Layout Tour #5 - Yonge and Front Streets

 The Dominion Public Building is the largest structure on this side of Toronto.  It is kitbashed and scratch built using a couple Walthers Post Office kits and a few sheets of styrene put though my cutting machine.

The Dominion Public Building houses many government offices.  The GO Transit Bus Terminal is in the Dominion Public Building's backyard.

  

The tallest building in the neighborhood is the Esplanade high rise. I really like the kit, enough so that there are actually two of them on the layout.  This is the Gas & Electric Building made by Custom Model Railroads, the company that makes 95% of the skyscrapers on the entire layout.

On the corner, diagonal from each other are two well-known Toronto landmarks. First, The Sony Centre, a large performing arts center.  This has been selectively compressed to fit in an angled part of the backdrop.  

On the other side of Front Street is the Hockey Hall of Fame.  This was a kitbash that still needs a few more details out front.

Exiting the city is the Scott Street Tower.  It's duplicate of the John Street Tower, but this one has a pitched roof.   This is the interlocking tower for the east end of the Union Station corridor.

A couple of Toronto Terminals Railway work the Scott Street Interlocking Tower.

On the Layout - Low Bridge

  The duck-under just got a little safer.  As you enter the layout room a duck-under bridge separates the Ontario and Quebec.  This a removable bridge normally stays in place.  However, there have been a few occasions where I don't clear the bridge and hit it.  I finally installed the fascia to act as railings keeping cars from falling off the edge and ending up on the floor.  All of the fascia on the layout needs to be painted.  Once this part gets painted it'll also get some safety tape to remind visitors (and me) of the low clearance.

Fleet Friday - VIA's Grey Ghosts

 

VIA Rail #s 5558 and 5590 are seen in the yard at Toronto's VIA Maintenance Centre waiting to be added to an afternoon train heading to Montreal.

    In 1980 VIA Rail Canada introduced this paint scheme and quickly removed it.  Rapido Trains, Inc., a model railroad manufacturer, included this in their oddball paint schemes run of Super Continental coach cars in 2008.  At the time of the release, I wasn't interested in these cars.  However, as time when I really started to like this scheme.  The problem was these cars had been long out of production and impossible to find.  For several years I looked in hobby shops I visited (both in the U.S. and Canada) and at train show, but they were never there.  E-bay wasn't producing results either.  The closest I got was seeing one on a bookshelf in a Rapido Trains video.  In an act of unnecessary desperation, I actually emailed Rapido to see if they would sell it to me. Unfortunately, it was part of an employee's private collection and wasn't for sale.

Rapido sales packs still found on the PWRS website.

    On a random Saturday in 2018, out of the blue, I decided to contact The Steam Shack, a by appointment only model railroad shop that has been advertising in Model Railroader for as long as I can remember.  What makes this place noteworthy is that the shop is in the city I live in.  I wasn't specifically calling to find the Grey Ghost cars; I was just curious as to what was in the shop.  I had lived in the area for 22 years and never tried to visit the shop.  I scheduled a time that afternoon to meet with Roger, the owner, and visit the shop.  The shop is a couple blocks from my house.  

    The Steam Shack has a vast collection of models.  I'm pretty sure there is one of every Rapido model created.  The shop is shelf after shelf of model trains.  Roger showed me where he kept his Rapido passenger cars.  Turning a corner, on one of the bottom shelves, I hit the jackpot!  I found the Grey Ghost coaches - both of them.  

    I bought just one of the cars, but upon my next visit to the shop I bought the second.  They technically are not in the time period I model, but the nice thing about the layout is that it's mine and I can run it how I want.  They really look great!

Some of the collection of Super Continental cars on the shop's shelves.

    I searched shops and shows in two different countries for six or seven years and all that time these long sought-after cars where less than 2000 feet from my front door.  The moral of the story - support your local hobby shop!

Rapido Trains, Inc. Super Continental Line coach painted in VIA's oddball Grey Ghost paint scheme.  VIA only kept two cars painted like this for a few days before painting them in their standard blue with the yellow strips scheme.

Layout Tour #4 - Toronto: Union Station

    Union Station is in the center of my downtown Toronto scene.  It is made from two Walthers kits kitbashed together.  The large windows will allow me to add an interior to the Great Hall.  The project is on my list of things to do.  

Union Station from the west end.

Union Station from the east end.

    The train shed outside of Union Station has five passenger tracks and a highball track for freight and through trains.  I kept going back and forth between putting the roof on all parts of the shed or just half to allow access to trains and for viewers to see the platforms.  As you can see, I went with only half a roof.  As time goes on, I'll continue to populate the platforms with people and trackside details.  This is the busiest train station in Canada, the platforms need to show this.  Stay tuned!

Two pigeons watch above Track 5 as trains go in and out of Toronto's Union Station.

    Next door to Union Station you'll find Toronto's Hard Rock Cafe.  In the real world, Hard Rock left Toronto many years ago, but when we would visit the city we would go to Hard Rock Cafe in Yonge-Dundas Square.  I would love to build Yonge-Dundas Square, it's one of my favorite places to go in the city, but it a few too many blocks North of Front Street.  I decided that I would include Hard Rock Cafe as my little slice of Yonge-Dundas Square.  This structure will also need an interior.  It's a work in progress.

The Hard Rock Cafe located at Yonge-Dundas Square has moved a few blocks south to a building next to Toronto's Union Station.  Many people will be watching CTV's Degrassi and Canadian Idol this week now that they've seen the billboards.

    Across the Street from the station is one of my favorite buildings.  This is the Farmont Royal York Hotel.  The Royal York is kitbashed from three of Bachmann's Ambassador Hotel kits.  The pitched roof and Royal York sign were scratch built out of styrene using a cutting machine.  This was one of the first structures I kitbashed.

The Fairmont Royal York Hotel is located across Front Street from Toronto's Union Station.

 

    Front Street turns into a divided highway with island in the middle of the road in front of Union Station.  I sacrificed some width in the street to build a landscaped island.  You can only see this part of Front Street if you are standing by the Rogers Centre and from that distance you don't really see the lack of street width, but you can clearly see the trees in the middle of the island.  I used Fine-Leaf Foliage and ground foam from Woodland Scenics to landscape the island.

Traffic slows down just a little bit in front of Union Station and the Royal York Hotel. West and east bound traffic are separated on this part of Front Street by this traffic island.  No U Turns are allowed.

    On the east side of Union Station, across Bay Street, is GO Transit's Union Station Bus Terminal.  This terminal can be accessed by an overpass on track-level of Union Station.  Visitors to the layout will never really see the terminal, it faces away from the aisle.  Only pictures can capture what the terminal looks like.  This was a fun building to scratch build.  

GO Transit's Union Station Bus Terminal can't be seen on the layout, it's even hard to get a camera to capture it.  Bus 21B, seen in the lower left corner, is arriving from Milton, Ontario.  

My Return to Springfield

    I don't remember when I went to my first Springfield show.  It had to be at least 15 years ago.  I had seen ads for it in Model Railroader. My wife and I decided that it was close enough to make a daytrip of it and headed south to check it out.  I was completely unprepared for this show.  It was like nothing I had ever seen before.  

    This show is housed in four "big-box store" sized buildings.  These buildings are full of hobby shops, manufacturers, and layouts.  It takes place each January at the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield, Massachusetts.  You have to see it to believe it.

Walking from one building to another.  The black smoke in the sky is from the live steam engine trucked-in each year and parked just to the left of this picture.

    I have been away from the show since Covid shut the show down in 2021.  It returned last year, but with high case counts and a blizzard, I stayed home.  I returned to the show last weekend, and it was great to be back.

     One of the vendors I wanted to visit was MacRail.  This is a new company that caught my attention because of their 3D printed FREDs and EOT red and orange flags. 

 I've wanted to get my hand on some of these to see how they work and look on the end of my trains and they did not disappoint.

    In 2021 I was introduced to Hunterline, a Canadian company, and their line of weathering and stains.  I was sad to see they were not going to attend this year's show.  However, I still found their stains at B&B Hobby Supplies.  I picked up a bottle along with a pair of Xuron fine scissors.

    I was also able to get a few items to help finish some layout projects.  Tichy Train Group sells steel walkways and I'll use them to finish the billboards around the layout.  I've also needed a few more Osborn Models windsocks for railyards and industries and was able to pick them up.

    I was also able to take a look at Berrett Hill's newest Touch Toggle product.  They released the Matrix Controller to allow a single button to be pressed and all turnouts that need to be switched so trains can be routed to a specific track.  This is something I am thinking about using in the Union Station corridor.  I currently use Touch Toggles to switch my turnout; I'm just not sure if this additional piece is really needed.  I think about it and maybe I'll put in on my purchase list for 2024.  I'll talk a little more about Touch Toggles is a future post.

    Most of the high rises on my layout come from a company named Custom Model Railroads.  They make amazing kits.  Normally I buy one at Springfield.  My plan last spring was to buy their Building Under Construction kit, but I decided to buy it this past fall.  I considered getting the firm's Saint Paul Building.  I thought about it the entire time I was at the show, but in the end, I decided not to buy it.  There is no more room for another high rise so I would have had to remove one of the current buildings.  I'm hoping CMR will release a new kit in the next few years that has a more modern look.  Most of the real Toronto high rises are all glass facades.  I still have the Building Under Construction kit to build so I have not gone without this year.

CMR's new Build Under Construction kit.

The Saint Paul Building is the kit on the left.  It includes an add-on kit to make it 12-stories tall.

    I was able to visit the major manufacturers and saw their new releases and announcements.  It's great to hear that Atlas has acquired the tooling for the Pointe Ste. Charles.  Bachmann had their new VIA Rail Canada Siemens SC-42 Charger on display.  

Rapido Train, Inc.'s booth was very crowded, and they showcased all of their latest models.  

    With all of the running around I did, I really didn't stop to appreciate all of the layouts that were at the show.  Five hours into the show and I was tired and ready to go home.  With so much to see it can quickly become overwhelming.  It's why I make sure I have a plan, but I always need to remind myself to check out the layouts.  

    It was a busy Saturday.  I appreciate that The Steam Shack, my local hobby shop, was there.  I was able to sit down and chat with the owner for a few minutes before heading home.  He also helped me find some good parking.  When I got home, I found a picture Railroad Model Craftsman posted on their Facebook page.  There I was checking out the Tangent Models cabooses.

Photo by White River Publications.  Can you find me?

I've already started adding items for my list for the 2024 show.  I was great to return to an annual tradition.