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NBR&N

History of Our Group

We have been working on the NBR&N since July of 2000. Our goal was to create a factious narrow gauge RR that would have (if it existed) ran in southern New England around 1935-45. Most of us are using the Rhode Island coast for inspiration.
Bachmann has made O scale narrow gauge affordable to everyone with their On30 sets. After we had a good look at the Bachmann 2-6-0 and its rolling stock the decision was easy.
On30 simply means O scale (1/48) on narrow 30 inch track.
Since most of us model in HO we found O scale difficult to get used to. One thing became clear; 24 inches would not be wide enough to accommodate two tracks and 1/48-scale structures. So we decided on 30 inches for the width. By going with 30 inches we added 24 scale feet for structures and we could still get the module in most cars. We decided on 50 inches for the height, a bit tall but at lease we wont have to worry about those little hands pulling a brass engine off the track. By using balloons members can make their module as long as they want.
We decided that three members would build all the modules, Justin Maguire, David Finnegan, and Roland Marcotte. All three men had wood working experience.
Justin Maguire designed a lightweight system we used to build the modules. David Finnegan, a retired professional wood worker gave us his time and the use of his wood shop.
We wanted to be able to set up in less than one hour, so we paid careful attention to the end panels and all the legs have adjustable levelers. With all the modules being built at one location it was easy to control how they fit together. After six months the first eight modules were ready for track and scenery.
In addition to the eight modules, Justin built a five-foot and an eight-foot module. Both Dave and Roland built return balloons.
When we set them together they measured a little over sixty feet in total. All of our hard work paid off; the modular RR set up easily in less than an hour on an uneven floor.
We still have some wiring to do before were ready to run. We will be set up at the LRD show in March of 2002 West Warwick, RI. We have also been invited to set up at the 2002 Narrow Gauge Convention in Warwick RI.