Mike

Mike’s Western Route of the B&M depicts the fictitious town of North Dover, NH located just outside the real Dover about halfway between Boston, Mass. and Portland, Maine. The layout incorporates an active interchange with the Maine Central Railroad which has been granted trackage rights through the town.

Standing trackside, rail fans enjoy a tremendous variety of trains and operations including long through freights, locals, milk trains, passenger and commuter service and lots of local industrial switching. Examine Mike’s unique “surround staging” concept and you will witness these kinds of operations taking place realistically in a relatively small room.

The layout occupies an 11x13 foot basement room. A new – and larger – crew lounge has recently been completed offering comfortable surroundings for the many operators who visit for regular Friday night operating sessions.

Mike began the layout in January 1997 and was running operating sessions within a month. His layout is completely scenicked to a high degree of standard although Mike tells us that he continues to strive to enhance the many scenes and vignettes around North Dover.

Mike’s layout has twice been featured in Model Railroader Magazine's annual issues: Model Railroad Planning 2001 and Great Model Railroads 2004. It was also recently showcased by the local TV show Regional Contact.

Above illustration taken from Model Railroader: Model Railroad Planning 2001

	Scale:	HO
	Size:	11 x 13 feet
	Prototype:	B&M with Maine Central Interchange
	Locale:	Southeastern New Hampshire
	Period:	Late 50’s – Early 60’s
	Layout Style:	Single-level with surround staging, full valence, lighting
	Layout Height:	48 inches
	Benchwork:	L-girder on cantilever brackets
	Roadbed:	Cork on plywood sub-roadbed
	Track:	Micro Engineering code 70 and 83 flextrack
	Turnouts:	Number 6
	Minimum radius:	31 inches
	Length of mainline:	27 visible + 40 staging = 67 feet total
	Scenery:	Carved foam, plaster rocks
	Backdrop:	1/8 inch hardboard
	Power System:	Digitrax DCC
	Operations:	Switch lists, two man crews
	Typical Operating Crew	1 to 3

Mike is always smiling when he's in his train room! Photo: Bob Farquhar
Take a Guided Tour of the Line We begin at the north end of the subdivision, on a bluff overlooking the New England River:	An ardent railfan managed to capture a B&M RDC approaching the New England River Bridge. Photo: Peter Cunningham		Two GP9's are in care of an outbound train from Boston as it crosses the New England River Bridge. Photo: Bob Farquhar
Southbound B&M E7 #1304 pierces Marshall Cut at milepost 39 with passenger train #15, "The Downeaster" Photo:Bob Farquhar		We catch this pair of yet-unnumbered FT's exiting Marshall Cut. The foreground track is the Conley Lumber siding. Photo: Peter Cunningham
B&M crew switching out Conley Lumber and Coal Photo: Peter Cunningham	The siding at Conley Lumber and Coal is an active place on this day. Photo: Bob Farquhar		At the Howard St. overpass, the Maine Central crosses the B&M. Photo: Bob Farquhar
We spot the St. Clare and Northern 44-tonner crossing the Salmon River Bridge on the outskirts of North Dover. Photo: Peter Cunningham	The locals frequent the outdoor deck of the town's legion hall located on the banks of the Salmon River while a group of expectant swans await a noontime snack! Photo: Bob Farquhar		We spot Bluebird # 1746 crossing the Salmon River outside North Dover. Photo: Peter Cunningham
B&M GP9 # 1746 leads train N2, the Newsboy into North Dover at the Boundary Rd. crossing. Photo: Peter Cunningham	An enterprising railfan snapped this shot of an RS2 shuffling cars around town. Photo: Peter Cunningham		Holy Spirits Distillery is a busy industry! Photo: Peter Cunningham
The Phillips Furniture Factory which towers above track level is quite the complex of buildings. Philips Furniture generates much revenue for the railroad. Photos: Bob Farquhar & Peter Cunningham	Mike craftily angled the streets in the lower section of town to visually enlarge the layout. Photo: Bob Farquhar		North Dover's many buildings dwarf the trackside action. Note the numerous signs located on the sides of the buildings and on the rooftops. Photo: Bob Farquhar
	There's quite the assortment of motive power in North Dover on this day. Photo: Peter Cunningham		North Dover's station and freight house are located in the lower end of town and the main street is visible in the distance to the upper right along the elevated ridge Photo: Bob Farquhar
Two GP7's lead train MP4 into North Dover. Note the angled streets which help enlarge the layout. Photo: Peter Cunningham	Passenger train #11 "The Kennebec" pulls into the station platform. Photo: Peter Cunningham		Mike keeps a tidy and well-lit workplace! Photo: Peter Cunningham