CNR Pine Street sea trial 1

Yesterday, my friend Cal came over and together we put CNR Pine Street – my HO scale portable layout – through its first real sea trial. Would it prove seaworthy? Would an experienced operator who is unfamiliar with the layout have enough information to operate it successfully?

I’m pleased to report the layout passed. It ran well – no stalls, no derailments – and I gained some ideas about what paperwork to produce for shows if I want to let the public have a go at operating it.

If I have to cite any issue, we had a few false couplings (where a freight car got pushed along instead of coupling). These were due to well-rolling wheel-sets and the very slow speed and significant momentum programmed into the locomotive. It’s rare to complain that wheel sets work too well, and locomotives run too smoothly – but here we are. It’s a nice problem to have.

Cal and I ran the layout three or four times and were so engaged I didn’t pause to take photos. So I ran a session this morning and photographed it…

I want to keep paperwork for this layout to a minimum: People want to run trains, not fill out forms. And many potential operators will have little to no experience with switch lists, etc.

I designed three variants on a switch list. Once I pick a style and refine it, I may fill out a sequence of switch lists for shows that automatically reset at the end of the sequence (so if I have six switch lists, each builds on the one before it, and the sixth list resets everything to the first list). I would need some blank lists in case I have a problem with a freight car and need to swap in a replacement.

I also developed a schematic with notes on it, and some basic operating rules and advice (eg: “The locomotives take significant time to accelerate and decelerate, so you need to start braking before you think you need to. Try to stop ahead of a cut of cars and then ease up onto it.”) When finalized, I’ll tape the track schematic and operating notes to a clipboard.

Cal suggested letting members of the public take on the role of engineer, with an experienced operator (typically, me) as conductor. It’s a good idea. I do also want to let others try conducting if they’re so inclined.

One of yesterday’s switch lists, plus the operating schematic and ProtoThrottle. It will come as no surprise to anybody who has used one, but the ProtoThrottle enables a very different operating experience.

The switch job backs several blocks along Pine Street, running downgrade towards the mill. A crew member stands watch on the transfer van’s platform as the train crosses Sullivan Avenue.

Based on yesterday’s trials, I think it’s a good idea to let the engineer run the train back and forth on the first few feet of Pine Street – the in-street running section – to get a feel for the acceleration and braking.

The street lights at Sullivan are currently on a test platform, which I wrote about many months ago. I need to install some sidewalks so I can get these mounted properly. I’m headed to the hobby shop today to see if I can find suitable sidewalk material.

The train continues to back north down Pine Street, which is lined with houses, small commercial buildings, parking lots, and so on. At this point, Pine Street has three driving lanes (one north, two south) plus parking lanes and sidewalks on each side.

The city has a “no horns” bylaw but horns are always allowed for safety reasons. That dump truck looks pretty close to the tracks – maybe a blast or two of the horn is required here?

Having crossed Albert Street, the train exits Pine Street and enters the mill yard.

I made the temporary Pine Street Shopping Centre sign by cleaning up a screen grab from Google Streetview. The tenants are too new for my late 1980s / early 1990s era, but the big sign at the top is accurate and I love how this establishes the location. Also: You can really see the grade on Pine Street here, with the transfer van and two CNR boxcars on the level. I’m glad my friend Robin Talukdar, who laser cut the benchwork, included this feature from the prototype.

The long shove almost complete, the crew can start assessing the work to be done today. There are lots of cars on the two lower tracks (I think of them as “the bowl”) but not all of them will be lifted.

I need to prioritize putting up a backdrop here, to separate the HO CNR from the S scale NS&T on the other side of those posts.Once I have the backdrop in place, I can then build supports for a lighting rig similar to what I did for Bydemill. Amongst other things, it will improve the quality of my pictures.

The crew starts by delivering two inbound CNR boxcars carrying loads of post-consumer waste paper. These are spotted on the “high track”, using the other inbounds as a handle so the diesel does not enter the building.

It took a day to mock up the mill but I’m so glad I did. Not only does it help set the scene but I also discovered some things that I will have to take into account as I build the permanent structure to replace this. For example, I need access to the tracks inside buildings: removable roofs over those are a good idea, as is access from the back for exhibitions. I also need to make some portions of the milll removable to lower the height so I can rack the layout sections for transport.

The crew then heads to the bowl to pull track 32. All three cars here are coming out. They include a covered hopper that once held caustic soda, a boxcar that delivered bagged kaolin, and a boxcar that delivered Arctic Kraft board.

I do like how these two simple tracks are made complex because they feature dedicated spots for different commodities. Lance Mindheim has written a lot about the importance of “spots” versus “tracks”. I’d add that if spot order is important, then the fewer number of tracks, the more challenging the operation. To help operators, I’ve added temporary labels (B, C, D, etc.) above the doors. I’ll replace my Sharpie Scribbles with discrete signs on the finished model.

Having pulled track 32, the crew then sets in place a fresh covered hopper of caustic soda.

That Southern covered hopper is brand new and needs to be weathered, once I’m satisfied with its running qualities. I recently weathered the roofs on the two boxcars in this photo, following a George Dutka article in the February 2026 issue of *Railroad Model Craftsman* magazine and I’m really pleased with how they turned out.

With the inbound covered hopper spotted, the next task is to swap the empty chlorine tank car for a full one, delivered on a previous day and left Off-Spot. The crew backs onto track 31 to collect the cars spotted there.

Cal worked in a paper mill at one time and has taught me a lot about chlorine handling, including that most mils used the railway tank car as their storage tank instead of having an on-site tank to store it in. The open shed and the bowl may also have been designed this way to provide plenty of fresh air around the car and to contain any accidental venting of chlorine, which is heavier than air.

The crew is captured in the process of pulling track 31.

The prototype mill looked like it was designed to be modelled. It’s a large structure that in reality extends quite a ways to the right, but all the trackage is lined up, parallel to Pine Street and easily viewed/photographed from public property.

The empty chlorine tank is backed onto the outgoing train.

This photo again demonstrates the need for a backdrop. This move would have required the crew to nose their diesel onto Pine Street. From a model operations perspective, it’s an opportunity to ring the bell – and one more thing for the engineer to remember.

The loaded chlorine tank car is spotted under the unloading shed.

Cal noted the similarities between Pine Street and the Inglenook – the classic British shunting puzzle layout. The major differences here are the tracks are longer than on an Ingleook, and spot order on the spurs counts. Often, instead of building a switching puzzle, one can find a suitable piece of prototype that offers even more opportunities for engaging operation.

The last inbound cars – two boxcars of Arctic Kraft board – are spotted at doors D and C.

Learning the relationship between throttle and brake on the ProtoThrottle makes it possible to accurately spot cars at buildings with the doors perfectly aligned, and it’s very satisfying when it happens.

With the work done, the train is reassembled and prepares to leave the mill.

The large-scale switch stands – also used on the NS&T and on my previous S scale layout, Port Rowan – add so much to an operation like this. I was glad I was able to make them work here – including designing them so that they’r easy to remove if necessary for transport to and from exhibitions.

The outbound train makes its way south up Pine Street, headed for a local industry support yard. Once it has served other industries on the Fonthill Sub, this train will hit the main track and head east – tying up in the CNR’s yard in Niagara Falls.

Over all, I’m thrilled with how the layout performed during its first proper test, with a guest operator (thanks again, Cal!) – and I look forward to testing it with other friends. In particular, I want to run CNR Pine Street with some friends who are newer to operations, to determine what foundational material they need in order to enjoy the experience. I have even recruited a friend who is not in the hobby at all, but wants to give it a try.

Next up, I think it’s time to add some sidewalks. Meantime, I’m still researching the structures that lined Pine Street in Thorold. And there are other layouts in my space that need some attention, too!

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Published by Trevor