The Fine Scale Model Railroader Expo 2011: Day 1

Lela and I went to the Fine Scale Model Railroader Expo show in Peabody Mass. It was three days of clinics vendors and layout tours and was a great deal of fun. Here are some pictures of the trip.  Day one we crossed the border following the old CP/B&M route south through Saint Johnsbury to Wells River.  My friend Dave Premeau models this area and I wanted to see some of the prototype structures he modeled.  

 This is the trackside view of the Station.  It now is an information center.  The lady says that there is only one train a week that comes roarin' down that line.  Maybe Harry Chapin new something we didn't.

 From left to right, the main, passing siding then yard tracks.  In the distance you can see the bridge over the tracks.  There is also a roadway that goes under the tracks over to the industrial side to the right.

 Closer view of this structure.  It really has lots of character and Dave has it appropriately placed on his layout.  The colours are a perfect match as well.

 On the street side of the station there are two excellent brick structure.  The rounded one on the left used to be the old hotel.  It was burned down and rebuilt some time ago.  The window shapes and brickwork really give this structure some character.

 This map of the old track plan for Saint Johnsbury was really interesting.  It led me to where the old roundhouse was located.  Even the folks at the information centre new nothing about it.  Double click for the blow up.

 Inside the station there were some old railroad artifacts such as the B&M passenger seating in the waiting room.  There were also some old communications gear and desk in the stationmasters ticket and office area.

 The station from the town side.

 The roundhouse was gone but the turntable was intact.  The garden tracks were half covered by gravel and dirt but you could still see where they went to the stalls.  On the other end they put a big fuel tank right on top of them.

 Side view so you can see where it stood relative to the station.

 Dave has this on his layout between Saint Johnsbury and Wells River.  We took number 5 hwy along the tracks and found it.  The lady at the sheep farm was kind enough to let me onto the property to take pictures.

 She has sheepdog puppies.  They were excited to see me.  The mother was laying down probably because of the energy they have was exhausting her..  Dave more pigeons on the copula.

 View from the house.  The barn is built on a slope so determining level must have really been something.

 In this picture you can see the B&M trackage on the right.  The distance is matched very nicely on Dave's layout.

 In Wells River, I found this cool structure.  May have been an important building at one time but now it is home to local shops.

 We crossed over to New Hampshire from Vermont and headed east on HWY 112.

 The leaves were just awesome.

 We had a great picnic lunch

 The colours were great

Ah yes we did see trains in Lincoln.  This Hobo railroad is one of a number of tourist railroads in the White Mountains.  Next I have a few pictures from the Expo.