Madrid Junction and Toothaker Pond
Milepost 23.5
Click HERE for a new of F&M log bunks passing Toothaker Pond
This is an accurate model of the track layout at Madrid Junction and Toothaker Pond -- except that I flipped everything 180 degrees, putting the pond at the front of the layout, rather than toward the wall, so that the branch to Madrid Village actually leaves the mainline to the south of Toothaker Pond (i.e., toward Phillips), rather than to the north of the pond, as on the prototype. On my model version of the SR&RL, northbound trains approach the junction switch (leading to Madrid Village and No. 6) first, before reaching the water tank and then the station. On the prototype, it would be southbound trains following that route. Here is a general overview of the area, with the railbus sitting on the branch. The edge of Toothaker Pond is barely visible at center left, just to the left of the rear two passenger cars in the train. This view looks north, with Reed's just off the picture in the left distance. If this were the prototype, we would be looking south. This is an old photo, and note the shelf brackets on the wall, supporting the former location of Rangeley and Marbles (the bottom of the upper deck is just visible in the upper left corner). One of the best decisions that I made was to move the Rangeley / Marbles area to a new location above Phillips, and to construct an elevated platform along the back side of Phillips -- something akin to a "mushroom" design. For more on that, see the Rangeley and Marbles page.
Here are some more recent photos of the structures at Madrid Junction, showing their relationship to Toothaker Pond and the Berlin Mill:
The mill building was moved, piece by piece, from Redington to this location, after timber in that area played out. I purchased this structure, pre-built, on eBay as an acceptable stand-in until I can build a more accurate model. When that happens, the structure that you see here will probably wind up at Bigelow.
The empty pulp racks are sitting on the branch to Madrid Village and No. 6, with the mainline and siding in the foreground, and the water tank to the left, then the depot at the extreme left edge of the photograph. On the model south (Phillips) is on the right and north (Reed's and eventually Rangeley) is on the right. On the prototype, the directions would be reversed.
The station (left) and the water tank (right, with the branch to Madrid Village and No. 6 behind it). In both views north is to the left and south is to the right, just the opposite of the prototype.
