29 March, 1997

Here are my current ideas for the track plan.  The upper deck plan is fairly
close to what I would like.  I need to give a bit more thought to the track
at Bartlett and Intervale, but the concept seems to be in place.

The lower deck, on the other hand, is just a sketch.  I really haven't given
it enough thought yet.  The main detail that I have worked on so far is to
avoid conflict with the action and scenery of the upper deck by simplifying
trackage under Bartlett and by providing for the cliffs at Frankenstein Trestle
by making the lower deck disappear behind buildings.  (Note: there are no
tunnels in the state of New Hampshire.)

The helix is a concern.  The present sketch shows 26" and 24" radii, which I
think will be too tight.  However, there is no problem with expansion into the
adjacent room, as long as clearance for the staging tracks is taken into
account.  In fact, I have considered the possibility of making the transition
from upper to lower deck entirely visible by expanding into the adjacent space.
My principal concerns are that the layout not get too big to maintain, and the
interaction with a frequently used outside door.  Not only would this require
a lift-out section, but I'm concerned about dust management in a room with
outside access.  The present plan is contained within an enclosed space except
for the staging tracks which could be easily enclosed between operating
sessions.  I think that I might be able to build the helix first, and then
either replace it or supplement it with an extension into the other room after
the first phase is fully operational.

The upper deck is intended to be a fairly accurate replica of the prototype,
except that I had to leave out Glen, Bemis, Sawyers River and Carrigan in
order to fit it in the space.  However, the Crawford Notch trackage has
practically no industry.  The idea was to move freight through the mountains
and to move passengers to the mountains.  The operational interest will come
from using helpers from Bartlett to Crawfords and from the crew changes and
interchange at Intervale.  B&M passenger trains of the 40's and 50's changed
crew at Intervale.  The B&M crew layed over in a caboose (which permanently
sat on the siding at Intervale) while the MeC crew took the train through the
notch and back.  This practice was discontinued in the mid 50's when the MeC
fell under control of B&M management.  It does add an interesting operational
twist, though, for passenger service.

Until the mid 50's, steam dominated the notch, with helper / pusher service
being provided by the engine facilities at Bartlett.  The extra power returned
light, backing down through the notch to Bartlett.  Helpers were often 2-8-0's
or 2-8-2's, but in 1912 the MeC purchased four 2-6-6-2's from the B&M for use
in the mountain division.  With a 77' wheelbase, these locomotives exceeded
the length of the turntable at Bartlett, so the pit was filled in and the
turntable replaced with switches.  One stall of the engine house was extended
to handle the longer locomotives.  Turning was accomplished on the nearby wye.

The Mt. Willard section house at the west end of Willey Brook bridge had an
interesting life of its own.  It could only be reached by rail or by a steep
climb over the rocks.  The section foreman, Loring Evans, lived there with his
wife, Hattie, in one half of the house, while the other half boarded the
remainder of the section crew.  Hattie cooked for the crew and maintained the
operation.  Two sons and two daughters were born on the side of the mountain,
with the help of a doctor, dispatched from Bartlett on a special train.  Not
long after the birth of her fourth child, Hattie became a widow when Loring
was struck by an engine at Crawfords while clearing ice from the switches.
Hattie stayed on at the section house and raised her four children there.
They rode the train to school and were scooped up by the conductor, one at a
time, so the train would not have to stop on the ascending grade.

In my trackplan for the upper deck, I have extended the Bartlett yard drill
track to connect through the wall into the far end of the Portland staging. 
In normal operation, this hidden trackage will not be used except as an
extension of the drill track.   I have also extended the stub of the wye to
connect back to St. Johnsbury staging.  The additional hidden trackage allows
continuous and/or loop-to-loop running on the upper deck for locomotive
testing and for public showing.   It will also alow me to operate the upper
deck during construction of Intervale and the descending helix.

Since there is little switching to be done on the upper deck and I had hoped
to be able to include this aspect of operation, the lower deck will have to
provide all the industrial trackage to fulfill this need.   Therefore, I
intend to freelance the lower deck, loosely based on B&M trackage between
Rochester and Exeter, NH, with emphasis on switching.  I would like to include
a power plant and a dozen assorted factories.  If there is room, I would like
to include a taste of the waterfront at Portsmouth with the scrap-metal piles
that are transferred to ships there.

I have some trouble focussing on a particular era.  Over the last few years,
I have collected nearly 30 diesels, representing various B&M, MeC and Guilford
paint schemes from the 50's to present day.  Of course, the real excitement
in Crawford Notch would come from modelling 30's and 40's steam action.
At present, there is very little available MeC steam, though I could rework
some of the USRA designs.  It is my feeling, that I will have to build my
steam roster slowly, as I find suitable locomotives.  In the meantime, I can
operate in a more modern era.  Fortunately, New England scenery and industrial 
buildings can easily accomodate a 60 year time span, so I could shift eras by
replacing a few scenic details (such as automobiles) and by changing rolling
stock and motive power.   

I'm more interested at present in operation than in chronological purity, so
(at least initially) I will not be too disturbed if a billboard reefer ends up
behind a GP-38.  I want to avoid hi-cubes and other large cars which would
tend to make the layout seem smaller.  Eventually, I will try to focus on an
era (probably the 50's) or possibly operate two different eras in alternate
operating sessions (50's and 70's ?).

I'm sure that there are a lot more details to describe, but this should give
you an overview of some of my thinking, anyway.

Dick Lord