This month has been challenged with all kinds of very pleasant family interruptions as yours probably has as well. Nevertheless, some progress has been made.
First, bench work has begun on the Calais end. The nominal height is 46″, and the width is 48″, composed of two doors, 18″ and 30″. There is also a 12″ gap at the wall where the St. Croix River will be modeled.
Second, I have updated several structures that were on my previous railroad to appear more like MEC types. These are small buildings that I may decide to use at Ayers Junction if I can get them close enough to the prototypes. So far they look good in MEC gray and green.
The switch stands are behind me now, waiting in a box until they are needed. I’m searching for several cartons of material for the model of the Calais depot. I am not at all fond of the design. It’s nothing but a big box, although it is unusual in that it is two stories high on the street and three stories high in the rear next to the track. Passengers entering at street level had to walk down a flight of stairs to board the train. Today I was able to take the dimensions from a scale drawing to paper copy. I had hoped to be able to print directly from my photo file but could not. So I put the image at the correct size on my computer’s flat screen, then taped paper over the screen and transferred enough of the image to be able to redraw it to a cutting pattern. The depot is brick. I next have to decide which material I will use. I have some laser etched wood and some sheet plastic material as well. The photos show the paper taped to the screen, and if you look closely at the photo, you can see my wife Mary just to the right of the main door holding a measuring stick which helps to confirm the actual dimensions.
January is almost here and I feel good about the way things are shaping up. I’ve started talks with someone I hope will print a photo mural for me to go in back of Calais, and I plan to continue the bench work. I am just about at the point where I can transfer my scale drawings of the yard onto the surface of the doors and begin getting the road bed down. That’s all for now except to wish you a Happy New Year for 2014.
Ben Brown's Eastport Branch 