Prototype Modelling on the 1951 Maine Central by Richard Gibson January 18, 2023

The January program will be presented by club member Richard Gibson. Richard will present prototype modeling on the 1951 MEC: a mixture of accuracy, guesswork, and compromise. Richard’s current HO scale layout is a circa-1951 representation of the Maine Central (MEC) Rockland branch, located in coastal Maine northeast of Portland. The aim of constructing this layout is to (1) model key portions of this scenic line so that they are recognizable and (2) to reproduce the operational experience of the prototype. Construction began during 2015 in Billings, MT and the layout was moved to the Denver area after 16 months, where it was re-assembled and expanded to occupy a roughly 1000 sq ft space. In this presentation, Richard will briefly outline the prototype setting and his criteria for layout design. Then, we will take a photographic tour of both the prototype and the model as a basis for discussing the research, uncertainties, and compromises inherent in prototype layout design and construction. Finally, Richard will cover operational aspects, including train control, scheduling, and car forwarding.