Spencer, OH - Again

[SAH]

A few here may remember my Spencer, OH layout from several (25+!! ) years ago.  The old Spencer module lives with @btrain now.  I built a new Spencer as a Free-MoN module.  Until recently it was stored beneath my AC&Y Spur 4 layout.


Earlier this past Spring I decided to move Spur 4 to a level such that it can be operated from a rolling chair.  That's the short story of what transpired.  I also decided to make the Free-MoN Spencer operable as a home layout.  Two layouts in the same space effectively.


I brought the Black River module back from the dead.


Added a 90deg curve, still in the raw.  Mama and I like to hunt ice cream stands on our travels.


Next starts the Free-MoN module.  The cattle pass and Spencer Siding East switch.


Around the curve and over the ditch.


Crossing the Wheeling


And rolling through beautiful downtown Spencer.


I decided to add a 90deg curve so I can run roundy if I wish.  I call it West Spencer only because the module is west of Spencer.  There is no such place.  I also now have the opportunity to model the rest of the industry in Spencer that was eliminated by the 12" width I chose for the Spencer module.


I used Uni-Trak to make the roundy loop complete.  Anything that is unlikely to survive the next iteration off the layout gets Uni-Trak.  A perfect application for the stuff IMO.


Building out West Spencer with mock-ups is the task at hand.  It has been fun digging back into my Spencer research files with a purpose.

[SAH]

This fabricated scene(s) occupies the Spencer/West Spencer boundary.  The team track dock is based on a prototype serving a lumber yard on the EL in Cortland, OH.  The house on the other side of the tracks is an Atlas kit (Kate's Colonial or something like that) dressed up with a combination of parts I had on hand and scratched details.  Scenery technique is heavily influenced by Martin Welberg's Utube clips, Boomer's River Road series and Lance Mindheim's "Scenery for Modern Switching Layouts" Kindle book. I hope I've done good by these gentlemen.  As Boomer might say, it's a journey

[Chris333]

Is the feed mill a photo building? I see it is no longer standing.

[Ted Thorson]

Really nice work all around. 👍

[SAH]

Is the feed mill a photo building? I see it is no longer standing.

The siding is paper Chris.  Tichy windows and door for the most part.  A lightening strike got the real building about 10 years or so ago.

[SAH]

Really nice work all around. 👍

Thank you.

[SAH]

John Buchanan Sr. was an aviation enthusiast living in Medina County Ohio.  Fortunately for us he also knew how to use a Speed Graphic camera and made a aerial record of what seems like most everything of even minor significance in Medina County between 1952 and 1965.  Thank you Mr. Buchanan.  Lucky us.

Here's one of his photos of the environs near the railroads (AC&Y and NKP (Wheeling & Lake Erie).  I've added call outs for the type of structures of interest to me (us).


Due to the width restriction I placed on my modules the only structures in the correct place relative to the track are the two depots.  Everything else is on the opposite side of the track vs. the prototype.  Such is life.  Here's where I stand today.


I've had a Spencer Elevator mock-up for years and have pressed it into service once again, heavily modified to meet the oppo track location. I've been picking Spencer Manufacturing structures I feel gives the look of the place and then build mock-ups to see if it works.


The plastic flats in the foreground are I believe from the Walthers engine house kit, gifted to me a few years ago.  It will be the powerhouse for Spencer Mfgr.  Many years ago the machinery was run by overhead shafts with power take-offs.  I figure there had to be a boiler large enough to drive a stationary steam engine or two somewhere in the plant.  Cool photos I found at the Spencer, OH Historical Society during a visit 20 years ago.



I think I'll ballast the mainline before Altoona but hold off on any further structure work.