The Old Main Line Subdivision:: "Friendly Fridays... Merry Christmas!"

Friday, December 25, 2015

"Friendly Fridays... Merry Christmas!"

There's little debate that trains and Christmas have gone hand-in-hand for many years. Many of our earliest childhood memories of this holiday involves trains and train sets. An article was sent along by Garden State Division board member Tom Wortmann recently. It discusses the relationship between trains and the holiday. Click here to read. In the meantime...

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BONUS: RHETORICAL QUESTION OF THE DAY...

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Long Story Short: Circa 1960...

Running from Baltimore to Point of Rocks, through the wooded hills of the Patapsco River valley and the undulating Monocacy River plain, this 130 year old B&O sub-division was struggling to survive. The historic 65 mile OML, once a bustling double-track operation, had been reduced to single track. It relied on diminishing business from local mills and building materials suppliers. Sporadic through-traffic hauled coal, iron ore and quarried stone from points west over the serpentine route.

Passenger operation had been discontinued in 1949 and the long-rumored 'merger' with the C&O created paralyzing uncertainty. It was this inevitable partnership in 1963, combined with increasing reliance on the B&O's Washington and Metropolitan branches that made the 'Old Main' irrelevant to most. But ultimately it would be the 1972 devastation of the Patapsco River valley from Tropical Storm Agnes that would most clearly define the line's modest future.

So join us for this bumpy and irreverent ride and please share your thoughts, questions and comments with everyone. Thanks.

Layout at a Glance...

Name: Old Main Line Subdivision
Scale: HO (1:87.1)
Size: 15' x 21' plus 2' x 18' staging
Prototype: Baltimore & Ohio Railroad
Locale: Northeast Maryland
Period: March 1960
Style: Walk-in single-deck around walls w/ peninsula
Mainline Run: 90'
Minimum Radius: 30" main; 27" spurs; 24" staging
Minimum Turnout: #6 main; #5 staging
Maximum Grade: 1% main; 2% spurs
Staging: (2) 4-track stub ended yards
Benchwork: Open grid 1" x 3" clear pine
Track Height: 50" - 53"
Aisle Width: 30" - 44"
Roadbed: Midwest Products cork on 1" Gatorboard
Track: ME code 83 main/spurs/staging
Scenery: Carved rigid foam and ground goop
Backdrop: Painted sheetrock and .040 styrene
Control: NCE Digital Command Control (DCC)

The Backstory...

Like most model railroaders, my introduction came at Christmas when I was about five years old with the traditional starter set. I was hooked, especially a couple of years later when every present from Santa was a Bachman Plasticville kit. The basement ping pong table became my 'set up.'

Unlike many modelers, my dad was not a train guy... something about working two jobs to support his family. But he and my mom did indulge me in driving to club layouts and riding trains whenever we could. Trips to my grandparents in Maryland put me over the moon as I knew we'd pass the Baltimore yards.

But as is often the case, college, career, family and the time-draining reality of coaching youth soccer and allegedly competing as a bicycle racer took me away from the hobby.

Fast forward many more years than I care to acknowledge and it's time to re-create some of my childhood memories in a new basement, minus the ping pong table... and the 'set up' shall henceforth be only referred to as 'the layout.'

A Comment on 'Comments'...

All readers may enter a comment at the end of any post. You do not need to sign in, register or become a member of this blog. Here's why you should contribute...

The objective of my uncomfortably-public endeavor is for the thoughtful presentation of ideas, opinions and activities related to model railroading to like-minded hobbyists.

But more importantly, the goal is for the healthy exchange with readers through their feedback to that which has been presented via constructive criticism, opposing viewpoints and/or supplemental information for the topic at hand... and of course a little kidding around is mandatory.

So please don't be shy. I do not enjoy talking to myself, nor am I in need of the proverbial 'attaboy.' But in the interest of learning, it is for everyone's benefit that there is dialog surrounding each post. All comments will be 'moderated,' and then acknowledged with a timely reply and a dry wit.

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But be forewarned about a few disadvantages to this method of receiving each post. You will only receive the post, not a link to the entire blog, and it seems to operate on a delayed basis of about 12 hours on average. Aesthetically, the email notification is not as pleasing as the blog's layout, nor does it provide any sidebars which I am continually updating. Also, it appears that while photos are included, video links are not.

Best bet is to use this notification as a timely convenience, but please check the actual blog for a complete array of features, announcements and listings. As always, thanks for your interest.

Photo Attribution...

The b/w photos on this sidebar were published in the B&O Historical Society's magazine, The Sentinel, Vol. 14 No. 1, in January 1992. They ran in an article entitled, "The Old Main Line Way Freight." Written as a day in the life of the railroad in 1952, the following excerpt beautifully captures the line's spirit during simpler times:

"Ride the 'Capitol Limited' if you want speed and efficiency! Ride the 'way freight' if you desire a folksy trip through some of the prettiest countryside in the East; land steeped in history half forgotten. You'll get a close-up view of what a multi-million dollar railroad means even to the smallest community. There, you'll see a big business looking after the small fellow."

The photos were made available to the Society by member John R. King, Jr. who got a collection of B&O negatives from the late Leonard Rice.

Friday, December 25, 2015

"Friendly Fridays... Merry Christmas!"

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