Back in the January 1962 issue of Model Trains, E. L. Moore noted in the introduction to his article, Let's Build a Mountain, that he "had well over a hundred letters requesting track plans of my 4 x 6-foot railroad as a result of photographs published in Model Trains..." It turns out that one of those letters came from a reader of this blog who asked Mr. Moore for a track plan back in 1961. And if postmarks are anything to go by, Mr. Moore mailed back a reply on 15 April '61 with a postcard - carefully sealed in an envelope - of the track plan on one side, and a handwritten note on the other.
It reads,
Here you are tho you may need a magnifying glass. Radius, elevation, wiring connections, sections all marked, if you can find em.
Good luck,
signed E L Moore
If you've been following this blog for awhile, well, you know I've been trying to figure out the Elizabeth Valley Railroad track plan for a good long time. Previous instalments in the journey are here, here, here, and here. There are a number of corrections I need to make based on this amazing discovery that was generously shared with me by a reader. Thank-you very much!
You win on the guess-the-layout-plan. Neither of us saw the switch on the low right. Too bad he didn't detail it further; I'm still at a loss as to what he fit into the lower left corner. I put the log cabin blacksmith there on my layout, but I suspect it was just empty rock outcroppings at best. There was room for something, though.
ReplyDeleteI was never certain about what the track plan looked like in the lower right, and I was surprised to see the switch and stub siding. I agree, the lower left was likely landscape without buildings.
DeleteFantastic! That switch on the lower right is quite a puzzler.
ReplyDeleteYou're right. It's just a stub siding and for a long time I thought it connected somehow to the loops. Well, mystery solved thanks to a generous reader. Next step is to update my track plan drawings and see what if any changes there will be to the wiring.
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