Last weekend, I took a road trip across the border to do some research for my layout. I’ve spent a crazy amount of time digging through Doug Kroll’s website called RR-Road Trip while researching the North Tonawanda locale for the home layout I’m building. I decided it was time to actually meet the man.
Doug was kind enough to spend last Sunday afternoon driving me around North Tonawanda. He took me to all of the places that are crucial to my layout’s theme. Each time we stopped the car, he provided anecdotal recollections, all the while referring to maps and photos that he took in the 1970s. I asked plenty of questions and took ample notes. I feel much better positioned to move ahead with the layout, now that I have more detailed insight to the operational patterns and physical layout of the place.
It rained the whole time we toured around town, so I didn’t bother trying to take photos. I’ll be going back some time in July so that I can grab some shots of the key buildings in town. There are few structures still standing, but I’ll take what I can get. In the meantime, here’s photo that Doug Kroll posted to RailPictures.Net which depicts a scene I hope to recreate. A trio of St. Thomas-based GMD geeps rolls through North Tonawanda on July 21, 1974. One I’ve acquired another Genesis GP9, I’ll get to work on building a representation of this lashup. With Doug’s help, I hope to get the scene right too.
The Niagara Branch 