Inspiration

[Ali Kenneth]

Last weekend i sat in on a talk by Iain Rice about shelf layouts which, whilst covering the same ground as his recent book, really made me want to find something to build, soon!

I got home 48 hours later to find the latest, October 2009, issue of Railpace through the letter box. In this issue is a fabulous article about the NS Operations along the Delmarva Secondary which is incredibly detailed an informative. The 'yard' at Harrington  DE caught my eye as, i quote, "is comprised of two long sidings" and as Harrington is also the base for the loco power along Delmarva it seemed ideal for a shelf style layout.

Yes the triangle will be a challenge but if a model is a representation of a place then the easy way is to model the triangle off stage right?

What do you think?

Alasdair

[sirenwerks]

Haven't seen the new Railpace and am not too up on NS trackage @ Harrington, but I'd considered a Delmarva-themed layout. First as a freelanced contemporary shortline, then at the end of Pennsy operations. Originally, it was a curious assortment of lines and even today a very model-worthy operation suitable for one-man ops. It definitely lends itself to a shelf layout too, though transitioning the flat scenery to backdrop may present a challenge. But that can often be remedied using the often found straight edged treelines so ubiquitous to the peninsula. Structures are pretty easy to replicate as well. Have you considered a fold-down or removable clamp/bolt on section for the wye (I assume that's what you meant by triangle)?

[Ali Kenneth]

I assume that's what you meant by triangle

Yes, sorry i sometimes forget that thing are different on each side of the Atlantic. In Britain we would have called it a triangle. I took the view that two sides of the wye could be modeled and the third off the edge of the layout.

The issue with the backscene I had considered and was going to use plenty of buildings and trees in front of a natural sky effect.

The whole point of posting was to show how a couple of events happening close by can affect your modeling views. I have always wanted to model todays NS operations but was either going to model west of Pittsburgh or in the Carolinas due to getting most inspiration via DVD from these areas. Now Delmarva is looking good!
Alasdair

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Interesting you mention the Ian rice book.

I've just been reading the copy on loan from Sirenworks, and I've got to say, I'm not impressed by it. I feel like he doesn't really "get it" when it comes to US railroading.

That said, I too have been tempted by a shortline on the eastern shore.

[wm3798]

Alisdair,
I live smack dab in the middle of Delmarva, and am very familiar with Harrington and environs.  I just picked up the Railpace myself, and it's very good at describing the lay of the land.

A shelf-style layout is ideally suited to capturing the essence of our little slice of paradise...  It's like having a big chunk of Kansas or Iowa right in the middle of the densely populated Mid-Atlantic.  (When a resort hotel opened recently in our town, it was noted that something like a third of the country's population is within a 2 hour drive of Cambridge, yet if you took every citizen of my county to a football game, we wouldn't even fill half the bleachers!)

Here's a couple of references I can provide:  The first is a ride-along video that I made a couple of years ago with the help of Brian Carhart (our own RockGP40)

http://blip.tv/file/1138043/

That's on the Maryland and Delaware Chestertown Branch.  The MDDE operates several lateral branch lines that join the NS main stem at Townsend, and Seaford, and another that comes off the secondary track down around Berlin, Maryland.  Anyway, that should give you a feel for the types of traffic, equipment, and trackwork you'll find on the branches.  While the sunlight wasn't very good, you can also get a good look at the scenery and structures.  The chemical plant we switched at Worton (about halfway through the film) is a great Rube Goldberg piece, looking a lot like something my son would throw together on the playroom floor out of Legos and building blocks.

You can also browse through my photo gallery, where I keep a repository of images I've collected over the years.
The MDDE Gallery:  http://www.wmrywesternlines.net/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=55
There's also some useful stuff here:  http://www.wmrywesternlines.net/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=46
and here:  http://www.wmrywesternlines.net/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=52

If you hit the search function in the gallery and type in Delmar or Delmarva you should get a lot of stuff you can use.

If there's anything else I can help you with, let me know.  I'm sure Brian will chime in, too, being as he actually works some of these routes as a conductor...

Lee

[wm3798]

Oh, and I'd be remiss if I didn't include some local culture.


Yes, it's the World's Largest Frying Pan, centerpiece of the annual Delmarva Chicken Festival!

Lee

[Bob Bufkin]

That is a good issue of Railpace.  Being a transition era fan I especially like the Morning Sun book Trackside on the PRR Delmarva Lines 1965-1967.  In those days it looked like it was Baldwin, Alco and F unit haven.  Baldwin switcher with trainphones leading short passenger trans, great stuff.

Lee - Blue crabs, oyster and MD fried chicken - don't get any better than that.  Do they do stuffed ham down that way?

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Do they do stuffed ham down that way?

Why on earth is this the first time I'm hearing of such a thing?

[Bob Bufkin]

Common around Southern MD.   Gotta watch thou.  Couple years back a bunch of people got sick from eating it.  Don't remember what the stuffing is.  Various churchs, schools, etc. serve it to raise money.

[Bob Bufkin]

Ed

Found the recipe.

15 lb. fully cooked boned ham
1 lg. head cabbage
4 lbs. fresh kale
4 lbs. fresh spinach
4 lg. yellow onions
Paprika, start with 1 tbsp.
Pepper to taste
Salt to taste

Chop medium fine and mix thoroughly.
Fill large pot with greens and add water halfway in the pot. Steam until a little more than wilted. When greens are done, drain and set aside. Take the ham and make a 2 inch long, 2 to 4 inch deep cut (anywhere on the ham). Then stuff this cut with the greens. Do this all over the ham and stuff as you make each cut. When you're through wrap the ham in cheesecloth or place in a pillow case. Cover with water and cook either on top of the stove at medium heat for one hour or in the oven at 350 degrees for an hour. If all the stuffing is not used, place the remaining stuffing around and on top of the ham before wrapping it in cheesecloth/pillow case.

This particular dish is unique to Southern Maryland, and to my knowledge is not prepared anywhere else.

[Philip H]

Ed

Found the recipe.

15 lb. fully cooked boned ham
1 lg. head cabbage
4 lbs. fresh kale
4 lbs. fresh spinach
4 lg. yellow onions
Paprika, start with 1 tbsp.
Pepper to taste
Salt to taste

Chop medium fine and mix thoroughly.
Fill large pot with greens and add water halfway in the pot. Steam until a little more than wilted. When greens are done, drain and set aside. Take the ham and make a 2 inch long, 2 to 4 inch deep cut (anywhere on the ham). Then stuff this cut with the greens. Do this all over the ham and stuff as you make each cut. When you're through wrap the ham in cheesecloth or place in a pillow case. Cover with water and cook either on top of the stove at medium heat for one hour or in the oven at 350 degrees for an hour. If all the stuffing is not used, place the remaining stuffing around and on top of the ham before wrapping it in cheesecloth/pillow case.

This particular dish is unique to Southern Maryland, and to my knowledge is not prepared anywhere else.

Hum stuffed ham dueling it out withthe world-famous Baconator . . . theres a gastric surgery burried in that duel somewhere . . . .

[wm3798]

Stuffed ham is on the other side of the bay.

We keep it simple over here.  Oyster fritters...  Fried Chicken, and of course, BBQ chicken a'la firehouse!

Lee

[Blazeman]

...And certain times of the year: rock fish and soft shell crabs.

[ljudice]

hmmm... makes me hungry for some of this:




(Actually some of the product packaging I designed for the Ghoulish Gourmet, our Trunk or Treat display last week - which somehow ended up not winning!!!!)