Beginning in the January 2013 issue of Model Railroader you’ll learn about the Winter Hill Branch of the Milwaukee, Racine & Troy. Over the next few months you’ll can also watch video journals taken during the construction of this Model Railroader staff project. In part 1, associate editor Steve Otte gives you an overview of the finished layout and senior editor Jim Heidger describes operation on the branch line. You’ll also get a look at what the area looked like before track and scenery work began.
Building Model Railroader’s Winter Hill Quarry Branch, part 1
By Angela Cotey | November 19, 2012
| Last updated on November 23, 2020
First look at the new Model Railroader staff project model train layout
What a wonderful BD gift! The challenge was where to start As the MR staff offers so many videos! My wife asked if I had tried to search. Duh, so I typed quarry and found Winter Hill. It fits my needs so well it is uncanny! My hoppers take ship larger stone to a rock crusher elsewhere on the layout. Does that happen in the prototype? Love loading cars from road!
Perfect. I just finished building 6 more 33' WM hoppers for my limestone quarry to Alpha Cement operations. I need a quarry! I have pulled out the Jan – April 2013 issues of MR and ready to get to work. Thanks for this great project!
I have just joined MR Video plus and am a little annoyed that the videos are not sequential or linked to play one after the other. The related videos for this are Athearn Trains HO Scale GP40-2L diesel locomotive, The Roundhouse:Episode 20 and Ron Pearsons HO Scale narrow gauge East Broad Top RR. One would expect that the Related Videos would be the others in the series. All of the Cody's Workshop and Cody's Office videos should be linked as well. It seems like a waste of time to have to go searching out the next video in the series when it's such a simple thing to do.
I am modeling a junction that is freelanced it will represent Daggett Junction on the Union Pacific and BNSF back in the 80s before the caboose was phased out this will be in N Scale. structures will be a warehouse, a fuel transfer terminal, and a gravel pit in Yarmo California
The Milwaukee Racine and Troy is the best layout in ho scale I have ever saw I have use the idea of makeing a open industry like that in my ho scale Union Pacific layout I have made a industry my regent chemicals transfer yard has a pikes stuff office and a shop and the company receives hydrocloric acid in tank cars and in drums. and it was a back now It is open. like my club members are like we have never heard of that before and my girl frend likes it so good job mr magizine and take care
good to see Winter Hill gets a new life. back when David took us on a tour of Bay Junction Layout on the Bay Junction Switcher there was nothing here. the mine loader at Larson Stone was too big for the tracks cars could not runaround. the Pit did not exist and as for Continental Building Materials it was not built yet and the boxcars had to be set out on the siding with no way to unload. fast forward to 2013 the Larson Stone mine loader has been replaced (good work Jim on kit bashing those Glacier Gravel loaders to assemble it) and now most of the mine equipment has been replaced along with a loader and dump trucks plus the Pit is starting to be mined (good work David,Cody,Jim,and Steve on the details. and last but not least Continental Building Materials is open for business and that CSX boxcar from Bay Junction Layout now has a place to go including two new jobs plus the Bay Junction Switcher (good work on the shingle plant Steve) T11 which is the ballast train that takes rock to the Soo via WSOR, the Oil Train which brings asphalt oil from Bay Junction to Winter Hill for the shingle plant,and the Bay Junction Switcher which picks up and drops boxcars from the shingle plant and hoppers from Larson Stone when T11 is not switching it. Good work MR keep those layouts coming we rail fans like them.
Good instruction on this project! I'm making a project sort of like this one but it's an aluminum crusher plant.
Thanks MR!
This is one of my favorite MR project layouts so far. We have a stone quarry here in Connecticut not too far from us on the Providence & Worcester line and after reading about Winter Hill I'm considering modeling it.
After watching from the start of the video thru about 01:03, I started to smell a very strange smell, then I suddenly realized that Cody's stare had started my hair on fire! Half of it was burned away by the time I dumped my Pepsi on it!!..
I don't have anything to offer except to say Thank you for allowing me to appreciate and enjoy. It's a genuine privilage.
I got real excited about this project..i've
been thinking for a while about a gravel pit / quarry project and this project gave me the push I needed to start my own…Thanks for the great work!!!
its a great idea cant wait to see the progress of your new project
I can't figure out how this quarry works.As far as I can see in real life it can't work.I'm trying to install it in my new layout and things don't work out
Gret idea of the open shingle plant towards the fassia.I love detailing buildings and interiors.It would be a good article to show everyone just how you did yours.
Excellent choice on naming the new crushed rock facility for Russ Larsen. It is a fitting tribute that I hope carries through the remainder of the layout.
Another fine project. I'm very interested in this one, I would like to copy this layout plan. I'm thinking of adapting it for a coal mine, I would use a coal flood loader in-place of the gravel loader. It's one of those small sections with a lot of potential. It would be a lot of fun switching and making up trains to head out onto the mainline.
Keep up the great work.
First time at this site. Nice to meet the crew and some old faces that up to now have only been static faces. The info is also of great help. thanks to all. Will keep on learning from the xperts!
Where to place uncouplers would be a great tip.
This is yet another great project railroad. I have just stated my basic benchwork and am finalizing my track plans. One question that has been raised by others, when you develop a plan it would be grat if you could indicate possible places where uncouplers would go. I am currently trying to find information on uncoupler placements especially in yards. Maybe Codie could do a "tip" on uncoupler placement for us… (hint)
A very interesting video. Can you show us the track plan for this project? I'm interested it seeing how the run around works from an overhead view.
Good Ideas and a nice layout.
Happy New Year
Learning lots about requirements for an operational branch as a useful by product to the construction info. Keep it up, this is great. Thanks for it all.
A lot of great ideas here from Expanding existing scenery, using an open manufactoring facility on the edge of the Layout, a short runaround track, and Several other things to apply to our own layouts. This sure would be a major winter project for most of us. At least you guys have a full staff to help each other out.
Nice!
Talking about dedicatet boys!!
hay what about the o-gauge train layouts they are a big thing in the usa