mainegardenrailwaysociety2023

Our visit to Eliot is still scheduled for Saturday, September 16 from 1-4pm. During the visit we will also be working on the Club’s track stored in the trailer. This will include fixing clips as needed and cleaning up. This is part of using Split Jaws for all connections at the Mall and our other events. If you can help during your visit, please let Sam or Terry know.

Jim Jenkins’s G and On30 for Sale You can contact Jim at 207-657-9218 if you are interested in the items he has for sale. G Scale Items ·        Bachman Passenger Train with 4-4-0 black steam locomotive #9670 with sound, tender and four dark red wood side passenger cars (two #15, two #21) including one observation car, all steel wheels, $300 ·        Two Aristocraft aluminum rib side passenger cars with lights, New York Central “Edwin O. Morgan” and “Seneca Falls” $100 each ·        Two battery powered locomotives with one remote control, black 2-4-2 “Harbor Station’ 99-6001-4 saddle tank with red trim, $200 ·        Lionel 5103 ATSF 4-4-4 black steam locomotive and tender with box, $150 ·        Three European passenger cars tan/red “HSB” 978-407, $50 each ·        Three European passenger cars, dark green “D...

The layout visit on September 9th to Scott and Kris Gould's layout in Cape Elizabeth has been re-scheduled to Saturday, June 2nd, 2018. Scott is adding a new line of track and replacing existing roadbeds with concrete. This work is explained in another post about Remodeling Layouts. Aberdaron Station

On Saturday August 26th MGRS members attended a Layout Visit at Doug Johnson's home in Gorham. It was a great day to watch trains run in the garden. Doug's Back Yard Ben Braithwaite, John Middleton, Jen Jenkins and David Blue Doug has two layouts in his back yard. The smaller one  has a  work train, two Eggliner loops, and lots of plants. Small Layout Video There is also a hunting scene on this layout. The hunter and the Bear beside the cabin. Mowing a Small Lawn The larger layout has running trains and is still under construction. It has a long outer loop, a figure 8, and a water feature with a mountain, stream and pool. Mountain, Stream and Water Feature Scott and Doug picking a site for the G Scale Beer Garden Freight train running behind the lumber mill and village Railtruck running the Figure 8 Video Freight Over the Water Feature Video Doug's next step is to add a cog railway starting at the left front of the layout and going up the side to the top of the mountain. Th...

Two of our members are remodeling their garden railway layouts this year. Scott Gould  is re- casting his Aberdaron Railway track bed in concrete. He likes it a lot because it guarantees a level bed (barring frost heaves) that is weed-free and easily maintained.  Scott attaches the track and ballast to the concrete with silicone, which allows him to sweep or wash the track without needing to re-ballast . Roadbed Foundation Roadbed with foundation poured Carl Churchill is getting ready to run part of the Overlook Garden Railway on wooden posts. He got started by removing the track loops nearest the house and re-grading both the track and pond areas. Track Storage Re-graded Layout Area

Recently a local movie producer name Ian came to Terry and Sue Norton's garden railway in Eliot. He is re-creating the series of Godzilla monster movies which began in 1954. The garden railway provided the backdrop for Godzilla pilot film as part of promoting the new series. The photos shown here were taken by a by a GoPro camera attached to a drone. The video will be enhanced with a sound track of TV reporters in a helicopter along with video effects of flames from Godzilla and gunfire from the soldiers Look for the trailer and opening date for the new movie series starting in mid-2019.

The Mill Field Festival was held on Saturday, August 19th, and MGRS was back with its second layout. Setup on Friday, August 18 We set up on Friday. Thanks to Mike McDonald and his crew, our platform and tent top were ready to go when we arrived. So we were able to get everything ready even though there was pouring rain on and off all day. Here is what we had to start with Layout Platform and Tent Cover with the Olde Woolen Mill in the background Terry Norton and his friend Courtney Goodwin set up the power cables, transformers, and track connections. Jim Jenkins and Sam Carr set up two main loops on the front section of the platform Two loops around the Village Art Shean and Mike McDonald set up the Thomas, Percy and trolley reversing lines on the back section of the platform. Mike was willing to help and learned how to set up track. We started setup around 10am, and by 2pm all the tracks had been tested. Thomas, Percy and Trolley Lines There were three lines on the back section of th...

Terry & Sue  Norton's latest development is a Garden Railway Campground for mobile trailers on their layout in Eliot. It all started with a trip to California and visit to Upland Trains where they found some very nice camping trailers. The web site is  http://www.uplandtrains.com Campground Overview Trailer Sites in old Quarry near the railroad line BAR Locomotive rolls by the Clubhouse Clubhouse and Picnic Area On the way to the Boat Ramp and Marina Terry also set up some new businesses to service the Campground Trade. They were purchased from the builder who was from Massachusetts. Woodman's of Essex This is an excellent model of a well-known seafood place in Essex, MA. You can see them on the web at  http://www.woodmans.com/restaurants/ In addition to dining Terry also brought in a large stable so the tourists can experience horseback riding from the Old West right there in Eliot, Maine. Warner Stables The real building is also in Essex, MA. The roof on the left si...

Today we visited the A & J Railroad at the home of Jim and Ann Jenkins in Gray. Jim has been building it since they moved here from Bath about three years ago. Logo in the front yard There is a village at the front of the layout. It is served by a trolley line.   The coal car storage yard is behind the village, and the coal mine is at the left. Layout View from the Front Here is a picture showing the coal mine tower and loading facility. Behind them is the wood-covered "tunnel" where Jim stores his rolling stock. Standing behind it are Terry Norton, David Blue, and Sue Norton. A young man named Ben is standing on the right at the transformer control panel. He is David's grandson. Ben got a chance to run the engines, learn how to reverse them, and try out a back and forth line with a Rail Diesel Car (RDC). Coal Mine Loading Facility and Tower Coal Storage yard Jim had some buildings available, so folks went to check them out. These went home with Grace Miller. Terry ...