2 locomotives, while 

brass, are much more affordable than On3. 

As well, On2 equipment is about the same 

size as HO standard gauge: even the largest 

On2 locomotive is no bigger than a midsized 

HO steam engine, a 26'-34' freight car 

in On2 is about the size of a 50'-60' HO boxcar, 

and a 50' On2 coach is about the length 

of an 85' HO passenger car. 

Sound thinking 

The final straw was sound. Squeezing DCC 

sound into the HO B&M 2-6-0s would have 

been possible — just. But installing it in 

On2 locomotives would be a breeze by 

comparison, 

AND I’d be able 

to use larger 

(and therefore 

better) speakers. 

I bought an On2 

model of Sandy 

River & Rangeley Lakes 2-6-2 #24, painted 

it, finished it, and equipped it with sound 

and DCC. (For those who are curious, a 

Digitrax DZ143 decoder behind the smokebox 

door powers the motor and headlight, 

while a Soundtraxx DSX sound-only module 

in the tender provides the atmosphere 

through a 1.0-watt oval speaker facing up 

through the coal pile.) 

The train room full of HO continued to sit 

idle while I chuffed this new locomotive 

back and forth on a three-foot test track. It’s 

funny what grabs and holds our attention in 

this hobby. 

More equipment, more planning, some 

visits to On3 layouts and some scratchbuilt 

structures in O convinced me this was the 

way to go. But I kept putting off the final 

step — namely, dismantling the HO layout. 

“All that work,” I thought. “And I really like 

the design.” 

used to support the new layout, but rather 

will function as a large waist-high workbench 

on which to start work on the first two 

sections of the On2 S&PCRR. I could not 

have started the destruction myself, but 

once underway I attacked the task with vigor. 

With the destruction finished, we moved 

from layout room to kitchen floor, where 

full-size plans drawn on kraft paper were 

rolled out, pointed at, walked on, measured 

and debated. Much discussion ensued about 

framing materials, techniques and suchlike. 

Decisions were made, as were sketches. I 

sent the lads home around 11, after five happy 

and productive hours. 

I’ve built 

my previous 

layouts 

largely by 

myself. By 

TIMETABLE 

Upcoming events of particular 

interest to OVAR members 

October 18-19: NEPEAN – RAILFAIR, Algonquin 

College, Woodroffe Campus. Sat. 

11 a.m.-5:30 p.m., Sun. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. 

October 18-19, 25-26 & November 1-2: 

ABERFOYLE – Aberfoyle Junction 

Model Railway Open House, Sat. & Sun. 

10 a.m.-5 p.m.. Info: Craig Webb (905) 527- 

5474, website: 

www.aberfoylejunction.com 

October 19: ROCHESTER, N.Y. – 

Rochester Institute of Technology Model 

Railroad Club Train Show, Rochester Institute 

of Technology Student Union, 10 

a.m.-3:30 p.m. Contact: Mike Roque 585- 

475-2227 or e-mail: info@ritmrc.org 

forming a 

construction 

gang like this, I hope to get the S&PCRR October 25-26: MONTREAL – Montreal 

beyond the trackwork and wiring stage to a Railroad Modellers Association Annual 

more “complete” railroad: 

Open House, 891 St-Paul St. West in Montreal 

• The three of us have skills that complement 

under the CN railway viaduct, 10 a.m.- 

each other well and different ways of 4 p.m. Contact the club at (514) 861-6185 or 

approaching a problem so I’m sure if we Robert O’Shaughnessy at (514) 526-2714, 

run into obstacles we’ll overcome them. e-mail: canadacentral@sympatico.ca 

• Scheduling regular meetings means I’m 

not the only one driving progress on the November 4: OTTAWA – Bytown Railway 

layout: In fact, I’ll have to make sure I have 

Society Regular Meeting, 7:30 p.m. 

tools and supplies ready to go before each Info: 

get-together. The guys won’t let the layout 

www.ovar.ca/bytown 

gather dust, even if I get distracted by oneoff 

projects (which I know is likely). November 5: CORNWALL – Moccasin 

• Finally, I’ll want to have something new Model Railroad Club Auction Night, Nativity 

for the layout — a new structure or a new 

Hall, 7:30 p.m. Info: Jacques Thuot, 

freight car perhaps — to show the guys e-mail: jthuot@cnwl.igs.net 

each time they come over. So working 

with a crew should also ensure that progress 

November 8 & December 6-7: TROY, N.Y. 

is made between meetings, too. – Rensselaer Polytechnic Inst Open 

Next step, Chris, who has access to a CAD House, New England Berkshire & Western 

Get help! 

package at work, has started to convert our (NEB&W) will be open to the public, 12-4 

sketches and dimensional notes into real p.m. Info: 

The solution was to recruit some interested 

model railroaders and form a construction/ 

operating group. I invited two friends who 

drawings, including a bill of materials and 

cut list, and will determine the best way to 

use the sheets of material we get to minimize 

railroad.union.rpi.edu/open_house.asp 

waste. With these in hand, Mark and I 

don’t have layouts, and both were quick to 

join up. The inaugural meeting of the Toronto 

will head for the lumber yard in his big For the Record 

Two-Footers took place September 11th. 

Chris (modelling the Newfoundland Railways 

boxy Volvo wagon and load the back with 

On2 layout potential. By the time you read 

September Meeting: 

121 

in Sn42), Mark (a former OVAR this, we should have the first two sections of Current membership: 

member who’s modelling the Windsor-area the new layout well underway. 

182 

Essex Terminal Railway in N) and I tore the Stay tuned! 

REMEMBER IF YOU CAN’T 

top off the peninsula of the HO layout, removing 

Newport and Kellyville down to the until he moved to Toronto in 1998. His 

(Trevor was a member of OVAR from 1993 

MAKE THE DINNER AFTER 

SAYING YOU WOULD PLEASE 

joists and L-girders (see photo). The remaining 

peninsula benchwork will not be every seven years or so.) 

friends will tell you he changes prototypes LET PETER JOYCE KNOW 

October 2003 9

Summer projects focus in September 

Ian Cranstone photos 

Judging by all the items on display at the 

September meeting, many OVAR members 

were busy during the summer building 

and painting. 

Bill Crago won the CHAIRMAN’S 

CHOICE award for his HO 40-foot boxcar 

that was lettered for the Rome, Watertown 

and Ogdensburg using dry transfers from 

the late Irv Schultz of St. Clair Shores, 

Mich. Bill also displayed BM 77019, an Intermountain 

PS-1 50-foot boxcar that he 

Bill Crago’s RW&O R.R. boxcar took Chairman’s Choice in September. 

painted and lettered but stills needs to overspray 

and weather. Nice work Bill. 

Andrew Batchelor, who offers some 

modeling tips elsewhere in this issue, had 

six items on the display table including a 

scratchbuilt HO water tower that he spent 

about 30 hours building. The result was impressive. 

Andrew also made an N scale coal 

shed that he adapted from a Hamilton Model 

Words HO kit. This model took about five 

hours. He also brought out the HO version. 

He weathered the wooden parts with India 

ink and alcohol. He used aquarium gravel 

for coal. He also displayed an 8,000 gallon 

Andrew Batchelor had an impressive display, including this Proto 2000 tank car. tank car he made from a Proto 2000 kit. He 

had to fabricate grabs from wire. As well, 

there was a 42-foot flat car used to show off 

his lumber load and a Woodland Scenics 

dump truck, a white metal kit. Quite an impressive 

display, Andrew. 

Another impressive collection on the display 

stand came from the Bud & Doug 

combination. They were displaying some of 

the G scale locomotives and freight cars 

they have assembled/collected. Bud Nelson 

had a CPR RS-3 that he has converted to 

battery power from track power and a CPR 

wood van that Doug MacKenzie scratchbuilt 

taking photos of the various steps in 

the project. Doug also showed a water tower 

he had repaired and a coal tower he had 

Bud Nelson & Doug MacKenzie combined on G scale work train. 

scratchbuilt for Fred Mills’ Peter’s Pound & 

Western. As well he had a track workcar, a 

RG&S snowplow and firefighting car, all 

scratchbuilt. We will have to get some photos 

of these cars in action on Fred’s pike. 

Brian Ludlow brought out an O scale 40- 

foot boxcar lettered for the Southern Pacific 

that was built from a Pola kit that has served 

as the basis for CPR grain/lumber cars. Brian 

also had three of these CPR 40 foot boxcars 

rebuilt from Pola bodies to which he 

added a lot of new parts and new C-D-S lettering. 

One was a 1929 version, one a 1950 

Trio of CPR mini-boxes was kitbashed from Pola bodies by Brian Ludlow. 

style and the third in 1957 livery. 


Charls Gendron showed an Atlas RS-11 

painted and detailed correctly for a CV unit. 

He also had a CV GP9 in the U.S. bicentennial 

scheme. Charls said this was his summer 

project, recreating the 1976 look on this 

P2K unit. He also had an Athearn GE P42 

painted in Via colours. 

Greg Stubbings was busy building Sylvan 

boxcars this summer. He did four of the 

CNR 1929 single-sheathed 40-footers and 

brought out one for display. He also had a 

model of a 1936 rebuilt boxcar, which Greg 

says represented a step toward CNR purchasing 

all-steel cars. The model he had was 

of a rebuilt steel-frame car. 

Stanley Conley also displayed a couple 

of Sylvan cars including one of the 1929 

single-sheathed cars as it would have appeared 

after an upgrading in the 1950s and a 

1929 seven-panel single-sheathed boxcar 

with dreadnaught ends. He also had one of 

the ML 2003 convention cars. 

Charlie Shrubsole brought out a series 

of S scale freight cars, mostly from heritage 

kits, to tantalize Bud Nelson. One was a 

diecast Rex 40-foot Southern gondola. It 

was a low-sided car that could be unloaded 

by hand. He also had an ACL ventilated 

boxcar built from an Ambroid kit. Charlie 

upgraded the car during the summer. He also 

had a C&O hopper that is an American 

Flyer car that has been converted to scale. 

As well, there was a new American Models 

four bay open hopper painted for the PRR. 

Charlie also had a display on making parts 

from heavy paper that will be the subject of 

an article in THE INTERCHANGE later. 

John Mitchell displayed a hint of the 

kind of rolling stock he has on his Canada 

Southern line. On display was of a mix of 

Walthers, Rivarossi and Con-Cor Budd cars 

that John has modified with grabs, interiors, 

people and diaphragms. The train is pulled 

by one of the new Broadway Ltd. NYC 

Hudsons. He also had one of his Detroit to 

Buffalo freight trains pulled by a P2K 

FA2/FB2/FA2 combo all in NYC colours. 

Included in the train were stock cars, produce 

cars and Walthers caboose, all of 

which had been modified by John. 

Unique CV/GT bicentennial unit 1776 was Charls Gendron’s summer project. 

Low-side Southern gondola was part of Charlie Shrubsole’s string of S scale cars. 

First of planned 100 Proto 2000 stock cars by Harry Hulvershorn was on display. 

Hugh Laing brought out a Lionel CNR 

reefer that he says is so good that regular O 

scalers are snapping them up. He also had a 

NKP die cast hopper. 

Peter Nesbitt displayed his first attempt 

at making trees from seedum and photos of 

the Windsor & Hantsport Sunday tourist 

train. 

Mike Hamer noted he spent his summer 

railfanning the four layouts that were the 

subject of the presentation at the September 

meeting along with photographer Peter 

Cunningham. He also displayed a typical 

Boston & Maine Western Route passenger 

train. 

John LeBlanc displayed two of the ML 

convention cars that he said were made from 

Atlas 50-foot boxcars. Paul Anderson had 

the same cars on display. 

Normand Levert showed off the 300-ton 

flat car that he has been working on since 

last fall. It is a modified Athearn heavy-duty 

flat car. 

Last but not least was Harry Hulvershorn 

who from his note is planning to 

build 100 of the P2K Mather 40-foot single 

deck stockcars! He had the first one on display. 

Harry didn’t explain why he is undergoing 

this unique form of abuse but presumably 

it is for a good cause. 

Both Maple Leaf 2003 convention cars were displayed by Paul Anderson and John LeBlanc, Stan Conley displayed a single car. 

October 2003 11

2003-2004 

OVAR 

Directory 

Next Meeting 

Railfanning 

in Victoria 

(Australia) 

presented by 

Tony Burgess 

Display 

Steam & Foreign (non-North America) 

Tuesday, November 11 

St. Anthony Soccer Club Hall 

523 St. Anthony Street, Ottawa 

(just off Preston Street at the Queensway) 

Doors open at 5:30 p.m. 

Dinner served at 6:30 p.m. 

Admission: $20.00 

Includes dinner, facilities, program expense, taxes and gratuities. 

Free parking. 

Please note: 

If you cannot attend the meeting after saying you would, please call 

Peter Joyce at 841-1950. Thank you. 

Chairman: Denis Rule 613-823-3440 

Vice-Chairman: Bud Nelson 819-837-3350 

Secretary: Mike Shore 613-829-8867 

Treasurer: Gord Bellamy 613-725-6979 

Membership: John Shipman 613-237-0707 

Program: Norm Levert 613-834-6798 

Dinner: Peter Joyce 613-841-1950 

Video Library: Paul Therien 613-824-8477 

Archives: Dave Knowles 613-722-4473 

Webmaster: Steve Watson 613-592-3609 

Web Site: 

www.ovar.ca 

THE INTERCHANGE 

October 2003 — Issue 378 

Editorial Staff 

Features, Story Ideas, 

Comments and Complaints 

Alex Binkley 

152 Ivy Cres., Ottawa, ON K1M 1X6 

Phone: 613-749-7633 

e-mail: alex.binkley@sympatico.ca 

Prototype Railroading, Photographs, 

Regular Departments: 

Ian Cranstone 

67 Saxton Private, Ottawa, ON K2H 9P3 

Phone: 613-721-3952 

e-mail: lamontc@nakina.net 

Distribution and Mailing: 

Mike Shore 

25 Bainbridge Ave., Ottawa, ON K2G 3T1 

Phone: 613-829-8867 

e-mail: mshore1@rogers.com 

Submission of Articles: 

THE INTERCHANGE welcomes your submissions 

that may be of interest to club members. Please 

send them to one of the departments listed above. 

Material submitted can be handwritten, typewritten, 

on floppy diskette, or sent via e-mail. 

Copy Deadline: 

November October 20 

Printing and Copying: 

Impression Printing, Smiths Falls 

THE INTERCHANGE is published eleven times a year, 

September through June and Summer, by the Ottawa 

Valley Associated Railroaders. Opinions expressed 

in THE INTERCHANGE are those of the Editors 

or individual authors, and are not necessarily 

those of OVAR. © 2003

The Interchange - Ottawa Valley Associated Railroaders

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