During the Summer of 2007, while packing and demolition proceeded at Stoney Creek, a committee of members met weekly on an additional night to plan and discuss the new layout. A significant majority of club members participated in the planning project, and it was a very positive experience for all concerned... just what we needed to boost our spirits while spending Tuesday evenings tearing down our old layout.
Starting with an evaluation of what we did and didn't like about the Skyway layout, a firm consensus quickly emerged that the new layout should continue to model Hamilton in the 1950s, and with an even tighter focus than before. A key decision, given the smaller space available and our desire to have a layout we could actually finish in our lifetimes, was to focus on the TH&B, with Canadian National, Canadian Pacific and New York Central limited to trackage rights (as on the prototype) and live interchanges to get cars on and off the layout.
An early-summer operating session on John Spring's home layout was also influential, convincing us that TH&B Hamilton Terminal operations were more than enough to maintain the interest of a large operating crew.
To maximise the layout space available, another early decision was to put our staging yard (largely salvaged from Stoney Creek) in the lounge, with workbenches and storage underneath. (Track is about 51" off the floor, so this under-layout space is quite usable.) We also decided to adapt David Barrows' "domino" technique to build in a way that some complete scenes could be saved if the layout needs be moved in the future. Again.
Many members felt that the Stoney Creek layout had too much hidden trackage, and that hidden switches were especially problematic. The new layout minimises hidden track, and eliminates hidden switches entirely. There is one long section of hidden track from the west end of Aberdeen Yard, behind the Welland backdrop to staging. (The topmost blue line in the track plan above.) The only other hidden track is the entirely prototypical Hunter Street tunnel.
As before, staging represents Buffalo and Toronto (and now will be used for Brantford, Waterford, London, and Goderich). TH&B, NYC, and CNR trains from Buffalo enter the layout on New York Central/CASO track in Welland, The TH&B’s home rails begin after crossing Bridge 15 on the third Welland Canal, reaching Hamilton via Smithville and Stoney Creek.
Hamilton comprises the entire remainder of the layout, beginning with Kinnear Yard, where trains are marshalled for the Belt Line. (A wye at Kinnear is upside down and backwards, and the Belt Line is compressed almost out of existence, but gives access to our large Stelco scene.) Past Kinnear, the mainline passes Victoria Ave yard - where there is another live CNR interchange, from Ferguson Ave - and the Forest Ave freight shed, before reaching Hunter Street. The Hunter Street scene is recreated much as it was at our Skyway layout, and is the first scene visitors see when entering the layout room.
Passing Hunter St station and coach yard, trains travel through the Hunter St tunnel, the only active mainline railway tunnel in Ontario. Coming out into a deep cut, the main passes Chatham St locomotive terminal and Aberdeen Yard, the operational hub of TH&B freight traffic. Aberdeen has two busy yard crews working each shift, one of which will also switch Dundas on the H&D branch. Leaving the west end of Aberdeen, trains will go on to Toronto (yes, we know that's not quite right...) via the hidden trackage to staging.
A Hamilton layout really has to feature steel making, and we have dedicated a 28’-long x 18”-deep scene to Stelco, with its own switcher as well as a yard served by the TH&B. (The steel mill scene on the layout is adjacent to the mainline between the Hunter St tunnel and Chatham St engine terminal. In reality, they are several miles apart.)
The HOMES club has long had a close relationship with the TH&B Historical Society: their archives are kept in our club room, and many of our members are also members of the TH&B HS. The club needs to acknowledge the tremendous assistance of the TH&B HS, and especially their archivist, Lance Brown, in the planning process. Having access to prototype track plans and other documents made a huge difference in the planning process. Hunter St, Aberdeen Yard, and Welland are just some of the places where we were able to copy (with selective compression) the prototype track arrangements almost verbatim.
