Jacques Huppé’s Ontario New England

  Jacques’ Ontario New England depicts a route from Ottawa, Ontario to Portland, Maine in its entirety.  This operations-oriented layout is double tiered, helix connected at its midpoint and includes several major yards and industrial centres along its route, as well as 6 staging areas.  An interesting feature is an operating car ferry operation that adds considerable operational interest to the railroad.

   This ambitious project which started in late 1995 and is well on its way, currently enabling full operation over considerable hand laid trackage, with scenery and structures developing in full swing.  There are now 70 decoder-equipped locos and over 25 consists of up to 3 locos active on the layout with more to come.

   Standing trackside, Railfans enjoy a tremendous variety of trains and operations including long freights, some as long as 17 feet, locals, milk trains, passenger and commuter service and lots of local industrial and ferry switching.

   Operating sessions have been regularly scheduled once every four weeks for several years now with as many as 16 people in a session.  The crew and dispatcher quarters are in a separate area from the layout itself.  Rolling stock must meet standards before being allowed on the layout: correct coupler height, correct weight, free rolling truck and wheels, and the like.