LL Bean Model Train Village Update

The L.L. Bean Model Train Village is back and operating from 9am to 9pm daily.  You can visit it in the Children's Department on the second floor of the Flagship Store at 95 Main Street in Freeport.

This operating layout was provided by and is supported by the Boothbay Railway Village.

Through the Village

Lighted Carousel with Music

Skating under the bridge

      Triangle Service in the 1920s???

Making Snow Angels

         

    Trains and Skating Rink Video

Westbrook Festival of Trees Update

Today Paul Corbett and other MGRS members set up the "Maine Train Lines" display for the 2017 Westbrook Festival of Trees. The Festival is open from December 2-9 and is open to the Public. Admission is free. Businesses sponsor trees, and visitor donations are welcome. All proceeds support local charities in Westbrook. Information can be found at the Festival of Trees Web Site
The festival is held at the Westbrook Warren Congregational Church at 810 Main St. in Westbrook. Public parking is available off Church Street which runs between Main Street and the Westbrook Arterial.


Here is the schedule

Date   Day   Tree Viewing                            Trains Running
12/2    Sat    8:30am-8:00pm                          8am-12:30pm, 6-7:30pm

12/3    Sun   2-7:30pm                                      1- 3pm

12/4    Mon  10am-noon, 2-4pm, 6-8pm      10am-Noon, 6-7:30pm

12/5    Tue    10am-noon,  2-4pm, 6-8pm     10am-Noon, 2-4pm

12/6    Wed   10am-noon, 2-4pm, 6-8pm      10am-Noon, 2-4pm    

12/7    Thu    2-4pm, 6-8pm                           10am-1pm

12/8    Fri     10-11am, 2-4pm, 6-8 pm         10am-1pm, 6-7pm

12/9    Sat     10am-Noon                               10am-Noon

There are a number of special events during the Festival

Date    Time    Time             Event

12/2    Sat        8:30-11am      Breakfast with Santa
                         5-6pm             Festival Feast Public Dinner

12/3    Sun       1:30-2:30pm  Teddy Bear Tea Party with WCC Kids Choir
                          5:00               An Advent Celebration: Christmas AMENS
                                                and AH Has"
                         Saco & Biddeford Savings Institution Day

12/5    Tue       1:30-3pm        Mad Hatter's Tea Party
                          6:30-7:45pm  Drouin Dance Center Performance
                         Westbrook Women's Club Day

12/6    Wed       7:30pm          LOGOS Presentation: "Cloth for the Cradle"

12/7     Thu        Noon             Public Community Dinner
                          In Home Senior Services Day

12/8      Fri        11:30am to     Tips for Charity Luncheon featuring
                          1pm                Doc Stockwell on the piano
                          Trinity Lutheran Church Day

12/9     Sat      10am-Noon    Mystery Gift Tree

Track Crew at Work

Setting Up Buildings and Decorations

Engineers Test the Track

Doug Johnson's Christmas Car

Chopping Wood for the Stove

Fun Around the Frozen Pond

Christmas Tree Stand

Another New Battery

Ice Fishing

Thanks to Paul Corbett for providing

the trains, track, buildings, and decoration. His Elves for setup were Art Shea, David Blue, Doug Johnson, Paul Schell, Dennis Farrell, and Sam Carr.

                                             

MGRS Trains in Winter Wonderland at the Maine Mall

Our 8th Annual Holiday Train Display opened at 5pm on Friday, November 19th with a ribbon cutting by Santa. It is part of the "Winter Wonderland".

The Winter Wonderland at the Maine Mall is located in the former Bon Ton. The kids can write a letter to Santa, see acts on stage, color, play board games, and watch movies.

MGRS is located right next to Santa. He is closest to the Thomas & Percy Platform. Thomas has a loop while Percy runs in a Figure 8. Thanks to Art Shean for providing the Figure 8.

Thomas and Percy

The Town and Country area has homes, businesses, and entertainment. The trolley line runs from the front of North Conway Station over to the mountains

North Conway Station

The lighted buildings at the front of the picture belong to Tice Leonard and are made by Lemax. Other building are from Ernie Packard, Terry Norton, Carl Churchill and Sam Carr. You can see the John Jackson Drawbridge at the left rear of this picture.

Town and Country

The centerpiece of this year's layout is the mountain with ski lift running to the top and the train running around it about halfway up. We asked the Maine Mall for a mountain, and thank Angel Pettengill for building this one.

The farm behind the mountain

Farm Corral and Vacation Campground

Ski Slope and Vacation Campground

Portland Harbor includes marine businesses, shopping, cargo handling, two trains, a freight siding, oil tanks and a lighthouse.

The Circus is on the far side of Portland Harbor. Here you can see how the circus entertains its guests and supports the work of the performers. Thanks to Norman Waycott for providing part of his incredible circus.

Entrance, Clowns and Midway

Acrobats and Horses Practicing

Please visit us at the Mall and bring your friends. We are open daily through December 24th except on Thanksgiving Day when the Mall is closed.

There are nine trains on the layout including

• Thomas & Percy - running on pushbuttons
• Inner Main Line - usually Amtrak
• Outer Main Line - freight or trains members bring in
• Trolley Line from North Conway around the Mountain to the Ski Slope
• Train Around the Mountain - pushbutton
• Harbor Freight Loop
• Harbor Trolley Reverse Line
• Circus Train - pushbutton
• The Ski Lift is also a pushbutton

Mall Opening Time on Friday, November 17 Changed to 5:00pm

The Mall opening time on Friday November 17 has changed to 

5:00pm. This is the “soft opening” for employees and families. It will run until 9pm.

Once the area opens again at 10am on Saturday, the sliding doors will remain open through December 24^th. So it will be the same as in the past when they layout was in one of the “common areas” of the Mall.

Model Train Village Returns to L.L. Bean from Nov 17 to Dec 31

The Model Train Village is returning to L.L. Bean in Freeport from November 17 to December 31. The hours are 9am to 9pm, and it is part of the Northern Lights Celebration

Details can be seen at Northern Lights Celebration

Model Train Village

MGRS Topsham Layout in Brunswick Times-Record on Nov 6th

The G-Scale layout at the Topsham Show was featured on the front page of the Brunswick Times-Record on November 6th.

Here is the first picture in the article:

The article can be viewed at Model Trains Chug Along In Topsham

MGRS Layout at Great Falls Show in Topsham on November 4th

Art Shean brought his portable table, trains, buildings and accessories to Mt. Ararat High School in Topsham. The layout has grown to 12' x 20' since it appeared at the Annual Meeting in July.

Banner at the Great Falls Show

Setup began on Friday at 4pm. Art had help from John Middleton, Ben Braithwaite, and several Great Falls club members.

During the event we signed up two new members. Visitors included Doug Johnson, Terry Norton, Jim Jenkins, Ben Braithwaite, Grace Miller, David Blue, Neville Lewis (Sale table), Mike Tarbox, Sam Carr and Scott Gould. Art noted that there were two vendors at the show with G Scale products for sale.

We now have an updated Club Photo Book that includes this summer's layout visits and the Mill Field Festival. Paul Smith's Bagley Mountain and Plant Pot Railway are also included.

Art and Ben handled the move out with help from some Great Falls members.

There were several interesting buildings and layout scenes.

Coaling operation - will be coming the to Mall

Here are two videos from the show

Topsham Trains and Terry with a Handcar

Trolleys on Back and Forth Line

Trackside Loading Platform

Bride and Groom Leaving the Church

Telephone Pole Repair and Tree Removal - very timely!!!!

Container Handling and Shipping - also coming the to Mall

Makenzie's Ski Shack - coming to the Mall for the Cable Car

Jim and Ben hamming it up

Holiday Train Display Setup and Status

Thanks to Terry, here are some pictures from the Mall. We are nearly finished, and will go back in when the Mall is done with their preparation and cleanup.

Here is the front of the main platform, overlooking the Thomas & Percy area on the left. 

Overlooking Downtown

This is a side view of the "Downtown" area. You can see the edge of the Control Area on the right of this picture. There is a lot of ballasting to cover the fuzzy "snow" cloth.

Triangle Motors with the Post Office behind

Here is the Mountain with the Ski Lift on top and a small train running around half way up. Both are operated by buttons.

Mountain with Ski Lift and Train Around

The Campground and Farm are beside the Ski Lift and behind the Mountain. You can see the "Portland Harbor" track and "water" on the right of this picture. The open sides of all the tables will be covered with white cloth to block them off.

Campground and  Farm

Thanks to the crew that worked to set this up. They include Terry Norton, Ben Braithwaite, Art Shean, Dennis Farrell, Norm Waycott, Andy Hendrickson, Jim Jenkins, Carl Churchill and Sam Carr.

Neville Lewis G Scale Sale Table at Topsham Show on November 4th

Neville Lewis will have a table at the Fall Model Railroad Show this coming Saturday from 10am-3pm. He will have engines, accessories and track for sale. The show is at the Mt Ararat High School Gym, 73 Eagles Way, Topsham, ME 04086.

8th Annual Holiday Train Display will run from Nov 17 through Dec 24

Our train display at the Maine Mall will run from November 17 through December 24. We are back beside Santa in the old Bon Ton space. The layout is 16’ wide by 60’ long with nine trains. This year we have a mountain with a train around it halfway up and the ski lift running up to the top. 

Please sign up to help at the Mall to provide fun for children of all ages. We have 17 shifts open in November and 33 in December. You can click the SignUp button on the blog or contact Sam Carr at secarr1@comcast.net or 207-865-4467. You can also use the Sign Up button to view the current schedule.

The shifts are as follows:

·   November 17 to December 14: Monday through Saturday 10am-3pm or 3-8pm. Sunday 10am to 6pm single shift

·   December 15 to 23 from 9am-3pm or 3pm-9pm

·   December 24 from 9am-1pm or 1pm-5pm

Thanks to those who already signed up including Mike Tarbox, Preston Chadwick, John Middleton, Art Handman, Norm Waycott, Andy Hendrickson, Bill & Robin Goodrich, Ben Braithwaite, Dennis Farrell and Sam Carr.

Setup Day Two at the Maine Mall

Today we finished the track on the 30" platforms. Dennis & Ben finished the two main loops while Terry and Courtney worked on running the wiring. The outer main line has run a train!!

Ben and Sam ran the trolley tracks on the Mountain Platform. It was adjusted to run around the Mountain to the base of the Ski Lift. This will leave an area open for buildings and avoid having the trolley running under the ski lift cable.

Terry testing wiring while Ben finishes the Trolley Line

The Holiday Train Display will have nine operating lines

• Thomas Loop (button #1)
• Percy Figure 8 (button #2)
• Freight Outer Line
• Amtrak  Inner Line
• Trolley Reversing Line
• Mountain Tunnel Loop (button #3)
• Trolley Loop on "water feature"
• Reversing freight line on "water feature"
• Circus Train (button #4)
• 
  

             The Ski Lift will have button #5

Setup will resume on Thursday to test the tracks, wire the mountain track, and put the mountain in its final position. Buildings and decoration will start on the Thomas/Percy and Town Platforms. The Mall will be doing final touch up on the weekend, so buildings on the Mountain Platform will wait until next week as will the water feature track and buildings.

Here is the current plan showing the Percy Figure 8 (thanks to Art Shean)  and the changes in the trolley around the Mountain (thanks to Terry).

Percy changed from Oval to Figure 8

Trolley Around the Mountain

MGRS at Mt. Ararat Show in Topsham on November 4th

MGRS will have a layout display at the Model Railroad Show sponsored by the Great Falls Model Railroad Club on November 4th. We will be using Art Shean's portable layout that you may have seen at the Annual Meeting in July.

The show takes place from 10am-3pm at the Mount Ararat High School Gym, 73 Eagles Way, Topsham, ME 04086.

We need help setting up starting at 4pm on Friday, 11/3, and during show on Saturday. If you can help, please contact Sam at secarr1@comcast.net.

The fall and spring Mt. Ararat events are the largest, regular model train show in Maine. Its worth your time to help MGRS, recruit new members,  and have a chance to talk to other model railroaders.

Setup Day One at the Maine Mall

Today was our first day of setup at the Mall. The trailer was unloaded on Friday, and our equipment is in secure storage near the layout. The Mall Staff had already placed the tables and covered them with white cloth that looks like snow.

The crew today included Andy Hendrickson, Ben Braithwaite, Terry Norton, Dennis Farrell, Art Shean, and Sam Carr.

This picture looks across the train platform. The mountain built by the Mall is in the center. You can see the Jackson Drawbridge towers on the right and two other bridges on the left. By this time the crew had adjusted the tables to fit the bridges with help from Paul Pettengill of the Mall.

Looking from the back across the Town, Mountain and Circus Areas

Here you can see Terry and Ben working on the mountain before we put it up on the table. They are fitting the top of the Ski Lift into place and making sure we can still take off the cover. The mountain has a ski slope down the front and a train going around it about half way up. Both will be operated with push buttons.

Setting the Ski Lift on the Mountain

This 3rd picture shows the setup of the Jackson Drawbridge and the picket fence along the back. This fence will go around the part of the layout with the 30" platform. The 12" Thomas & Percy area will have the short, white fence as in past years.

Jackson Drawbridge and Picket Fence

By late afternoon the four bridges and most of the track were in place. Andy & Dennis worked on the Main Lines and Circus. Art Shean laid the track for Thomas & Percy. Terry & Ben set the bridges, tested the Mountain train line, and started the wiring.

On Tuesday Terry and Courtney Goodwin will be working on the wiring while the rest of the crew works on the last of the main line track. Then the Mountain will be put into its final position so the trolley line can be run around it.

Later this week we expect to start on roads and buildings.

Mall Setup starts October 16 and Layout Opens November 17

The trailer has been unloaded at the Mall. Setup will begin on Monday, October 16 at 10am. The plan is to lay track and wire up from Monday through Wednesday, and then start placing buildings and decorations. The tables are in place and covered with a white "snow" cloth.  MGRS will open along with Santa on Thursday, November 17, and the layout will run through December 24th

Please come in during the week and donate some time and energy to making this one of our biggest layouts. Enter through the sliding glass doors on the mall side of BONTON's near where we were last year.

Volunteer to run trains during the hours below

From 11/17 through 12/14
Monday through Saturday Noon to 8pm with shifts 10am-3pm and 3-8pm
Sunday 10am to 6pm  single shift

From December 15 to 23
9am to 9pm with shifts 9am-3pm and 3pm-9om

December 24
9am to 5pm with shifts 9am-1pm and 1pm-5pm

Mall Setup to Start During the Week of October 16-20

Setup of the 2017 Holiday Train Display may start during the week of October 16-20. The display will be with Santa in the space previously occupied by the Bon Ton store. This area will note open to Mall visitors until Santa beings his work in November.

Details to follow after a Board of Directors meeting during the week of October 9-13.

Holiday Train Display Update

Here is the updated plan for the Mall. The layout is now 16 feed wide. Thomas is now 1' high and has expanded to 12' deep. Santa may start as early as November 4th. Our schedule is not yet set.

Phillips Model Railroad and Hobby Show on September 30th

Here are some pictures of the G-Scale layout at the show in Phillips this past weekend. Art Shean and Jim Jenkins did a nice job with this. Several MGRS members showed up to see what was happening. Art believes we will be invited back next year