N Scale magazine Sept/Oct 2012

Just got a complimentary copy of the Sept/Oct issue of N Scale magazine.

It includes my second article on my 4'x8' layout. This is not an easy read like the first article (see Oct 14, 2011 blog). The first was meant to tell a story. This is designed to show how much can be done on a 4'x8' and attempt to get some armchair railroaders into building mode.

It covers 10 pages and has 30 pictures. [I'll be famous for about 5 minutes.  :-)  ]

So far the only problem I have seen, is that they failed to give David K. Smith the credit for the beautiful track plan drawing he provided. I'll try to get a correction in the follow-up issue.

 

With the next PRSL module rapidly proceeding in the garage, I am afraid the days are numbered for this platform. I will miss it. It was my first layout following 20 years of armchair railroading inactivity (and collecting excessive amounts of trains). Hopefully I can find it a good home (and get at least enough money to replace the turnouts I'll be losing).



Fighting Fires in Westville

I am not a firefighter so I may not know what I am talking about here but one thing that always puzzled me was why Westville's multiple (Union & Independent) fire companies (pre-1980s merger) were both located on the same side of the tracks. (A couple of miles up the road Westville Grove's (Deptford) Tacoma fire company was also on the same side of the tracks.) Granted that side contained the town's small business district but if a fire occurred in the Newbold section and one of the PRSL 100 car trains happened to be going through town that would be an issue. Before the Timber Creek trestle replacement 10 mph speed limits meant the freight trains did not exactly hustle through town.

I vaguely remember talk of one such fire where the fire trucks had to go over the Broadway Timber Creek highway bridge to the first Brooklawn circle, under the railroad overpass, through the second Brooklawn circle and back into Westville on the Gateway Blvd Timber Creek highway bridge to the other side of town to answer a fire call.

I believe the same situation existed (on the other side of the tracks) in Woodbury where the main Friendship fire company and the Colonial fire company also were located on the same side of the tracks.

Later we moved to Woodbury Heights which only had 1 fire company which was located right next to the tracks!

Anyway, the old Independent Fire Co is a half block off my layout (perhaps a background picture off Pine street?). To get the Union Fire Co on the layout I will have to turn their building at the end of Olive street to be able to get a fire truck model on the layout.