Let me introduce myself... this is the first blog entry on my model railroad journey that began 2 years ago. My goal is to keep a daily record of my progress and share some thoughts as I build a 400 sq. ft. HO scale model railroad layout in my basement.
My vision is to create a continuous run HO scale layout that will be fun to build and fun to operate. I am looking for detailed scenery as that is my favourite part. I have two young sons who will be running trains with me. I have chosen a prototype to keep me focused and ‘honest’ but I don’t want to become a slave to it. There will be headless horsemen, haunted houses and ghost trains. It’s my railroad…my rules. I am a beginner with basic experience so I want to grow and learn. Ops sessions are important to me and I want to plan for future growth as I see them being more important in the future.
Prototype (Real or imagined?)
I have chosen QGRY from Montreal to Quebec City. I’d like to create a fantasy layout roughly based on this prototype.
The Quebec Gatineau Railway provides rail transportation services to the major industrial regions and ports in the Province of Québec. QGRY is situated on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence and Ottawa rivers, an area comprising Québec City, Trois-Rivières, Shawinigan, Joliette, Montréal, St-Jérôme, Lachute, Gatineau and Hull.
The QGRY, acquired from Canadian Pacific (CP) Rail, began operating in November 1997. 151 employees handle some 50,000 carloads of freight per year serving 23 major customers. In addition to our "can-do" customer service focus, the QGRY has added an automobile compound, a large lumber transfer facility and a bulk handling facility in our Henri IV yard in Québec City to meet the market demand and benefit from available opportunities.
http://www.gwrr.com/operations/railroads/north_america/quebec_gatineau_railway
I will be modeling current day freight operations and have decided to set the time of the layout as mid-October.
