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This is another shot of the passenger yard. BC 622
is a converted
Flyer Hudson. The NYC F-unit is an Enhorning unit. BC 85 is the Rex 'suburban'
leaving town with a two car commuter train.
This photo shows a passenger train with B&M F-units
on it in front of the Shawmut station. Shawmut was the railroad headquarters.
The station was scratchbuilt by Bill Boucher from plans of a Southern Pacific
station. This was always a focal point on Tom's layout, for obvious reasons
as the station is beautiful.
The second photo shows the same train on the mainline above Shawmut, passing a coal mine that Tom kitbashed from a Plasticville coaling tower and an HO AHM coal mine. Tom had many industries on his railroad to generate plenty of business for the BC. The passenger train has B&M F-units, a BC combine, a New Haven coach kitbashed from American Flyer coaches, and a PRR coach. The coach yard at Shawmut is in the foreground.
Here is 2-6-0 #277 on a short passenger train making
a meet with a freight train. This area was on the opposite side of the basement
from
Shawmut and had another freight yard to switch in. There were three yards on
the layout, and even then it wasn't enough to hold all of the cars that Tom
had!
This photo shows what was on the head end of the freight that #277 met in the last photo - BC #975 was an ex NKP Berkshire that Tom built from an S Scale Loco & Supply kit. This engine weighed a ton and would pull anything out of the yard that Tom put on the drawbar.
This photo shows the last engine acquired by the Berkshire Central. FP-7 1501 is sitting in front of the Shawmut station just after delivery to the BC. Tom's son Tommy had given him an American Models Union Pacific FP-7 for the previous Christmas, and since U.P. was not a good 'fit' with the BC, I offered to paint the engine for Tom. Much to my chagrin, the day I called up Tom to tell him the engine was finished, he told me he had sold the entire railroad lock, stock and crosstie to Bob Wall!! I took the engine over and we ran it on the layout, and I took a few photos of it. Later after Bob had removed the layout from the house, I took a bunch of 8x10 prints of Tom's layout over to him. He was delighted to have them, and before I left that day, Tom said "Just a minute, I have something for you". He then presented me with #1501! I still have it. It needs new trucks and DCC installed so I can run it on the club layout.
This photo shows more of the Shawmut station. The short freight
train sitting in front of the station is mine, on short term lease to the BC.
The engine is an Overland Models Alco S-2, followed by a River Raisin covered
hopper, an American Models boxcar and an Overland Models caboose.
Here is another shot taken at the Shawmut station. One of the commuter trains pulled by BC 85 leaves the station. Those open platform cars that Tom had on the two commuter trains were not wood kits. I believe they were made of copper! Sorry, but I can't remember the name of the company that made them.
