As many of you may know I have an extensive trolley layout and a modest railroad layout. The latter was begun 20 years ago when I wanted to show the function of how people were transported between cities by rail and from the station into the city by trolley cars. My solution was to create the appearance of a railroad station with a couple of platform tracks and a place to display some of my passenger cars at the end of the trolley loop. Over time this grew from an around the basement wall simple loop to added function like a freight yard, passenger car storage yard, and electric motor storage yard all covered with overhead catenary.
For lack of space I started by creating a set of card stock drawings of the New Haven railroad station and use the front drawings to create a model flat against the end wall. I should mention that the flat is reduced in width by two window columns on each side and one large waiting room window in the center.
The other major difference I had to contend with is that on the prototype the tracks are at the back of the station and the access to them was from an underground passage way. To create my loop I had to lower the railroad height so it would pass under the trolley layout. My compromise was to create an outdoor plaza above the tracks that linked the two layouts together in a logical way. I then had to create a plaza in from to illustrate the activity of the station
In photo #1 shows an overview of the area with the trolley dropping off and picking up travelers in front of the station
Photo #2 shows the access by steps or ramp from the street to the plaza and access to the four platform tracks from the plaza.
Photo#3 is a close up of the plaza area. The intent is to display some of the typical waiting room functions on the plaza.
Photos#4 & 5 show the latest additions which are the newspaper stand and the vintage wooden telephone booths. Details on these street details are given on my Westport Model Works website.
For now I consider the plaza finished, however I am considering adding a coffee and take out stand.
