EXPO 2013 Layout Tour #3

This beautiful city scene on Bill's layout features a downtown scene built on a hill so typical of New England towns and cities and a large stone mill  that generates a lot of rail traffic.

Bill Duffe's LKJ&W (Boston & Maine)....by Don Janes

     On Sunday Nov.10 George and I had planned to visit three layouts before heading home after a great week of layout tours, railfanning and the Model RR EXPO.  We stayed in Sturbridge, MA so we could start bright and early at Jason Fontaine's layout in nearby Charlton, MA which George has already covered.  Our next stop was at Bill Dufee's layout in East Hampton, MA.  I had last seen Bill's layout in 2006 while attending the West Springfield Model Train show and told George he would really like what he was going to see.  Since that last visit Bill has added another whole room to his already sprawling layout.  The new section depicts high, tree covered New England mountains and a town with several trackside industries nestled along a swift flowing river.

     Bill was a very gracious host and we had a very enjoyable conversation about his layout.  He really likes operation and you can tell this by the railroad yards and the many industries on the layout that are served by rail.  Bill has a real eye for creating realistic New England scenes.  He has also built a very nice representation of the Troy, NY Union Station in one section of the layout.  Unfortunately my photos of that didn't turn out too well.  

     I must add that we saw seven layout while on our trip and every single one of them was excellent with a very high degree of modelling skill. All the layout owners were very welcoming and friendly and I hope we can stay in touch with them over the years.

The focal point of this scene is the South River Modelworks Cambridge Crossing station.   Just about every layout we visited had a version of this kit on it.  It is a replica of the D&H Cambridge, NY station, now on the Battan Kill RR.  George and I visited this station on our trip and it is still in excellent condition.

This is another of Bill's impressive mill scenes which includes one if the very common canals built to help prevent flood damage during heavy rains and winter runoff.

These two photos show both ends of one of the freight yards on Bill's layout.  Note how he has used large building flats for industries located along the wall.

This hotel is part of the SRMW Cambridge Crossing kit and it's prototype still stands in North Hampton, MA

Well detailed mini scenes like this can be found all around the layout.  Bill pays very close attention to small details.

This is a newer structure Bill has added to the layout.  It is O.V.Hooker & Son released by SRMW about three years ago.  It is a multi- level structure and Bill has modified it by adding its wooden extension to the frame structure in the background.

Bill is seated at his dispatcher's panel.  Some of his handiwork can be seen in the background.