THE TWO FOOTERS                    

The Westville Creamery gained its name from the section of Taunton we live in and the potential future home of an ice cream stand we hope to open.

The railroad will be a traditional loop/oval.  The two parallels will run the length of my back yard, one on either side; the Radius, one between the house and the backyard fireplace, the other to the rear of the yard in the woods.

In this photo, you can see a section of 2' gauge panel track; this is the future area of Westville Creamery's single stall engine house.

As read in many past articles of The Two Footer, I (like many others) started out with the same beginnings.  My first train was a wind up that operated on a brown plastic track. Christmas of '75, Santa brought me my first Tyco HO layout, and within weeks my parents and I had it together operating in an oval on the stereotype 4'x8' plywood board covered with the green grass sheet of paper.

Over time, it gained houses and industry that my mom enjoyed building. My dad and I stuck to adding track and completing the wiring.

With each Christmas and birthday, more equipment was added to the layout. By the summer of '80, the oval had developed into Atlas Super Pretzel with 2 power packs and numerous operating blocks. That same year, my father and I joined a model railroad club: Down East Model Railroad Association, North Carver, Mass.

Through the club, we made countless acquaintances and lifelong friends.  Incidentally my Grandfather on my mom's side was the City Engineer, in Attleboro, Mass.  As they say, trains and railroading were in my blood; Grandpa had a layout in his basement amongst a machine shop. When we would visit on Sundays, we would venture into the basement, and he'd let me operate his "O" Scale Layout that took up the length by half the basement. The rest of the basement was used for a machine shop.  My grandfather dabbled in gun smithing, building operational stationary steam engines and building much of his rolling stock.

Before leaving, my Grandfather, dad and I would take a walk across the way up an abandoned trolley line to Amtrak's Northeast Corridor.  Grandpa had befriended the crew at the interlocking tower there in Attleboro.

What a treat when one Sunday the gang let me throw a couple of the interlocking levers to redirect a passing train.

Not just for building structures, my mom encouraged my love for railroading; each day after school, she would take me over to a local warehouse. A Penn Central local would be making the interchange of loaded and empty cars. It wasn't long before the engineer started letting me ride in the cab, and I became the official horn blower for the crossings. Okay, so maybe that doesn't sound very good, but you know what I mean.

It was back at the model train club that my future of large-scale railroading began. One of the old timers brought pictures of a local live steam club for guys to see. Soon thereafter, my parents started taking me to Waushakum, Holliston, Mass., about twice a year.

After acquiring my drivers license, I made more frequent trips back to Waushakum to see the 3/4" and 1" scale steamers haul many people on the skateboard-like flat cars on the high line.

It wasn't until college that I would see my childhood dream come true.
 
My parents loaned me some money to make an investment into what was at the time the fastest computer on the market for running AutoCAD, a 386 tower; needless to say, my parents were taken back when I came home with a Little Engine's Pacific instead … Hmmm, looking back, a better investment.

Bringing you to present day, I stayed in the Live Steam hobby up until 3 years ago when I sold my equipment to acquire a Full Size Standard Gauge Fairmont MT-19. The summer of '04, my railcar saw many miles polishing abandoned as well as mainline rail.

Spring of last year, I had a health wake up call when I was involved in a serious truck accident.  That put a damper on the rest of that year’s activities, railroad related and otherwise. 

I swore that this year would be one of many highs. In January, my fiancée and I closed on a home in Taunton, Mass., and also the future home of the Westville Creamery Light Railway.  You might ask yourself, what got me on the kick for 2' gauge …After getting my first railcar, I came across 6 sections of a 24" gauge panel track at a local cranberry bog, where the land was being developed and the land owner thought I was doing him a favor by getting rid of the scrap steel … I'm glad that's what he was thinking.

I initially used the panels 2 by 2 next to each other to create a platform to keep the rail car wheels off the ground.  Before the 6 pieces, as many of you, I too am huge fan of Edaville past and present.  Last year I made a visit to the Bucksagudah & Western to pick up 2 railcar trailers … perhaps it was then that the bug bit.  Possibly later, when leaving town almost under the cover of darkness, Jenn and I happened upon the Teaberry and Southern "where 2' Gauge is Standard".

As of late, I started rebuilding a few pairs of 20" gauge trucks, collecting 16 & 20# rail and looking forward to getting a start on the railway.

There is a bit of earth work to be done before ballast is spread and ties get placed.

Through past issues of The Two Footers, I have been in contact with the Freemans, Tom Dickey and a few others.  All have been helpful and encouraging.  I look forward to making contact with more of you in the 2' gauge realm of railroading.  If ever in the area, Jenn and I open an extended invitation for you to stop by and see the progress of the Westville Creamery Light Railway.

I own a 600 mm (1.9685 feet) railroad over here in Finland, and I found your interesting page!

My railroad is at this moment about 70 meters long.  I have one locomotive and 6 wagons.  The locomotive was built by VMT lentokonetehdas back in 1947.

If I translate the name of the factory into English, its name will be ValMeT aircraft-factory.

The model of my locomotive is Move 1A.

Planning is underway for the 2007 Two Footers Convention!   We have only heard back from a few of the members regarding the trip and would like to hear from more of the membership.

Tentative Schedule:

August 9-12, Depart Thursday return on Sunday

Thursday

·         Travel day to central New Hampshire.

·         Overnight in area.

·         The stops for the bus are dependent upon the folks that will be attending the convention.  As of now, Saint Marys is the western most starting point unless more members further west sign up.  There will be a stop close to I-80 to pick up the “Williamsport gang”.

 Friday

·         Clarks Trading Post. North Woodstock NH. Std. gage geared steam excursion.

·         Conway Scenic Railroad, Conway NH. Standard Gauge Steam excursion on “Valley Train”.

·         Maine Narrow gauge Rail Museum, Portland ME. Possible early evening or dinnertime excursion.

·         Over night in Portland area.

 Saturday

·         Boothbay Railway Village, Boothbay, ME.

·         (optional) Std Gauge Excursion on Maine Eastern Railroad, Wiscasset, ME.

·         WW&F Railway Museum, Alna ME.

For those that do not share the passion for trains that most of us do, there may be an  option of being dropped off in Wiscasset and/or Boothbay to sight see on Saturday.  

 Sunday

·         Return home. Optional shortstop at Steamtown based on bus vote.

It looks as of now, there will be enough people that this trip will happen, so we need to know by October who’s planning on attending.  After that, it will be first come first serve. Also a deposit will be required by February, and a cost estimate looks to be $300 to $400 a person.

The Two Footers
534 Armory Road
St. Marys, PA  15857

tpbauer@alltel.net
or
tom@thetwofooters.com

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