Lou Sassi’s Owner Inspiration & Techniques

Lou Sassi’s Western Hoosic Division is an imaginary railroad on the Boston and Maine. Although it is fictional, it is based on a real location and prototype. Lou picked this area because he has lived there all his life, so he is familiar with the railroads that it represents. While he is not using the bridge route at this point and time, it will be a bridge line when the closed loop is finished in the rest of his basement. There will be an unscenic closing loop which he has been planning for the past few years but he hasn’t quite finished. At the moment it’s a point to point with a staging yard and an area on the opposite side of the Hoosic Tunnel.

Then the Rutland enters the picture. Again he knows the area and has ridden a number of times on the Green Mountain railroad. For someone local, it’s an opportunity to ride one of the remaining Rutland engines and experience 1950’s railroading. Lou’s 405 is a Rutland engine that is still used by Green Mountain with a coach and combine that were Rutland cars. The Rutland and Boston interchange on his layout.

When the bridge line comes into play he plans on having the Rutland engine stationed in Bennington. Bennington would be a branch off the main which would be occupied by another going through Williamstown and on through Adams. The Rutland would operate the branch through Bennington and the B&M would be the main from Adams to Williamstown, interchanging at Hoosic Junction. Williamstown and Bennington are the same place physically but are two different places operationally, so one scenic area for two operational areas.