Chicago Southside

Based exactly where the name says, the location is set around the 47th Street area of Chicago with plenty of modeller's license. Chicago, like London, has many different company lines radiating from it and we are basing the layout on either a UP/CSX joint line or Conrail lines, formerly Chicago & East Illinois or Pennsy lines. We will not be restricting the operating stock to those companies as our aim is to further the advantages and interest of American prototype modelling. Initially the layout will be designed with the period from the mid 80's to late 90's in mind , hopefully extending backwards to the 70's and maybe even earlier by having interchangeable scenery as well as rolling stock; we even intend to invent our own Chicago based short line! The initial idea was put to the club committee by 3 club members who wanted to build another layout to follow on the success of Acton Mainline but who wanted to make full use of the top quality American outline models, mainly diesels, that are available so readily at very competitive prices. It is eventually hoped that it will supplement, not replace, Acton on the exhibition circuit and increase the overall variety of layouts and modelling interest at Croydon MRS. Plans were drawn up and baseboard construction started last year. Individual boards are in effect plywood boxes with 4mm top and bottom surfaces supported and braced with 9mm ply, all joints being glued and pinned giving very strong units which are light and easy to handle. There are 9 boards in total, 4 along the front and 5 at the rear which permits all joints on the layout to be staggered giving a very rigid structure to stand the demands of exhibitions. Boards are located by EM Gauge Society baseboard joiners and are bolted together, the overall size of the layout being 16' x 3' 6" but being easily transportable in average saloon cars rather than requiring the hire of a van. Track laying is progressing at a steady rate but with close to 60 points and some 60 yards of track but is expected to take a while as we are down to a working party of 2 on most nights as one of the original perpetrators has since moved to the coast and visits to the clubroom less frequently. Peco fine scale code 55 track is used throughout and operation will be by conventional cab control rather than DCC. We are keen to hear from other modellers, especially those with some experience/interest in American N gauge, in the area who may wish to visit the Society with a view to joining and helping with this exciting project. If you are interested please contact the Society via our contact link. Some pictures of the early stages of construction are shown herewith. The first baseboard finished Baseboard ends showing aligning system   Fiddle yard baseboard   watch this space for a progress report and see the news page Wiring complete control panels built testing complete Full report in the next few months