Conrail diesels in large scale: Mark Bottrill’s Bishopstown Subdivision is designed to summon up memories of Conrail’s heyday in the Northeast, but it’s located in the Buckinghamshire county in the south of England!
The railroad has a 600-foot double-track mainline, and features a number of rail-served industries, including a steel recycling facility and a large plastics plant that receives plastic pellets in hoppers delivered via unit trains. The railroad continues to develop with more lineside buildings and infrastructure scratchbuilt as the UK’s winter weather forces Mark indoors.
Learn more about Conrail in our book.
A steel train with GP10s on the point rolls past the Bishopstown Switch Tower and onto the main line past a westbound manifest freight. Steel is one of the commodities that provides a purpose for the Bishopstown Subdivision. The line was designed in the same way that an indoor HO shelf layout would be, to limit ambition and ensure separation between the railroad and the rest of the garden. Photo by Mark Bottrill
Old and new motive power pull a ballast train past the loading shed of one of the larger industries in Bishopstown. The USA Trains GP9 was the first locomotive purchased by Mark in 2003, while the scratchbuilt GP15 is one of the newest additions to the Subdivisions fleet. The loading shed was made with styrene plastic and painted with rattle can automotive paints. Other buildings use foam board of the type used for signage. Photo by Mark Bottrill
A scratchbuilt Canadian National “Draper Taper” SD60 heads past Blue Rock (a favorite railfan site) with a manifest freight. The SD60 was a labor of love, but the build was complex and took many months more than anticipated. Regardless, it's a favorite locomotive on the fleet and certainly captures the character of these cowl cabs. Photo by Mark Bottrill
The unique Alco RS3M chop-nose rebuild rests between tasks in the Bishopstown Yard. Later in the day, these veteran engines will be hard at work on local freight duties. The yard is the focal point of the railroad and provides the reason that the line exists, with multiple rail-served industries requiring service. Photo by Mark Bottrill
A busy day on the mainline as early generation diesels on local freight duties are passed by SD40-2s hauling Appalachian coal toward Pennsylvanian steel plants. Planting on the railroad uses hebes and dwarf conifers to represent the verdant greenery of Central Pennsylvania. Photo by Mark Bottrill
