Bay State Model Railroad Museum

I have been sick for the past several months. But, thanks to some medicine and such I have been feeling a lot better. The down side is that I haven't been inclined to go down to the basement to work on my projects. Instead, I have been binge watching Agatha Christie's Poirot shows starring David Suchet while sitting on my couch with my dog next door.

N scale layout

But, for months I have been planning a trip to the Bay State Model Railroad Museum which is located on the outskirts of Boston, MA. Though they have the word "museum" in their name I get the impression that it is more of a model railroad club then any place designed to have the public. The tight aisle ways confirm this. But, they have been featured in Model Railroader and other magazines multiple times and as I never need a reason to go to Boston (my favorite city) I figured a day trip would be fun. Unfortunately, they are only open to the public once each year during the first weekend in December. This directly conflicts on Sunday with Albany's Great Train Extravaganza train show. So what's a person to do? 

HO scale layout

Well, this year I decided that both could be done in the same weekend even if it meant a lot of driving for a train layout event. So, after drawing a map to the place (I don't have a GPS or even a smart phone... which means either relying on maps or my wife who does have a smart phone) I set off. My wife considered coming but had Christmas choir commitments and had to back out. Her loss, I am sure. The weather was lovely and the trip went well though the museum is located in Roslindale and it really does seem to be a busy place with lots of intersecting roads and one way streets. I thought for sure I was lost but it turns out I wasn't. Thankfully. 

N scale layout

The layouts were in three scales (N, HO, and O) though the HO scale layout featured HOn3 trackage too so I suppose that means three scales in four gauges. They were crammed in the upstairs room of an unassuming building on the corner in a nice little commercial district and had I not known they were located there I surely would have walked right past them. No big signs, no lights, nothing. Parking is either street parking (good luck) or finding a spot in the bank's parking lot across the street (good luck). They appear to be building condos within shouting distance of the place so if you want to live somewhere near three different train layouts and can convince your wife it is a good idea (good luck) this might be the place.

N scale layout

I was first drawn to the N scale layout, which was very well done from a scenery perspective. The trains ran well if not too fast for my personal preference, and clearances with some equipment hadn't apparently been tested as I saw a gorgeous Kato Union Pacific FEF Northern (one of my favorite prototype steam engines) hit a signal gantry bridge and rock it back and forth. N scale trains run as well as, well, N scale trains. Most of the time they performed well but occasionally a derailment here or there occurred. My wife loves N scale trains and I am sure she would have enjoyed the layout. 

O scale trackwork

The roar and thunder of the O scale layout drew me in next, and I saw several long passenger and freight trains go round and round through the area. They also had a city area with in street trackage and lots of trolleys and street cars apparently drawing power from their overhead poles. This seemed to be a bit older and while things worked well the tracks looked beat up and the cars frequently thunked through the frogs. I suppose the real ones did too. They had the typical Thomas the Tank Engine train to the delight of the kids. While I think of it, I believe this is the only layout of the three that made any sort of focus on modeling the Boston area. I don't recall if Boston itself was modeled, but all of the trains were Boston-themed, including the trolleys and Green line subway cars. Their attention to detail with four spikes to the tie on the track was impressive. I enjoyed this layout the most, partly because the trains ran well without stalling or derailments. 

HO scale layout panel

The last layout was the HO layout, but it was so large that it was impossible to see it all at once. Scenery rose from waist high to the ceiling and it morphed and oozed around various corners and alcoves. Some might call it a "bowl of spaghetti" layout and it certainly would be an apt description. It was great fun to watch, but as for serious prototype operations I don't see how it could easily be done. In fact, they operated it in a manner I had never seen before. This layout (and the N scale one) used DCC and for the HO layout operators were scattered around the layout. There were numerous pop up hatches and such to allow them to see what was going on.

HO scale layout

They would pick up trains at certain points and drive them to other points and then stop them, with another operator later to assume control for the next section. Had these changeover points been yards or sidings it might have been prototypical, but instead what happened is that the viewer would see trains parked all over the place and randomly some would start to move around. Because of the layout (pardon the expression) of the aisle ways, you couldn't follow trains around the layout. I really didn't like this at all, but I don't think the place was designed for the public. Look at how far back the operator is buried in the mountain in the picture at right!

O scale layout

It was a fun experience but I was a bit disappointed. I should have seen it coming, but thrown into one room are three large layouts. Put 30 visitors in the room and it is packed, and almost impossible to move. The HO and N layouts were crammed full of track with trains going here and there, and you couldn't tell where they would pop out. That might be fun if you are 12, but to someone who likes to watch a train progress it was frustrating. The HO layout (control panel shown on the right) especially was annoying because it forced you into small areas to see only little pieces of the layout where trains might not ever appear. The O scale layout, on the other hand, wasn't very big but I enjoyed it immensely.   

HOn3 layout

I have seen one other HOn3 layout in person but never watched one operate with trains before. They are tiny, and extremely finicky to any dirt on the rails or bumps in the track. I don't know how they easily access the area to rescue a stalled train.

It was definitely worth the trip, and the $5 was a no-brainer, but I am not sure if or when I will be back. They can't improve much on the HO and N layouts which looked complete. I really like what they did with the place, as they say, but visiting during their holiday open house isn't the best time to really see who they are and what they do.

PS: if you notice most of my pictures don't show moving trains, it is because I am still really lousy at taking indoor shots of a layout with a moving train. Either they are too dark, too bright, too blurry, or all of the above. Grrr.