And so when I saw a Bachmann On30 2-4-4FT with DCC sound going cheap, I needed somewhere to run it.
Now the narrow gauge railway mentioned in the story (Shadow over Innsmouth) is abandoned, but coud be brought back to life after (and because of) the events in the story. A small terminus with surrounding abandoned warehouses and a quayside, sounds like a plan. Unfortunately there is the question of populating the layout. No one does suitable post 1927 figures, so that went onto the back burner.
So casting through the locations mentioned in the books and shown on various maps, I came across the fictional Aylesbury (MA), the nearest town to the village of Dunwich. So the line runs from Salem (a name to conjure with) to Aylesbury. Now to design a suitable terminus.
In the UK, very few shops stock books on the American railways (niche market in a niche market), so when I found a copy of the "Narrow Gauge in the Sheepscot Valley - volume 3" (Gary Koler and Chris McChesney, 2003) I bought it. It includes the Winslow branch with its terminus that (p95) "occupies no less than a couple of acres" (about two football pitches). Though it has a description, it does not have is a track diagram.
One of the captions states there are three switches, the text says the "western siding ran in front of the station", there is a short storage siding behind the station and one more siding leading to the coal shed, turntable and engine shed. So three points, no run round. Unfortunately, I have not managed to track down the location of one of the points. The search continues.
