Last
updated 30 October 2000Another railroad you can model.
The crossing of two main lines creates need for a good variety of
railroad facilities. Model them in a corner, perhaps.
In my opinion there's an item of interest for every modeler's
tastes in the relatively small area which makes up the New Haven,
RR's complex at Walpole. Mass.
Walpole is today almost as Walpole was back in the Gay Nineties,
although there's a lot less activity and the physical plant is a
little less bright. The famous all-white "Ghost Train"
of the old New York and New England RR. no longer rushes bankers
through Walpole en route between New York and Boston. In its
place, heavy tonnage freights and morning/evening commuter trains
provide today's action.
Walpole depot is located at the junction of what was once the New
Haven's busy main line between Boston and Hartford, Conn., and
the road's Old Colony Division main line between New Bedford and
Lowell, Mass. This part of the Hartford-Boston line supports no
through passenger trains but does have commuter both ways daily
from Blackstone, Mass., into Boston. There are several daily
freights. The New Bedford-Lowell line, running north and south,
has no passenger service today; years ago it was fairly heavily
traveled. Now it does see several heavy freights daily to and
from Framingham and Lowell, where the New Haven interchanges with
the New York Central (Boston & Albany) and the Boston &
Maine respectively.
For the model railroad track plan and operation enthusiast,
Walpole offers a simple yet interesting layout. There is a
crossing at an angle of approximately 68 degrees. On three sides
of it are connecting tracks between the two lines. There is a
modest classification and storage yard, some single and double
trackage, a handful of industrial sidings, and a freighthouse
spur.
Standard semaphone signaling is used for the approaches to the
crossing; dwarf semaphores control movement in the yard and on
the crossovers and junction tracks. The simple, uncomplicated
signal arrangement is ideal for adding the detail that is often
lacking in model railroad crossings.
A variety of industries are represented in the Walpole layout,
all within hailing distance of the L-shaped depot at the
crossing. In addition to the freight-house spur, which
accommodates three or four cars, there is a large sand and gravel
pit on a model of Walpole. It could produce many loadings of
hopper or gondola cars. A rather crestfallen but appealing coal
trestle still receives an occasional cement hopper. In years gone
by it was loaded with copper cars of Pennsylvania coal. Several
warehouse spurs receive and originate cars. At the Lowell end of
the trackage is a large lumberyard which receives boxcars,
gondolas, and flatcars with various loads. Just behind the depot
is the large plant of Kendall Mills' Fiber Products Division. Its
large modern plant accounts for a number of boxcars every time a
switcher gets into action. Part of the Kendall spur is on a
trestle equipped to receive fuel oil tank cars.
Because of Walpole's strategic location at the junction of two
main lines, a snow flanger is kept on a spur near the depot
during winter months.
The variety of structures at Walpole provides both challenge and
some interesting designs for the structure scratch-builder. The
Kendall plant is modern in construction: brick and concrete,
several floors high. The Kendall warehouse, situated near the
freight yard, is a large one-floor steel and concrete building
easily modeled, and adaptable to any layout.
The L-shaped Walpole depot is a classic of Gay Nineties
construction. It was built in 1893 and is of wood frame
construction with a slate roof. Although time and the elements
have taken their toll, the station still shows many of the
gingerbread details which tickle many a modeler's fancy.
The station's L shape is distorted to fit the broad side of the
68-degree crossing angle. The two sections of the L thus join at
a 112-degree angle, and at the corner is a second-story tower.
Although unused today, it was apparently designed to be a signal
tower. At present all signals are remotely controlled from the
combination ticket office and block station on the first floor.
Today the depot houses the operator, a waiting room for the daily
commuters, and space for some elements of the maintenance-of-way
department. The baggage rooms at either end are no longer used.
On the platform a short distance away from the main building is a
companion structure, a tiny Railway Express building that is
abandoned and closed. It still bears many elements of
architectural design which made buildings of the 1890's
distinctive. Across the crossing from the station are several
small maintenance-of-way section sheds where supplies and
handcars are (or once were) stored.
The freight station is served by its own siding along the main
line toward Boston, a few hundred yards from the passenger
station. It has a floor-height freight car loading platform.
Still farther toward Boston another spur serves a diminutive New
England-style grain elevator, a reminder of the days when Walpole
was a center of agriculture and grain was a far more important
local commodity than it is in New England today. The building
still functions as a feed store and farm and building supply
outlet. Several boxcars are generally spotted beside its
trackside loading docks. The building design is simple, and its
compactness makes it especially adaptable for a model railroad.
About 1/8 mile toward Boston from the freight station is what is
known to many as the "Kissing Bridge." It is actually a
tunnel about 100 feet long under Massachusetts highway 1A. It
gets its name from a local legend: it seems that back in the
nineties, an amorous passenger about to detrain in Walpole would
steal a kiss from his commuting sweetheart who got off farther
toward Hartford. The tunnel's momentary blackness afforded the
perfect cover. One day, the story goes, when the local steamed
through the tunnel, the passenger kissed the wrong commuter. The
details of what ensued have been lost in the haze of time, but
the nickname for the tunnel still remains.
The tunnel was once double-tracked. With the advent of wider
equipment, double-track operation was impossible, so a gantlet
arrangement served for many years: the two tracks merged and ran
interlaced through the bore, then separated. No provision was
made for traffic to change tracks. As time wore on, the gantlet
was removed and the entire line reverted to single track.
Where can you model such a crossing scene on the average layout?
Many of the so-called "figure 8" layouts or their
modifications would obviously lend themselves beautifully to
building a scene like Walpole, or some portion of it. My own
layout plan envisions using the crossing tracks to fill in a dead
space at the corner of the layout. The crossing trackage will
merely be extended tangents from a large sweeping curve. I'll be
able to use the freight yard and the sidings, and switch many of
the combinations. I'll still have space to model many of the
scenic and structure ideas that my visits to Walpole have
produced.
Who knows? My Boston-bound Budd car may have an amorous cast-lead
passenger who has fallen in love with a beautiful hand-painted
lady commuter - and I'll have to build a "Kissing
Bridge."
Last
updated 30 October 2000