Setting a path to achievable goals for this year will be helpful to stay focused on completing specific modeling projects and keeping the Berkshire layout moving forward.
There are six locations on the layout to be modeled. I have tended to jump around from one location to another as my interests suite me doing a little here and there, this all helps but has not brought any one of these locations to any state of completion.
Danbury Connecticut
Modeling efforts for 2016 will focus on completing the Danbury CT. diorama. This location is the busiest and offers the most interesting operations on the layout and makes sense to complete first.
Structures
Several of the "signature" structures that always appear in prototype photos of Danbury and therefore necessary to correctly model the area at the station and adjacent yard have already been built.
The majority of yet to be built structures no longer exist, of these some have been well photographed in whole or part and others only in the back ground of a different subject.
Many structures changed in configuration, color and condition in the decades that the New Haven Railroad operated at Danbury. Discovering what the appearance was of these structures in the era of the layout has been a challenge but the research has been fun and interesting. Some of the model structures with be constructed with the best guesstimation possible with the information gathered to date. Inevitably a photo will surface as soon as a model has been completed proving it wrongly built, if it can be fixed easily it well, if not oh well!
Trackage
All the trackage has been installed and ballasted with the exception of the turntable leads. The turntable is a Walthers powered unit, it will need much revamping to make it look something like the one at Danbury.
Equipment
There are two equipment projects well under way that pertain to operations at Danbury. Actually they have been under way for way to long and will be finished.
Pictured below are a pair of New Haven EP-3 motors that are being scratch built from styrene plastic and fitted to modified Bachmann GG1 power chassis.
These motors operated on passenger trains between Grand Central Terminal located on Manhattan Island in New York, New York and Danbury CT.
These are complete with the exception of rivet decals and paint. One will be painted in the 50's "Cat Whiskers" scheme and the other in the mid 50's "McGinnis" scheme pending finding correct decals for ether scheme.
Below is a project that completion is long overdue. This is a 4400 series multiple unit coach or "MU". These are also referred to as "Washboards" for the stainless side fluting.
On the layout this unit will cover the daytime shuttle service between Danbury and South Norwalk CT.
The Model is a resin cast body by Dave's Custom Trains & Supplies mounted on a Proto 1000 RDC power chassis.
Several modifications to the ends of the resin body have been made and the cast on roof details have been sanded off and scratch built replacements take their place.
The unit is ready for paint, the Alclad 2 metal finishes system is being considered for the stainless sides.
Although not Danbury specific, one other goal is to turn the seating 180 degrees in about 1/3 of the acquired fleet of Rapido 10 window Osgood Bradley coach and smoker cars so that the seating is not all orientated in the same direction of travel in relation to the lavatory windows. Nuts? Maybe so, I just think it looks un-prototypical if a consist of these passenger cars are all facing the same direction. Window shades will also be added.
Hard to tell in the photo below without an out of the box car for comparison, but the seating in this car has been turned 180, shades are next.
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