The Valley Local

Wordless Wednesday #525 - Another Article! (Staging Yard in a Box)

2026-08-05T07:46:57.012-07:00

Tuesday Tips: Cufflinks and Toggles

2026-08-04T00:00:00.000-07:00

What do cufflinks and toggles have to do with one another, you may ask? Well, as you'll see, one is a way of protecting the other. Allow me to 'splain....

It may not be apparent in the view above, but sometimes when operators have to lean over this part of the fascia to reach the back of the layout, they may <ahem> come into contact with those toggles . . .

And if you happen to lean into these toggles, you may inadvertently turn off the command station and/or the power. Yes, it's happened - a few times . . .

So, while trying to think of something that could protect the toggles, I came across this . . .

This is a cufflinks box. I don't even know why I had it nor how I got it. But it was just laying around and I happened to spot it at the right time.

When I opened it and felt how nicely it popped open, stayed open, and popped closed, I got a wonderful, awful idea . . .

Why not drill some holes for the toggles? So that's what I did.

Thankfully, the toggles themselves don't poke out too far (though apparently too far for some operators :^) . . .

. . . to allow the box to shut. Talk about an elegant solution!

And as you may have guessed from the previous photos, I came up with this a while back (still trying to catch the blog up to current times) - so here it is as it looks today. Classy!

While I was going through all this, it occurred to me that every time I powered up the layout a bunch of engines would power up as well. Not only does that create a bit of a racket (especially when you're just troubleshooting something, or wanting to run one engine), but creates an unnecessary power surge on the command station.

So I decided to proved some "cut-out" switches for the tracks that those engines typically occupy. I had not plain-ol' toggle switches on-hand, but I did have a few spare wall light switches. Those turned out to be a more elegant solution (detecting a theme here?) and - bonus! - no soldering required.

First step is to use the faceplate to help locate the switch.

And I traced around the switch itself to get an idea of how large to make the opening in the fascia.

I used a 1" spade bit to drill 3 holes, one on top of the other . . .

Then it's just a matter of cutting one wire that's supplying power to the track you want to isolate and attaching the two ends to the screw terminals on the switch.

This creates a nice, intuitive on/off switch for the track (even better if you label which track it controls!).

Now I can store engines on "Yard 1" and not have to worry about them starting up until I want them to start up.

Being so successful with one track, I figured I'd next tackle multiple tracks . . .

Using the same techniques I described above, I used one switch to cut power to a pit track and another switch to cut power to my entire west end staging yard (for an article on this "Staging Yard in a Box" check out the September 2026 issue of Model Railroader :^)

This project was a little more complicated than the earlier effort since it involved more wires and required more careful attention to the location of the switches themselves so they'd fit nicely in the switchplate/cover.

But, again, a nice looking solution to a common problem. If you can't source toggle switches (and having Radio Shack disappear makes that more difficult), or if you don't like soldering, try giving regular light switches a try. You may find that you prefer them, despite their taking up quite a bit more space on your fascia.

Masonite Monday: Sorting Waybills & Protecting Structures

2026-08-03T00:00:00.000-07:00

Since evolving my operations paperwork to a full(er) waybill system, I not only needed bill boxes, but also some way to sort the bills themselves. I considered everything from just allowing crews to sort their bills on the layout (less desirable as more scenery gets done), providing clipboards (which I do, but they're not great for bill sorting), to some sort of shelf - either flip up or pull out.

Since I had a bunch of leftover masonite from my fascia though, I finally decided to just make up sorting "slots" - one for each town. That meant I needed 11 of them(!). Here's the "plan" I came up with, such as it was (more of a bill of materials...):

I needed:

For the front of the sorter - 11 strips measuring 1.5" by 13"
To offset the sorter front from the fascia:

at the bottom - 11 strips measuring 1/2" by 12"
at the sides - 22 strips measuring 1/2" by 1.5"

So, I pulled out the table saw (which I hadn't used in months, if not years) and started ripping strips. Here's what I ended up with (in addition to a LOT of dust...):

I glued & clamped the three "offsetting" pieces (sides & bottoms) to the back of the sorter front...

Drilled clearance holes for the mounting screws . . .

And painted everything black . .

I'd considered countersinking the screws and covering them with spackle and paint. But instead, I decided to mount and paint them in place . . .

Since I painted the sorters the same color as the fascia, I didn't really have to mask. But whatever. Here's a view of the sorter in service (though before it was painted):

And here's a pic of a painted (albeit empty) sorter . . .

It was admittedly a bit of work - and would be even more difficult without a table saw - but I've found no off-the-shelf product that will create a slot like this, that can even bend (albeit slightly) around curves (I even tried restaurant ticket holders, eh Tom?). But if you have the right tools and some time, these sorters will work really well.

Structure Protection

Ever since I got the Dickinson's Witch Hazel distillery structure from Bill & John (yikes! I just realized I never did a post on that <facepalm>), given it's proximity to a narrow aisle, it's been protected with a piece of plexiglass - held in place with three spring clamps - for the past I-dunno-how-many years . . .

But fresh off the success of my bill sorters, I thought a similar approach would help me get rid of those clamps. The pics & captions below tell the story . . .

The plexi - which I got from Home Depot - was just the right size: tall AND wide enough. I'd just clamped it at the bottom for years, but using the same process I'd used for making the bill sorters, I used a big piece of masonite and three "offsetting" strips to create a slot for the plexi to fit into.

As you can see, it's glued and screwed to the fascia. But, unlike the bill sorters, I decided to countersink and hide the screws.

Took a few easy coats of spackle and some sanding (including rasping down the edges) . . .

. . . and then a coat of Kilz primer.

But after 3(!) coats of my fascia paint, it looks a LOT better than clamps!

No clamps to get caught and the plexi slides up out of the slot as needed for photography and such.

The packrat's motto is to never throw away anything. While that can certainly be taken to an extreme, I'm glad I saved the scrap masonite. As you can see, I've put it to some great use!

Friday Fun - NERx Layout Tour (March 19, 2026)

2026-07-31T00:00:00.000-07:00

Yup - still catching up on posting %^)

This time, for your viewing pleasure and for this edition of "Friday Fun," here's a video taken by my friend Dennis Collucci (NscaleTrainBoy on YouTube) for the NERx virtual model railroad convention last March.

The entire day is worthwhile viewing - as are the rest of the videos & presentations given throughout that week - but if you want to get right to the Valley Local content, fast forward to 2:17:00.

Enjoy & have a great weekend!

Throwback Thursday - More 44 tonners (& specifically, DEY-4 #0806)

2026-07-30T00:00:00.000-07:00

As I try to bring the Valley Local blog up to speed, I'm realizing that I dropped a few balls along the way. Case in point - the DEY-4 (GE 44 tonner) #0802 I weathered for Randy and which ended up being the subject of my latest article in Railroad Model Craftsman. In addition to yesterday's Wordless Wednesday, you can find some additional pics of it on Randy's layout here.

My last actual post on it was from October of last year(!) There I'd only just started the process. And there, for all intents and purposes for the blog at least, it sat. Thankfully, even though I failed/forgot to log my process on the 0802, it's distilled and recorded in the June 2026 issue of RMC :)

One of the reasons I keep the blog going is not so much for the feedback (since, disappointingly, there aren't many comments left here - not like on the Valley Local Facebook group), but to document what I've done in the past so I can refer back to it. In that sense, it's a true "web(-based) log" (e.g. "'b'log") of my builds, processes, etc.

To that end, here's yet another DEY-4 - this one for my layout!

Although I'd weathered (and "crewed") my own #0802 a while back (click here for pics), I really wanted a DEY-4 in the New Haven's original Pullman Green delivery scheme. Unfortunately, that wasn't one of the decorated units Rapido offered, so - thanks to Bill - I got an undec . . .

and tried out my newly developed airbrushing skills . . .

Modelers Decals & Paint (MDP)

3 Pullman Greens: Tru-Color, Badger, MDP

I recall there being some debate about which brand of "Pullman Green" to use. I'd used Tru-Color before (on DEY-5 #0604), but it looked too yellow/olive to me (I salvaged it with weathering), and I used Badger on DEY-3 #0967, but didn't really like it. Unfortunately, Randy got the MDP paint to me a bit too late - but I look forward to trying it in the future. It behaves MUCH better than the Badger (more like Tamiya, which is my fave), but I ended up using Badger again for this model.

For the lettering, I used Highball Graphics decals, sealed with a gloss coat of Tamiya.

The Rapido model runs beautifully and the body is gorgeous, so it doesn't really need anything to create an accurate model. Nevertheless, I decided to use Cal-Scale door handles instead of the brass bits Rapido supplies, and I replaced the stock headlights with MV lenses. I also moved the front airhose to the engineer's side and added fuel caps on both walkways just in front of the cab.

That's where the fuel spills come from :^)

As you may notice, if you compare this model to my #0802, not only will you notice there's no crew - but I also removed the beautiful Rapido cab interior(?!), opting to replace it with a Scale Sound Systems cab-filling speaker. Let me tell you - it makes a HUGE difference in the sound quality!

That being said, given the later runs of Rapido 44-tonners which have better (or at least better mounted) speakers, I think I'd actually keep the interior if I had this all to do over again. Check out this comparison of the early vs. later run of speakers (spoiler alert: while the SSS cab filling speaker beats all, the SSS drop-in replacement speaker isn't noticeably better than the later-run Rapido stock speaker).

Since by my 1948 era, this engine would have been working pretty much nonstop for about 7 years (mostly during busy wartime), I applied moderately heavy weathering - certainly heavier than I've ever done before on a loco.

It's certainly no rust bucket - it's just supposed to look a bit worn, certainly used, but cared-for.

Although I finished the 0806 in May of last year, I hope you've enjoyed my taking some time to catch y'all up on it - especially if you missed it on FB. If nothing else, at least I have some documentation of it on my own(ed) content, unlike FB which can be a bit ephemeral.

Stay tuned as I bring back some more "blasts from the past" on the next "Throwback Thursday!"

Wordless Wednesday #524 - Another #0802

2026-07-29T00:00:00.000-07:00

This is different than this #0802 . . .

Ops Paperwork - Car Routing

2026-07-28T00:00:00.000-07:00

As I've mentioned before, I'm doing my best to make operating the Valley Line as prototypical as possible. To that end, you'll get the following at the start of a run:

Conductor's Notes (info about your train) & Engineer's Notes (info on your engine)
Wheel Report - tells you what cars are in your train, including road name, car number, and destination.
Waybills and Empty Car Bills - one for each car in your train - tells you the consignee (industry destination) for each car (waybill) or how to get the car back to its home road (empty car bill).

Most of you are probably familiar with train movement paperwork (Forms "A" and "19"), so the focus of this post will be car movement paperwork - and that starts with something called the "Conductor's Freight Train Wheel Report" - or "Wheel Report" for short.

Wheel Reports

The wheel report lists all the cars in your train as you leave the originating terminal and tells you the destination of each car.

If a car is destined for a consignee on your route, the wheel report will tell you which town and consignee (and the specific spotting location, if any).
If a car is destined for a consignee not on your route - or (more commonly) is an empty being routed to its home road - the wheel report will tell you where, and to what train, to hand off the car for further movement to its final destination (in the example above, note all the cars to be handed off to HDX-7 in Middletown).

Waybills

Like many others, my "waybills" are actually a combination of two parts:

1) the waybill form itself, which tells you where the car is destined (other than its home road) . . .

and 2) an "Empty Car Bill" (you may refer to it as a "car card") that has the car information as well as home route information for the car when empty.

In addition to the "bills" (waybills/empty car bills) you receive at the start of your run, you'll get others at each town along the way. So let's get going and see how it all works together . . .

From left to right: beverage/tool cup holder & throttle plug, throttle holder, bill box, bill sorting rack/slot, track diagram, clipboard hook.

As you enter each town along your run, the first thing you'll do is check the bill box, handily labeled as "BILLS" and located on the ~~freight house wall~~ fascia.

The bills will tell you which cars are ready to go and where they're headed. If there is no bill for a car, it's a "Hold" - it can be moved if needed, but must be returned to its original spot before you leave town (be sure to check for any blue flags before moving such cars in case they're being actively loaded/unloaded).
Take only cars headed where you’re going or that need to be transferred to another local with which you interchange.

Consult the gateways map and route/interchange information on the back of your clipboard. (See "Interchanging/'Swapping' Cars" below).

Spot cars destined for consignees in town as directed by the bills.

In addition to the bills, the local agent may also leave a switchlist with special instructions - e.g. to respot an offspot car, etc. There may also be additional switching instructions/tips included in the bill box (see below):

For more about these cool NHRR-specific bill boxes, click here.

ProTip: Many local freights are "turns" - which means they start at point A, go do their work, and then return back to point A. In those cases, instead of picking up cars destined for point A (or headed in that direction) on your outbound run, you may want to leave those cars for pickup on your way back (inbound run). This tip often helps you stay within tonnage (and most importantly, run-around capacity) limits.

Interchanging/"Swapping" Cars

One of the most distinctive features of operating on the Valley Line (or, frankly, just about any New Haven RR line during this era) is that cars often have to be interchanged - or swapped - from one local freight to another to get to their final destination. This intensive and significant amount of car handling was the main reason why the NHRR was often referred to as just "one giant terminal railroad." Incidentally, it's also what made the railroad especially vulnerable to truck transport - and ultimately contributed to its downfall.

My layout follows the prototype in this way as well. The "Home Routes & Gateways" map above (and spelled out in more detail in the "Local Routes & Interchange Points" section) shows:

How cars get routed off the layout, and
Where cars can be swapped from one train to another to get to where they need to go. This information is on the back of your operator's clipboard.

For example:

Say you're the crew on HDX-7, southbound from Hartford to Middletown and you've entered the town of Rocky Hill which is located along the way. According to the bills, you have two empties and one load to pick up:

One empty is routed to its home road via Cedar Hill
One empty is routed to its home road via New London
The load is destined for a location off-railroad, but routed through Hartford.

Using the "pro tip" above, you leave the load - for now - for later pickup on your northbound run back to Harford and you pick up the two empties.

You see from the map that Cedar Hill is served by PDX-1, PDX-2, and HDX-12. You interchange with HDX-12 in Middletown. So, the empty routed for Cedar Hill is left at Middletown for later pickup by HDX-12.
You see from the map that New London is served by PDX-1 and PDX-2. You interchange with PDX-2 in East Haddam. So, the empty routed for New London is left in East Haddam for later pickup by PDX-2.

Heh - unfortunately, HDX-7 only serves East Haddam on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays (you know this from consulting your "Conductor's Notes"). So if it's a Monday, Wednesday, or Friday, you'll leave the car in Middletown for you to pick up and take to East Haddam "tomorrow."

This may seem a bit overwhelming & complicated at first - and that's not surprising. Even real railroaders didn't qualify on their jobs until they did them under supervision a number of times - and you shouldn't expect anything less. Fortunately, you can't really mess up - nobody's gonna complain if you spot a car incorrectly, or send it to the wrong destination (heck, even that's prototypical!).

The main goal of all this effort is twofold: 1) to learn about how the New Haven Railroad moved the freight in the Connecticut Valley during the late 1940s, and 2) have FUN simulating those operations.

If I meet that goal, the op session is a success - no matter where the cars end up! :^)

Operator's Helps - Bill Boxes

2026-07-26T14:59:29.578-07:00

How things used to look - notice the switchlist and the "car transfer form"

Long time readers may recall that my operating systems have varied over the years - from switchlists, to a hybrid using "car transfer forms" to, now, waybills.

While I - and many of my operators - prefer switchlists, I never could figure out a good way to deal with cars that have to be handed off from one local freight to another during a session (hence the contrived "car transfer form" above). And as fun as the "pre-ops ops session" was (honestly!) - it would also take me just about as long to set up the session as the session itself.

Switchlists are certainly a great - and usually the fastest - way to get ops going on your model railroad, but I think I've finally settled on a version of waybills to move cars on my railroad.

Of course, that means I need bill boxes. Enter Josh from Cohn's Custom.

Josh had seen me mention on the Valley Local Facebook group what I had been using for waybills (wooden box below, with pencil/pick tube), and what I was going to start using (cheap cellphone holders above). He offered to help, but needed a design.

I started the design process like I do everything on this railroad - by consulting the prototype. Unfortunately, despite my best efforts, I couldn't find out what a New Haven Railroad bill box looked like. So I improvised by finding the closest match I could to a font on some NHRR paperwork, and basically made up the rest . . .

And here's what we came up with:

During the course of developing these boxes, I decided on a car card/waybill form factor based on a 3x5 index card. So these boxes will accommodate those, as well as include a tube on the side for a pencil and an uncoupling pick.

The "N.Y.N.H.&H." is as close as I could come to the font the NHRR used on its paperwork at the time - "FetteEgyptienne" - and the word "BILLS" is just a regular sans serif font that looked right to me. I guesstimated the sizing as well.

But I think you'll agree that they look "right" - especially with some prototype-looking NHRR bills in them. And they look even better installed on the layout.

Now that I've installed them, the only thing I'd change on these is the mounting holes. I planned to mount them with regular #6x1-1/4" drywall screws . . .

But the tapered head didn't allow the screw to fit flush . . .

Josh graciously agreed to do a little redesign and the final product is perfect, allowing the screwhead to sit nice and flush like you see on the left screw in the pic below (I'd reamed out the test print to get the effect):

Unfortunately, when I mounted the boxes to my 1/8" masonite fascia, I discovered that the screw - now that it sits so nice and recessed - no longer had but one or two threads biting into the fascia(!) It's really easy to overtighten slightly and strip the hole in the masonite, preventing the box from being mounted as tightly & securely as you might like. If I had it to do all over, I'd probably just live with the un-countersunk screw heads - or choose screws with a different head (or screws with threads all the way up to the head).

But none of that diminishes by one iota how FANTASTIC these boxes are and I can't thank Josh enough not only for reaching out with his offer to help, but for all his patience through the design process and for creating a product which truly sets my layout apart from many others. There's certainly nothing wrong with the MicroMark boxes, but I think you'll admit these are a step WAY above (and when was the last time you could even get the MicroMark boxes?? They've been out of stock forEVer!).

Now, you may have noticed a few more "helps" mounted on my fascia in addition to the cool bill boxes. Waybills need a place to be sorted, clip boards need a place to hang, and - if you're so inclined - beverages need a place to sit. As you might have guessed, I've been all-in lately on creating "operator's areas" on my fascia in time for my next op session, so stay tuned for a couple posts on the things I've built and installed to help my operators. . .

In the meantime, be sure to check out Josh's website to see what wonderful products he has to offer!

Wordless Wednesday #523 - What’s new?

2026-07-22T14:01:04.195-07:00

Thoughtful Thursday - Respect the Build

2026-06-25T11:16:36.598-07:00

Ballantine's at Wethersfield, CT - Prototype scene with a freelance reefer (& sky added)

(Incidentally, I thought I already had a category called "Thoughtful Thursday" - but the closest I have is something called "Philosophy" which doesn't quite fit... So I guess this is the first in a series of "Trains of Thought" type posts. . .
Also - and not incidentally - I want to thank you all for your patience as I try and get this here blog back up and running regularly...)
* * *
“Respect the Build”
In the car enthusiast community, this phrase is shorthand for respecting and accepting someone’s enthusiasm and passion for what they’ve done with their car beyond stock, no matter what. Of course, there are some builds that are more impressive than others and some that cause others to shake their heads in disbelief or subtle derision, but the phrase is part of the mortar that keeps the car community together. If you’re excited about cars, you’re part of the community. 

I think model railroaders can learn a bit from this attitude. As long as you’re excited about Model Trains, you’re part of the community… But admittedly, there are a number of different sub parts of this community just as there are in the car community (muscle cars, sports cars, low riders, rat rods, etc), but the passion and enthusiasm that we have ought to transcend any apparent differences, even if a particular approach isn’t exactly our cup of tea…

Case in point – operations. For some, like me, it’s all about coming as close to an historical reenactment as possible since that’s my goal and the story I want to tell. For somebody else, the trains may be incidental to the live action role-play (LARP) that they enjoy when operating. For others, it’s a game (even a “card” game) or a puzzle to be solved. After a long stressful day at work, you may just want to move freight cars around randomly…

The cool thing is that model railroad operations isn’t just one thing but can actually be ALL of these things. That’s part of the greatness of this hobby - no matter how you approach operations, or for that matter, no matter how you approach the hobby itself, either from your interest in art, sculpture, history, electronics, building, architecture,… well, you get the idea... the greatness of model railroading is in the many ways different ways you can enjoy it and still be part of it.

“My Railroad, My Rules” is certainly an effective defense of whatever you’re doing in the hobby that brings you joy… But in my mind, it’s unnecessarily defensive. “Respect the Build” encourages all of us to acknowledge the passion and joy that others derive - and provide to the rest of us - just by participating in this great hobby.

Wordless Wednesday #522 - Who's going to the NERPM??

2026-05-27T08:52:30.297-07:00

Click here for more info and to register - hope to see you there!

Wordless Wednesday #521 - Latest Article!

2026-05-20T00:01:00.000-07:00

Backdrop Process Links

2026-05-14T00:01:00.000-07:00

My recent backdrop efforts have garnered a bit of attention over at the Valley Local FB group, so I figured it'd be a good idea to put all the info on my process here in one place.

Here are the Cliff's Notes:

I take pictures with my iPhone of various landscapes and other subjects I think would make good backdrop fodder - usually shooting in the actual areas that I'm modeling.
I also use historic photos (again, preferably from my area and era) and colorize them.
Combine it all using Photoshop Elements.
Print as a banner at my local Staples.
Attach to the masonite using wallpaper adhesive.

Here are the helpful links:

Most recent detailed overview of the entire process (need to scroll down to the bottom).
Recent use of AI.
Colorizing historic photographs.
First full post of the basic process.
More detailed process (scroll down).
A link to every post I've written about backdrops, in reverse chronological order.

Wordless Wednesday #520 - Filling Backdrop Gaps

2026-05-13T00:01:00.000-07:00

Wordless Wednesday #519 - Recent Acquisition at East Berlin

2026-04-22T00:00:00.000-07:00

Playing with AI to Create a Backdrop (first tries)

2026-04-19T11:36:00.000-07:00

My back still isn't, um, "back" to 100% so I can't get to the layout. But I can play around with Google Gemini (an AI program) to try and create some more backdrop images to fill in behind the foreground buildings at the north end of Middletown . . .

I started by asking Gemini for "fronts of factory and mill buildings, viewed straight on" and got this image that included 4 images.

I then used the MS snipping tool to crop & save each of these images as a separate image. The one at the top left ("Riverfront Textiles") is fine to use as-is, but the others need to be rotated. So, I started with the image in the lower right ("Pinewood Paper"). Here are the screenshots of exactly what I did . . .

Not fantastic (when I rotated it, I lost a bit of the character of the varied roofline), but pretty darn good for less than 5 minutes' work.

I'll do the same thing with the other images and then see how they look. But HOLY COW! For someone like me that enjoys creating photo backdrops, Google Gemini is an amazing tool!

Just check out this before-and-after . . .

Here's the image I started with:

Point A

And here's what I ended up with:

Point B

Still a bit too "peak autumn" looking for my layout (which is set more in early Autumn), so I'll be doing some PhotoShop work to get it into final form, but from the B&W image to the image above took me no more than 7-10 minutes, if that.

Truly amazing!

I can't even imagine how long it would have taken me to get this result by regular PhotoShopping - even if I had all the skills needed. And this is certainly a long way from "just" colorizing a B&W photo (which I've been doing for over 5 years now - here's my original post on that, and the RMC article).

I actually screenshotted the nine separate instructions I used to get from Point A to Point B. So if anyone's interested in seeing those, let me know in the comments or contact me directly. It really is shockingly easy.

I'm not a huge fan of AI in most other contexts, but for making backdrops for your model railroad? I'm finding it pretty hard to beat. It's definitely a remarkable time to be in the hobby.

So give it a try - and if you do, I hope you'll let us know!

Master Modeler Marty McGuirk - "Modeling Autumn Scenery"

2026-04-18T14:17:00.000-07:00

Arriving just in time for the weekend - and at a perfect time for allowing my back to recover (and missing time on the layout) - is Marty McGuirk's much-anticipated master work on modeling my favorite season - Fall!

I may be a little biased, since I'm honored to be a (minor) contributor, but I think this book is destined to become a classic, right up there with Dave Frary's scenery bible. As you can see from the Table of Contents above, Marty covers everything you'll need to know to get that authentic looking autumn look on your layout.

But even if you model a different season, the book is just a joy to flip through. Self-publishing has come a LONG way in recent years and this book looks as professional - and in some cases even more so - than the best offerings from the more well-known publishing houses. Not only is the text clear and well written, striking that critical balance of conveying lots of information while being easy to read, but the photos printed beautifully as well. I especially appreciate the many tables and charts that echo the best of Frary's "recipe cards" - creating a handy reference source. I don't think I'll be the only one adding lots of Post-Its to flag these bits.

This book really deserves to be in every model railroader's library, if only for the wealth of inspiring photos from a wide variety of modelers and layouts. I'm looking forward to diving into "Modeling Autumn Scenery" and trying out all the cool techniques!

Huge Thanks to Marty for taking the time to distill his many years of experience and share all of his formidable skill with us in this book. Be sure to visit Marty's website at Artisan Rail Media to get your copy - and check out the other cool items he's posting for sale there while you're there!

Throwback Thursday - Miller Street Grade Crossing

2026-04-16T00:00:00.000-07:00

I posted the following as a Wordless Wednesday (WW494) exactly one year ago today . . .

(the story)

I'm ashamed to confess that - yes - I started on the Miller Street grade crossing scene over a year ago. Well, in my on-going effort to catch the Valley Local Blog up to the current state of affairs, here's the latest progress that's occurred over the past few weeks . . .

Foamcore street base added, along with foamcore structure bases, and scenery supports.

"KEY" houses & garage, scratchbuilt by Bill Schneider and mocked up in place.

Scenery base filled in (plaster cloth over cardboard lattice & foam).

"Lister Goop" added to cover add "ground"

Couldn't help but mock up the scene following the prototype photo.

With Bill's indispensable help with the structures, this scene is really coming together nicely! I'm not too happy with Miller Street itself though. I used my "easy tar & dirt road" technique, but it looks far too dark compared to the photo. I'm going to try and lighten it - but still noodling exactly how . . .

I don't mind taking my time (even if it is over a year!) to get it right. Such an iconic scene certainly deserves the attention to detail . . .

Wordless Wednesday #518 - Southbound Entering Wethersfield

2026-04-15T00:00:00.000-07:00

Friday Fun - Recent Content

2026-04-10T00:00:00.000-07:00

Making it a fourth day of blog posts in a row . . . Here are a few random fun things for this edition of "Friday Fun"...

Some of you have asked for a trackplan of the layout to help orient you - especially after seeing some of the videos. This (and a lot of other great content, IMO) is also available on the Valley Local Website (ICYMI :^) The plan is included in MRP'26 (see below).

I don't mind mentioning (perhaps again) that the Valley Local got pride of place on the cover of Tony Koester's latest book! That's the 'local northbound at Rocky Hill, photo by Dan Munson. I just got my copy earlier this week, which prompted the pic :^)

Just as cool though is the fact that the layout also got a few pages' coverage right at the start of Chapter Three. SO neat to see it in print!

I also recently got my first-ever feature article on the layout published in this year's edition of Model Railroad Railroad Planning. In it, I provide a comprehensive overview of the project from conception to current status.

Lastly, the 'local - or, more specifically, my latest weathering job on a Rapido 44-tonner, was featured in a recent edition of Rapido News.

I can't tell you how cool - and how humbling - it is for The Valley Local to get all this exposure. The layout certainly has a LONG way to go before it's even at a "level of completeness" - but seeing it in print has really lit a fire in me to keep making progress! So glad you're willing to join me on this journey :^)

Throwback Thursday - The Valley Local YouTube Channel(?!)

2026-04-09T00:00:00.000-07:00

After posting yesterday's video from the Iron City N Scale group, I thought it'd be cool to let y'all know where there's some more Valley Local content . . .

Yes, believe it or not, The Valley Local has a YouTube channel! Heh - I'd forgotten too(!), but here it is at https://www.youtube.com/@TheValleyLocal. Technically, it's my personal YT, but as you'll see it's almost exclusively Valley Local (or at least Valley Local/model RR related) content. Don't mind the Mike Confalone/Allagash/Androscoggin layout visits . . .

And it's a legit topic of a "Throwback Thursday" post since the most recent video is from 5(?!) months ago.

Ugh.

But check it out and see if there's anything you find that fits your fancy. In the meantime, and by way of a little teaser, here's one of my favorites . . . Enjoy! (and - as they say - "be sure to 'Like' and 'Subscribe!")

(Not So Wordless) Wednesday - Layout Update Video

2026-04-08T00:00:00.000-07:00

Here's a HUGE THANK YOU to all of you that took the time to leave a comment on my last post. I honestly wasn't fishing for comments/compliments per se, but sincerely wanted to get a sense of how many folks might not be on Facebook and look to this blog as their only source of updates on The Valley Local.

Suffice it to say, you all really encouraged me - so thank you!

Although I'm going into (literally) the busiest 4 months of my work year (legislative session adjourns as of midnight May 6), I'm going to try and get this blog updated to bring y'all up to the current state of affairs. Of course, I won't do it all at once - neither you nor I have the time for that! - but over the coming days/weeks I'll post the highlights of the progress that's occurred over the past months. Suffice it to say, I'm frankly a little embarrassed at how little I posted in 2025. . . Yikes!

But for those of you that wanna jump right to the bottom line and see the layout as it is now (well, as of Feb. 12), thanks to the Iron City Roundhouse Report Podcast you can(!) since they recently hosted The Valley Local as an Iron City Showcase.

So if you can stand hearing me narrate a tour of the layout while barely taking a breath (and just mute me if you'd rather just see the pretty scenes), here's a video that's about as close to you coming to visit as I can muster.

Enjoy!

Tuesday Tip - Decanting Paint

2026-04-07T00:00:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry. This blog has been neglected for FAR too long and I hope to start remedying that with this post. I'll admit, the ease and instant feedback of Facebook has succeeded in grabbing all my attention for The Valley Local, and that's been to the detriment of those of you that don't follow the 'local on FB (click here if you're curious). But how many of you are still here? God bless you if you are, and I'd really like to know. . .

So - if you don't follow on FB, but would like to continue seeing content here, please take a moment and drop an encouraging line in the comments. It'd be really good to know there are folks still tuning in here.

That all said, I do plan to post more content here - if only because I own it and it's not subject to the vagaries of FB. So, here we go!

I'll start off with something easy, and save a more in-depth layout update for after I know there's anybody here :^)

Decanting Paint

Heh - not really starting off with a huge bang, but I recently discovered that this is very helpful. My ground goop is a mixture of equal parts of floor sanding dust, white glue, and "dirt" brown paint. It's easy enough to scoop dust and pour glue from the bottle, but scooping or pouring the paint out of a gallon can is always messy.

So I finally decided to save an old juice carton to store it. As you can (hopefully) see in the photo above, I've attached a "lip" to the edge of the can and used a homemade funnel (cut the top off of a water bottle) to pour it into to the carton. Before doing so - and just for good measure - I used a mixer in my drill to make sure the paint was well mixed before pouring.

Now, all I have to do is pour the paint from the carton - easy peasy! Just be sure to save the can - or at least the label that shows your custom mix. Once you find a color you like, you'll want to be sure you can get it again!

Wordless Wednesday #517 - Name That Location (and date?)

2026-03-04T00:00:00.000-08:00

John Wallace 1930-2026

2026-02-17T18:23:00.000-08:00

John with NHRR coal scoop in hand, just like when he was a teen-ager firing the Valley Local

I've been dreading posting this ever since I heard the news. My friend John Wallace passed away on February 4th at the ripe old age of 95, but still much too soon for me. Regular readers of The Valley Local know John Wallace as the person almost single-handedly responsible for this entire Valley Line project.

John grew up with his grandparents just a few houses away from the New Haven Railroad's Valley Branch in Wethersfield, CT and as a young man he would often ride in the engine with the crew. Later, as a teenager, he'd often fire the local - and he even brought along his camera.

He shared his memories of railroading along the Valley Line, as well as his many photos, in a two-part series in the NHRHTA's Shoreliner magazine - and it's there where I first "met" him. His descriptions of local operations in the lower Connecticut River valley were vivid and so well illustrated that they became a compelling subject for a model railroad - which I started to build, based on his articles.

I'm not even sure how I first got to meet him in person. It was likely through a mutual friend - Max Miller - who had been attending our Thursday night volunteer group cataloging photos for the NHRHTA. But that meeting started a collaboration that lasted until his recent passing.

Over the next couple of years, our correspondence filled many pages - then many file folders - as I collected more and more research on the line we both loved. Sometimes one of my questions would spark a memory that he hadn't thought of in over seven decades, and sometimes his memory prompted some frustrating changes to the layout I was building. But I was always impressed with how sharp he was and how detailed his recollections were.

Case in point - and some of you know this story since it's a favorite of mine that I've repeated often...

Based on John's articles and our emailing back and forth, I was well along in building an HO scale version of the Valley Line, starting in John's home town of Wethersfield. I was so excited to show him my progress, so one volunteer night I had him come down to the basement to check on my progress. He had a lot of nice things to say about how Wethersfield was progressing, but one thing puzzled him. "What era are you modeling again?" he asked. "Circa 1948, around the time you graduated high school. That's when you took the most photos, after all" I replied.

"Well then, why do you have that long passing siding by the station?"

"Because that's what the Sanborn track map shows, and I figured I'd just replicate the map."

"Ah, but that passing siding was taken out in the late 1930s after passenger service ended."

Suffice it to say, the passing siding was removed in time for his next visit :^)

Although not a modeler himself, he "got" what I was doing and admired my attention to detail - and my wanting to get things "right." He often mentioned visiting my layout was like having a time machine back to his high school days. I can't imagine receiving a higher compliment.

John operating during one of my first operating sessions

And I have to say, one of my proudest moments during this entire project was when I was able to hand John a throttle and he was able to operate the Valley Local, move for move, just as he had described the typical "Day in the Life" in his article - albeit in HO scale and <ahem> just a while after his teenage years.

Another huge highlight of our collaboration was when I was able to have him "visit" the house he grew up in, located (close to) where it was actually located in real life. Which actually leads to another cool story . . .

As I mentioned, John grew up in Wethersfield and graduated from Wethersfield High School in 1948. Although he didn't know him, Dave Messer was just a few years behind him in age. Dave moved to Pennsylvania and later became a pretty prolific model railroader and author. I met him through mutual model railroad friends when he discovered that I was modeling his home town...

Long story short, I had a photo of John's childhood home that he'd taken in the summer of '48 and sent it to Dave to see if he could build a model of it, which he did (and you can see the result in the photo above). But the COOL thing was that John and Dave met in the HO scale version of Wethersfield and discovered - decades after being so close but never having their paths cross - that they had lots of friends in common. John often mentioned how much fun it was reminiscing with Dave until he passed in 2020.

I have hundreds more memories I could share - from our shared love of cycling, to the fact that he was into flight simulators well into his 90s (he had been a pilot at one time), to his ending up in the hospital for trying to bunny hop a curb with his bike - when he was in his 80s(!). Our friendship ended up going well beyond the Valley Line project, but it was our shared love of the line that got us started - and I ended up with the great privilege of knowing and being friends with a truly remarkable man.

Rest well, my friend, knowing you will be sorely missed by all who had the honor of knowing you.

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I touched on only a few of the amazing things John did - the ones I knew most about. But his obit includes a lot more and gives you an even fuller picture of his amazing life.