The B&OCT in N Scale. An introduction.

The above is a clunky title for a model railroad. It is not snappy but it is descriptive. Guess what the layout depicts? The Baltimore & Ohio Chicago Terminal -- modeled in N-scale.

Many of my model railroad friends have been making great progress on their layout during the pandemic lockdown. I have moved in fits and starts. I just attended the Bay Area SIG meet (at the end of January) and a recurring message was to get working and hold myself accountable. One way I'm looking to do that is by publishing a blog. My goal is a post per month, two would be great.

Another goal -- put in at least an hour per day working on trains.

There's a groups.io related to the layout and there are a few posts about the layout there. That doesn't seem to be the proper forum for these personal musings.

First, a little about me: I'm 58 years old, living in the San Francisco Bay area. I'm a semi-retired business journalist. I've been a life-long train nut - model and prototype.

I've built a couple of previous layouts. This started with the obligatory 4'x8' plywood central hosting my first HO Tyco train set. The last operating layout was the Linden Park -- in N scale. I switched from HO to N scale this century. The switch was dictated by a lack of space, a desire for new challenges and a switch in prototype interest. The main driver was the lack of space. 

I started in HO with an interest in the Santa Fe passenger trains. In 1989, I moved from the suburbs of Maryland back to my birthplace, Chicago. There I met some like-minded model railroad friends. We worked on a friend's layout and railfanned at interlocking junctions on the southside. There, began my interest in belt line operations, industrial switching and yard ops. And the B&O was of primary interest. I had been exposed to it when I grew up in Maryland. 

My goal with the B&OCT in N Scale (nope, still doesn't trip off the tongue), is to re-create those belt-line operations. The layout will be much more prototypical than its predecessor, the Linden Park. I have to have some freelance elements because of compromises related to limited space in the 20'x20' garage where it is housed. I'm okay with the compromises -- in its planned state the layout will have three operational yards, four interlocking towers (two cosmetic), four represented railroads (Baltimore & Ohio Chicago Terminal -- B&OCT; Belt Railway of Chicago -- BRC; Manufacturers Junction Railway -- MJ; and the Pennsylvania Railroad's Panhandle Sub-division -- PRR) and hopefully a lot of Chicago flavor.  

Let's get to it: 

The layout is set on the Western Ave. corridor of the B&OCT and PRR Panhandle. The time is February 1971.

Why?

Henry Freeman has bugged me for a few years about my wishy-washy approach to location and era. There’s not much I can do about the physical plant available to me, so I can’t re-create the prototype – unless I build out into the garden. (I don’t want to go into that negotiation with management. We have a pretty good arrangement today.)

Then there’s the issue of era. My original era concept was sometime after Chessie was formed but before Conrail. That’s when I ran into problems. Chessie closed Robey Yard in 1974. So, traffic in my part of the B&OCT world died. I’m not building a model railroad of abandoned track.

I still want to run some scheduled name passenger trains on the railroads that populated Chicago. There had to be enough of them to interfere with freight operations. That pushed the timeline back to before May 1971 – the Amtrak creation date. That was also pre-Chessie. Maybe I could fudge running Chessie System equipment – nope. I'm not willing to make that compromise. I am more of a stickler for detail than I had expected.

It was when Rob Mantler referred me to the Bluford Shops railroad history timeline that my decision solidified.

So, I pushed further into history – February 1971. Here’s why.

1. Emphasizes the more of the purity of the B&O. The Chessie System merger is an idea but three years from execution. So -- bye-bye all Chessie System equipment. (See future post about re-painting locomotives and rolling stock).

2. Can still run B&O & C&O (Pere Marquette) passenger trains. Though at this time they are originating from the C&NW's Northwestern Station. I’ll have one Penn Central (Pennsylvania) passenger train – on re-route out of the north end of Union Station.

3. I’ll have more crossing passenger trains – on the ATSF, IC, Wabash.

4. I’ll need a lot fewer covered hoppers. More freight travelled in box cars – including grain.

5. February 1971 – is pre-Amtrak, post Burlington Northern and also at a time of year rarely modeled. There will be slush, crappy gray snow, poorly plowed streets. No green trees – they will be bare. No flowers.

6. In 1971, Norfolk and Western goes with NW herald. Grand Trunk turns blue (albeit in December), Bicentennial diesels start appearing.

This decision gives more clarity. Now on to the execution.