Just imagine…

When we construct the plausible reality that our model railways exist within we might draw upon direct inspiration from a single prototype or a medley of greatest hits…

Incomplete but this is all there is…

Coalbridge Street is certainly the latter. Secondhand sources gleaned from my Tom Nelligan book with a healthy dose of the Claremont and Concord of course… the Wantage Tramway perhaps less obviously overlaid across the scene creating some faux history that becomes just about plausible!

So when I came across this video (below) I was taken with how similar these scenes were to what I had in mind when I dreamt up this small shortline…

I had heard of the Narraganset Pier Railroad but wasn’t familiar with its operation - nor its character. Squint a little and you could be enjoying the Wantage Terminal though… just imagine, the GE45t sounds busy as it scurries along the lightweight rail which protests under the heavy ‘modern’ 40ft steel box car the little locomotive is playing with in the yard. Sleepers creak and rails shiver, wheels scrape and the little GE’s horn and bell accompany the frequent crossing of the barely metalled road. 

Enjoy the 8 minutes of silent colour 8mm footage in this video. There are plenty of other New England gems in his collection if you need to pass some time today, if not to visit again in the future. Until next time, more soon…

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