built by others This is a series of articles that introduces layouts built by modelers using page plans and projects. model railway and related products. Black River Junction originally appeared on the following pages. model railway Grant Graeber translated the layout into the available space and made adjustments according to his interests as a railroad model maker.
Built by Others: Grant Graeber's MT&W Layout
Written by Grant L. Graeber – Photos by author
I have been an armchair model railroad enthusiast for nearly 60 years. Shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic began, I decided it was time to stop limiting myself to building vehicles, exhibits, and dioramas and start actually building operational layouts. While drawing the real Marinette Tomahawk & Western (MT&W) and Milwaukee Road in my home in Tomahawk, Wisconsin, I drew a track plan that would fit in my walk-out basement. None of the plans worked out. Rec room space is limited by a staircase and several doors to surrounding rooms and patios.
So I turned to the Trains.com archives to find a track plan that would fit, even with changes, the irregularly shaped area I had to work with. I discovered the Black River Junction Project in January 2007. model railway. In addition to its easy-to-install size and ease of matching with track plans, I was attracted to the fact that it uses KATO's Unitrack system. After all, I'm 72 years old and was concerned about his ability to build quality layouts using flextrack. After researching more about Unitrack, we decided to build Black River Junction, move it from Ohio to Wisconsin, and modify it to fit our operational plans. The Milwaukee Road and Soo Line both serve the town and provide transfers to and from MT&W. Using AnyRail software to modify the track plan and incorporate several changes to the main 4 x 8 layout, expanding the original staging yard with a 2 x 8 foot extension that included two yards and an MT&W engine house and equipment. Did. To make the most of the available space in the room, we added an additional 2 x 8 extension on the right side. This also includes his two stage yards and some industries.
This isn't my Marinette, Tomahawk, Western dream layout, so I decided to name it “Misfied, Tired & Tired.” MT&W switches local customers and services several pulp and paper mills off-layout, connecting them to the Soo Line and Milwaukee Road.
Construction began in August 2021, and the main layout was operational by November. By February 2022, the left-hand extension was operational. Finally, construction of the right-hand extension he began in May and was operational by August. Although we followed the construction plans and methods described in the 2007 Project Layout article, there were some obvious differences. Enlarge the extension on the left and add another extension of the same size on the right, so attach his four legs to each extension using the same construction techniques seen on the main table. I did. The extension is bolted to the main table and the connecting tracks are not glued. The layout can be carefully disassembled, but if the rail joiner breaks, there are 2 sets of spare connecting track pieces and a bag of spare rail joiners included.
The wiring for track power and switch control is also different. KATO's Feeder Trucks and Terminals Instead of attaching UniJoiners to the bus using suitcase connectors, KATO's wiring components, 3-way extensions, DC extensions, and terminal adapters were used in a branch feeder arrangement. Power from the NCE PowerCab panel flows through a series of feeders that branch out to the main layout table and each expansion table. Plug connectors on the components make it easy to disassemble the wiring if necessary. The final element for comfortable operation was the installation of two NCE UTP panels, one for each extension. This allows an auxiliary cab to be connected when two or three operators are working. Engineers can keep track of train operations without having to wrap cords around them. Wiring for track power, turnout controls, and cab connections are routed through holes drilled in the frame rungs and labeled and secured to the bottom of the table using a Woodland Scenics Tidy Wire kit.
I use DCC, but I purchased the KATO power pack. It provides power to the switchgear via a DC converter and a switch control switch attached to the converter. KATO turnout extension wire is used to connect the main layout turnout to the control switch on the main control panel. The left and right extensions presented a problem because I didn't want to connect all the turnout switch machine controls directly to the power pack on the main control panel. Drivers operating trains on the extended line had to look away from the trains they needed to control in order to flip the switch. Each extension required its own control panel, and the SX Power Pack provided a solution. I connected the truck power outputs to a pair of DC converters, one for each extension. He then connected the turnout control switches of the turnouts on each extension to his DC converter and turnout switch using turnout extension wire as needed.
I did not put up a large grass mat that completely covered the layout area. Instead, I first installed strips of Woodland Scenics Foam Modeling Sheet next to and between the Unitrack sections, 1/8 inch in most places and 1/4 inch at grade crossings. This layout represents a time when real local railroads did not have the clean, well-maintained 2-foot-deep crushed stone ballast depicted in Unitrack, so the ballast was barely above the surrounding ground. and had to be flush with the ground. Installation of overpasses is now easier when using Unitrack ballast in certain locations. Grass mats were placed on top of the foam, and different colors and additional ground cover textures added variety to the basic landscape.
The uniform texture and color of the Unitrack ballast also had to be changed. The Milwaukee Road tracks were left largely intact, with Cato ballast added to blend in with the surrounding ground. To distinguish the MT&W and Suzhou Line tracks from the Milwaukee Road, I brush-painted the ballast using two different “wash” colors. This process may be tedious, but it makes a difference. Viewers can easily identify whose track belongs to whom, helping them develop a sense of the actual location of the layout.
The scenery is a combination of Walthers SceneMaster and Woodland Scenics materials. This includes mats, lawns, gravel, ballast, shrubs, brambles, grass/weed tufts, as well as trees and flowering plants from JTT Scenery products. The large tree was primarily attached to the lawn mat at Woodland Scenics by scraping off the “grass” to expose the vinyl and gluing the base of the tree in place with CA. We then covered the base with scenic cement and sprinkled with a grass mix to hide the plastic and blend the area around the tree trunk with the surrounding ground cover. The tree was then reattached. For the other trees, I hand-drilled holes in the mat and inserted them into the foam underneath, then glued them with CA. The shrub was formed by mixing his three shades of Woodland Scenics. Most of the clumps of trees and bushes were lightly sprayed with Woodland Scenics Spray Tack and dusted with fine grass in various shades to highlight the foliage. The scenery is essentially complete as each section of the layout becomes operational, but details are still being added.
The building is an eclectic mix of old Atlas and Level structures, sentimental favorites salvaged from one of my earliest diorama layouts many years ago, and current offerings from Walther's, Pikestough and Woodland Scenics It is a combination of. All with added details. Some are kitbashing or have other changes made. Main Street is a combination of Cornerstone concrete and asphalt street system with curbs and sidewalks. The other driveways and parking lots are SceneMaster adhesive flex paving, with strips (1/16-inch or 1/8 inch). . Main Street pavement markings were applied with Woodland Scenics road striping pens. Main Street also had tire marks and potholes and was weathered with a black wash and dirty black paint.
These vehicles are also an eclectic collection from various manufacturers and include a wide range of model years from the late 1940s to the early 1970s. This may be unrealistic for the mid-50's to mid-60's era that the rest of the layout represents, but I'm a big fan of the Wisconsin Central, and at times he's a large part of a 40-foot vehicle. and Milwaukee Road may be removed. and retired his Soo Line locomotives and replaced them with WC locomotives and his 50'-60' cars, and updated his MT&W locomotive roster to use his last switcher, his SW1500 No. 83 To do.
Instructions are based on Tony Koester's book Realistic model train operation Uses Micro-Mark car routing system. A typical session would be for the Milwaukee Road North End Patrol (patrol was the term used by locals on Milwaukee Road) to arrive in the morning from the right-hand transfer station and direct incoming cars onto the siding of the interchange. Start by dropping off and continuing to the transfer yard on the left. We regroup for the return trip south. MT&W enters town from its yard on the left extension, converts those cars to consignees, places Soo Line replacement cars on the siding, and transports off-layout pulp and paper mill cars to the yard. Return to . Eastbound freight on the Soo Line arrives from the left depot, unloads inbound cars, picks up outbound cars, and proceeds to the right depot, where it reorganizes into westbound trains for the next session. MT&W returns to switch these incoming vehicles to consignees, placing replacement vehicles for the southbound North End Patrol on the siding, and once again returns the off-layout pulp and paper mill vehicles to the yard. .
The North End Patrol then returns from the transfer station on the left, picks up the downhill vehicles and heads off to the transfer yard on the right, where they regroup for the next session. Westbound Soo Line freight then arrives from the right depot, unloads the inbound cars, picks up the outbound cars, and proceeds to the left depot, where it reorganizes into eastbound trains for the next session.
Finally, MT&W returns, switches those vehicles to consignees, and takes the off-layout pulp and paper mill vehicles back to the yard. In between sessions, MT&W works in its own yards, driving cars in and out of its off-layout pulp and paper mills. Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Road and Soo Line switches industries at a transfer yard on the right extension. My 0-5-0 switcher also works between sessions and sets up the train for the next session.
Find Black River Junction on the page of model railway And discovering Unitrack gave me the opportunity to get out of my armchair and get my vehicle collection up and running. It was a fun experience. I rediscovered a skill I thought was lost and was happy to introduce the hobby of model railroading to my neighbors.
The process behind the construction of Black River Junction is published on Trains.com in a four-part article series, from the initial design to finishing details and everything in between. Part 1 can be found here. – Ed
