Tug Hill & Northern Railway

The Tug Hill & Northern Railway Co.
The Tug Hill is my N Scale model railroad. It is theoretically located on the western flank of Tug Hill, and takes the liberty of utilizing a railroad no longer in existence (the Williamstown and Redfield) as well as moving a stretch of railroad east a few miles (the Rome, Watertown and Ogdensburg line between Camden and Richland). The portion I model is pure fantasy, running from Greenboro to Monteola. Along the way it passes Littlejohn and Campbell Wood. All of the names of the towns I am using are real. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for the actual towns. For instance, all that remains of Greenboro is a cemetary.

GREENBORO

Greenboro is the main town on the Plateau Subdivision Its connection to the mainline of the Tug Hill & Northern is a mile or so away at Greenboro Junction. The doodlebug meets all the through passenger trains there (yep - you can still take the train here...) Major industries in Greenboro are the Giddings Lumber Company planing mill (from articles in MR), and the SBG Container Corp box factory (a kit). A small engine terminal and a freight station also account for some traffic. The station will be modelled after the one at Thendara, New York. Greenboro also has a yard that best fits the description "watch pocket." A vest pocket is too big... Many of the buildings in Greenboro are DPM or Walthers, if they aren't scratchbuilt. You can find a model of our house there.

LITTLEJOHN

Unless you live there, there are only two reasons to visit Littlejohn: maple syrup and fishing. Maple Syrple turns out real maple syrup, candy, etc in the spring, then uses syrup as flavor for corn syrup based products the rest of the year. The Cottrell Hotel offers cottages, rooms, and meals for fishermen looking for trout in the Mad River.

CAMPBELL WOOD

I offered my kids the opportunity to have "their own" business on the layout. Daughter Laura chose "Mini Happy Returns", an antiques and miniatures shop in Greenboro. Lee owns the major industry in Campbell Wood: Skunk Hill Sour Mash. I don't think there was ever a "Skunk Hill" on Tug Hill, but he liked the name. I'm modifying the "Cat Hollow Creamery" kit from the N Scale Architect to become the distillery and aging house. Other features in CWD are a scratchbuilt covered bridge and a scratchbuilt church which will contain personalize stained glass windows. The fire station (only Littlejohn lacks a fire department) is modelled after the brick building that housed the fire department in Orbisonia, PA.

MONTEOLA

The actual Monteola sat on the line between the towns of Montague and Osceola, hence the name. Monteola is a haven for outdoorsmen (and women). Summer has hikers and campers, winter brings the snowmobiles and cross-country skiers. This is also the location of an interchange with the Glenfield and Western, whose main contribution to TH&N traffic is logs for the Giddings Lumber Company sawmill in Monteola (Walthers' Mountain Lumber). I had to do some major revisions to the track layout (the plan remains the same, just skewed a bit) to make the kit fit. Other traffic is destined for the coal dealer, oil dealer, and freight house. The sawmill generates lots of loads out.

Monteola is also the final destination of a number of passenger specials. A weekly train brings the outdoors crowd up on Friday afternoon, with a return on Sunday. That train includes a Slumbercoach that is left at the Tug Hill Tours facility for use by its occupants as a hotel, and special boxcars fitted to carry snowmobiles, four-wheelers, and skis. Special events (races, etc) and fall colors will also warrant a special movement. Astute observers may note that a portion of the track at Monteola makes up a Timesaver puzzle.

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An overall view of the Greenboro area. It's not winter - the plaster hasn't been colored yet.	The view down the street from near the depot.	LIttlejohn is home to Maple Syrple, a maple products producer, and the Cotrell Hotel, a haven for fishermen.

The Cottrell Hotel was actually located near Greenboro. This photo was probably taken in the early 1930's. I'll be modelling it as though it had been maintained, etc.	This view of the entire railroad shows Monteola in the lower left corner, Littlejohn on the lower level, Campbell Wood on the upper level, and Greenboro in the distance. The road is still very much under construction.	Greenboro is out of sight to the right here. Campbell Wood is being built on a sheet of Styrofoam as a lift out section for access to the staging yard. The buildings for Monteola were being stored on the shelf, and Monteola itself was a staging area for construction materiels when this was taken.

More pictures will follow. The railroad, like this page, is still under construction.

I also like to do a little railfanning from time to time. If you are visiting the north country, take a look at the CSX trains you might encounter

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