3 steps forward 2 steps back

In the last post I talked about revising my goals and set out on a revised plan for the year. Well a few short days later I am having to re-evaluate these goals again. I wont get into the gory details as I feel I would be talking out of school, other than to state that change is inevitable when there is a change in leadership, and this is most assuredly true in the world of model railroad clubs. 

So the long and short of it is all the goals I had involving the club, are on hold until the dust settles.  I am in no way implying that I am metaphorically taking my ball and going home as I do enjoy the company of many of the members, I am just re-evaluating my situation and allowing the dust to settle before I make anymore goals or decisions involving the club.

One of the things that is leading to this re-evaluation is that the club voted to start construction of a permanent layout and depending on the route the club decides to go on trackwork I could be very busy over the next year as I am one of three guys that are advocating handlaying our turnouts. If we go that route my share would be atleast 15 #6 turnouts as well as anything else we might need. So on the bright side I will get to improve my turnout building skills but I might not have time for anything else. 

This decision also means that the modular layout, which is usually stored in an operational state where the new layout is being built, has been put in storage and whether it sees the light of day again is unclear at this time. A side effect of this is that until we get the track operational on the new layout that there is no where for me to run trains and test out any modifications and upgrades I make to any locomotives or rolling stock.  While I could still continue with the wheel and coupler upgrades I am currently also considering a reweigh as well. So until I decide on how I want to go about that and how to streamline the process so that the cars get shopped, re-weighted, and weathered and then stored in a box designed for storage in one shot, this process is on hold too.

Also I have hit a major snag on the YPG Lines and am having to visit the operational scheme a lot earlier than I intended.  The main reason for this is staging yard capacity and if if a staging yard of appropriate size will not fit then I will have to redesign the layout to accomodate one.  So until that is sorted out updates might be fewer and farther between.

That said I will still strive to update the blog atleast once a month and I am not above including some of the club layout construction in future blog posts. Hopefully by the end of next month I will have the issues with the YPG lines sorted out and be able to complete the planning of phase 2. But didn't I say that last month and the month before that. I just have to remember that this is a journey and sometimes even the priority trains have to go in the hole.

Re-evaluating goals AKA the First Quarter Report

I think everyone is familiar with New Years resolutions and how most people end up setting out on the first of the year with high hopes and motivation only to have this all peter out a week or so later. The same seems to be true amongst model railroaders and our goals for the year. Over the last week or so I have seen several blog posts dealing with having to refocus after life got in the way. Let me just come out and say it, sometimes life sucks and we have to adapt and overcome.  So here is my submission to the long list of model railroaders re-evaluating our focus after the first quarter of the year.

So lets start with where I have fallen short:

The building I am working on for my dad is no farther along than it was at the end of last year. The reason for this is I have reached a crucial element that has quite frankly overwhelmed me and I havent felt like putting the time in to get over this hurdle. It also doesn't help that I have been enjoying the journey of designing the YPG lines so much that I havent wanted to take time away from that to pursue side projects.

Model building has also fallen behind.  The biggest reason for this is financial. I have so much tied up in preorders of necessary locomotives and rolling stock right now that I need to be careful about expenditures from my hobby budget until after these orders have been filled. This has been the biggest reason I havent pulled the trigger on acquiring the needed shells and parts for either of my proposed locomotive builds. So the locomotive builds are on hold indefinitely. The best I can state is I will revisit this goal later in the year.

The bridge build has also been put on hold indefinately. The biggest reason for this is that through a combination of many factors, I did not get my hobby workspace cleared out enough to take on a build of that scale at this time. Also there was a possibility that a move could occur this last few months. While it does not appear that a move is imminent, the prospect of one is more of a reality than it has been previously.

Construction of TOMA modules is on hold for the time being as well. The biggest reason is that there is a project in my garage workspace that needs to be completed first, however the weather this winter has been less than optimal for working on projects outdoors.  Also as we entered the tail end of last quarter the outside temperature was already reaching triple digits.

So with all this doom and gloom, what has gone right?

The blog is the biggest success of the quarter as I am posting well more than my minimum one post a month goal. Thank you to all of you that read the blog and those that have commented either here or on facebook as the engagement with others was the primary reason for creating the blog. also the sheer number of people reading the blog and Facebook page encourages me to attempt to keep up with content.

Research has continued at a meteoric pace. I now have looked at 65 of 70 boxes of photos in the local archive and have developed leads to photos that might be in other collections.

Planning of the YPG lines has also moved along at a good clip I should be wrapping up the planning of phase 2 in the next couple weeks and start planning phase 3 shortly. The plan is still to try to complete the planning of the "million dollar track plan" by the end of the year.

A series of unplanned events

When I wrote the goals for the year in January there were many things I did not anticipate, nor could I anticipate them in some cases, but that is life. One thing I did not anticipate was my wife willingly letting me have my last day of vacation to go spend an afternoon visiting a layout. As I only get 1 to 2 weeks a year to see family I was surprised my parents went along with the idea as well, although my dad, being a model railroader himself, was not too hard to convince. There are two types of layout visits, the completed layout and the under construction layout. From a planning stand point I get more out of visiting an under construction layout than a competed one. I am not saying that visiting a completed layout is not enjoyable, but rather that most the educational points of a finished layout are covered over with the scenery we love. 

As I alluded to in the last post I recently had a chance to meet Mike Deverell and see his layout in person. While Mike has some beautifully done scenes, and they are impressive, a large portion of the layout is still bare benchwork.  There were a couple big take aways I got from this visit and a few Ah-ha moments.

The first take away was just how well a narrow shelf works, I have read about this concept but not seen it put to use other than bare benchwork.  One of the first scenes encountered upon entering Mike's layout space was a stunning bridge scene, and it is only about 12 inches deep. Those of you who have watched Mike's videos will know the scene, the bridge itself is a "simple" bridge over a small stream, but it grabbed my attention right away. I had to get right up to the benchwork fo notice that the scene was as narrow as it was. Everything from the foreground to the backdrop just blended so well, and Mike's technique for clouds was so subtle that I did not notice them until he pointed them out. The scene just worked! 

The second take away was setting. All the towns on his layout have station signs hanging over them, no need to take your eyes off the train to figure out where you are.  Also like the clouds the signs are subtle; there when you need to read them but blend in nicely when you are focused elsewhere. Mike also uses sound to set the scene; the layout is set in 1956 and when we walked in music from 1956 was playing. Like a movie soundtrack, the music was there but not overpowering and definately helped set the scene for railroading in the 1950's.

The ah ha moments were on design issues such as curve radius as an operating challenge, layout height as well as fascia track diagrams. Mike's layout is high by "normal" standards, but this high layout with a cantilever design made the aisles seem wider than they were and made it very easy for people to pass in the aisles. Mike's fascia mounted track diagrams not only show track arrangements at various locations, but also state what authority each track is under such as yard limits and CTC. Using curve radius as an operating challenge came to me as Mike talked about limiting certain cars to certain tracks. On the way to Mike's house we drove along the combined BNSF/Union Pacific mainline on the Tacoma waterfront and there was a sign limiting certain passenger equipment to a specific track. Therefore I can cheat on my minimum radius on sidings and restrict lomger equiement from these tracks and still be prototpical. This should also keep dispatchers and crews on their toes when scheduling meets.  I enjoyed meeting Mike and his family and learned a great deal that can be applied to my layout design.

The second unplanned event occurred shortly after I started making arangements to visit Mike. I called my dad about something and recieved a tirade about how he was done in the hobby, because everything quit working suddenly and he didnt have the time or the desire to trouble shoot the problem.  So one day while I was up visiting, I took it upon myself to trouble shoot his layout for him. Turns out all the wailing and gnashing of teeth about new fangled technologies boiled down to a problem as old as model railroading itself; dirty track and dirty wheels. So I set about cleaning his track and locomotive wheels.  Then to prove I was successful I had to perform the unenviable task of test running said trains (oh poor me). Everything was going well until I ran afoul of one of his two magic silver switches (if you dont know what I am talking about listen to more AML). This was however the first time I had actually run a train in over 9 years and doing so kind of made me want to get some of my ideas off the drawing board a little faster. It also made me realize that a large layout needs a plan for cleaning track especially if there are hard to reach places. For example my dads layout has a turnback curve over the staircase which meant cleaning that portion was not only a contortionist act, but a tight rope walk as well. So now I need to sit down and budget the funds to acquire the necessary cars for a track cleaning "work train".

The final unforseen event was the county fair. I knew the club was going to have a layout there but I did not think I would get much of a chance to run anything, especially since most of my models have been in storage since March of 2008. Granted the latout is a simple roundy roundy display layout so there wasnt much to do other than take the throttle and set it and forget it, but running trains is running trains. In all the previous clubs I have been involved in, only two trains were allowed to run at a show or open house and only equipment that had been checked out for operation prior. The first night of the fair I was asked why I hadnt brought anything to run, so I explained that I had not had a chance to tune up any of my equipment, which brought a loud laugh from the rest of the crew and they told me to bring some stuff and we could trouble shoot it there if a problem developed.  I have to say I am enjoying this minimal drama approach to a model railroad club. Anyway this caused me to go through my storage and locate about two and a half trains worth of cars and some locomotives 3 dcc and 1 ABBA set of F units which were still dc. Other than a few minor issues and one bad derailment (stringlined a curve with 2 of my double stack cars) that lead to a bad order car my equipment performed flawlessly. Also since everything I brought was assembled from a kit and I had done the dcc installs myself it reminded me what I am capable of as a modeler.

So with all of this in mind I feel it might be important to re-evaluate my goals for the year. Although some of the original goals may still be met, I felt that adding a couple more cost effective and achievable goals might help me keep from getting frustrated and help me move on to my original goals.

Additional goal 1:

Go through all my storage bins and boxes and locate all my unbuilt kits and get them consolidated in one location. Since one of the biggest hurdles this year has been finding the finances for the hobby (as I finish this post I am in the waiting room at the auto shop for some unplanned maintenance) I can get some modeling done by building kits I already have as opposed to getting no modeling done because I am trying to scrimp and save to get the needed parts for a locomotive build.

Additional goal 2:

Assuming a move does not happen in the next year I will have the county fair to look forward to. Since it closed yesterday that means I have 51 weeks to get some trains ready to run. By this I mean two to three trainsets tuned up and ready. This will include:

1. Couplers changed to Kadee on all equipment (possibly scale heads)

2. Metal wheels on all cars

3. Covert those F units to dcc with sound (possibly motor the 2 dummy B units) possibly upgrade the decoders and lights in the other locomotives I took this year

4. Weather all the rolling stock to some degree

5. Proper storage and transport system for the rolling stock (possibly Fast Tracks Freight Crates).

The first locomotive I ever attempted to super detail (while in college) heels into the curve on the Yuma Model Railroaders layout at the 2017 Yuma County Fair (module by Lee Stoermer, Morgan Pavia Photo)

I figure if I can stay on pace with what I am already doing and complete these additional goals then I can rule this year a success even if I do not complete all of my original goals. Remember this is a journey and sometimes you have to take the fork in the road.

Scope and Scale

Well here I sit bored on a flight to Seattle, I was going to listen to A Modelers Life on the flight but my wife forgot her headphones and so being the good husband I am she is using mine.  But I digress, this is supposed to be a blog on model railroading not a travel blog. Although by the time I post this my travels will have taken me to see Mike Deverell's Colorado Front Range Layout. I am looking forward to not only meeting Mike, but getting to see his fine layout in person.  For those of you not familiar with Mike's work, he has a Youtube channel where he provides layout updates and instructional videos. You can find his youtube channel here.

Mike's layout is in an out building which is the route I want to go however his building is significantly smaller than my proposed project and this is one of the one reason I wanted to visit, to see if there is any way I could conceivable shrink the footprint of the YPG lines and still maintain the feel I am going for. While I am not saying I will shrink the layout alternative ideas do still intrigue me, for instance years ago I developed a track plan for the Somerton Branch that would fit in a spare room we had, however I was never truly happy with it and, a move made it a non-starter.

Recently, I have had conversations with a couple model railroaders who I respect the hell out of. The first being my dad who as I might have mentioned before models the Great Northern electric operations  over Stevens Pass in 1955. His layout is in a roughly 20' x20' room over the garage but his useable space for a layout is less as he has carved out a roughly 4' x 15' alcove for his workshop and staging. His main layout is HO but he also has loops underneath for Scale O, O27 and S Scale.  He and I were discussing some of the maintenance headaches he has been having and how since he is now in his mid 70's he may have built too much railroad, especially since his helper monkey (me) moved 1500 miles away 9 years ago today.

My dad in his train room. The lower deck foreground is S and O27, the foreground top deck is HO. The lower deck in the background is Scale O with two HO decks.

The second individual is Jeremy Dummler, while I dont always single people out, I felt I should just so Jeremy knows I appreciate his being a straight shooter with me. For those who dont know Jeremy, he models the Yosemite Valley Railroad (thats Yo-Sem-It-Tee, not Yo-Sem-Might), yes you read that right, the same railroad his friend and MMR Jack Burgess models. If you get a chance, visit Jeremy's informative blog here.  Jeremy is also very involved with the LDSIG and serves as a research editor for their magazine, The Layout Design Journal. So when it comes to issues of design I do take what Jeremy says into consideration even if I dont follow it.

Jeremy and I were discussing staging yard size, as I had posed the question on the YPG Lines Facebook page "if there was such thing as too much staging?" Jeremy pointed out that a 12 car staging yard on both ends would be 22 trains originating in staging during an op session not to mention those trains that originate on the layout or in one of the other staging yards along the way. This means to have a full opperating session would require almost 30 crews not to mention dispatchers and yard masters etc... Also Jeremy pointed out that this would require over 100 locomotives and 400 freight cars. Truly a layout of epic proportion akin to something out of a Cecil B. De Mile movie although hopefully with out as many deaths (although if someone ever produces the Jim Lincoln dead in the weeds figure it will probably find a home somewhere on the layout).

So lets discuss the scope and scale of this layout. First the current track plan I am working on is what I call the million dollar track plan, where space is not an issue and budget is not an issue. This is my dream layout, the final product may be this, it may be greatly reduced but I doubt it will be larger. This layout is essentially 3 layouts in 1. Colton to Yuma is one Layout, Yuma to Tucson is another, and Yuma itself is a very respectably sized switching layout with industrial and branchline trackage. The idea is that these layouts could all operate independantly or as a unit depending on available crew size, although I still havent figured out the west end staging for the Tucson Division as my middle staging is actually between Yuma and Wellton, not at Yuma.  Then again I havent even started on planning for the line east of Yuma as I am still working on Phase 2 which is the line from Colton to Yuma.

The biggest issue I see with yard capacity is making sure all trains have a place to terminate. Perhaps instead of staging yards, I need to refer to them as receiving yards as these yards need to have the capacity to receive all the trains on the layout as very few terminate midway. This was a busy line especially during beet season and the perishable season.  In am still researching traffic volumes but 10 trains each direction that traverse the entire layout does not seem too unreasonable for a full operating session. There would also be 3 to 5 trains originating at El Centro, 2-3 each direction originating at Phoenix, possibly a copper train originating between Phoenix and Tucson, the Iron ore train originating at Ferrum. Then there is the trains that originate at Colton or Tucson and terminate at a point on the layout such as Yuma, Phoenix, El Centro or Ferrum. Throw in a triweekly Amtrak on occasion and any other special moves and that is a lot of trains and we haven't even figured out how many trains originated at Yuma yet. Add the yard crews, one of which can work the Somerton Branch, a yard master for Yuma and possibly two dispatchers and thats a lot of operators. Oh I forgot helper crews because not every train out of Colton will run "single to Fingel". Yes the scope of the layout is huge and so the scale is huge as well (we will get into that in another post).

So why would I decide to take on this monstrous task, am I certifiable? Wait dont answer.  Here are a couple factors that have influenced my decision.

1. I personally do not like switching, but I wanted this layout to have something for everyone. What I enjoy is watching long trains get over the mainline. This is why most of the switching will be confined to the Yuma portion of the layout. I am also designing the layout so it can function with out cars being switched at Yuma. Even though there is a lot of square footage in the layout space I tried to minimize the number of switches and extra track to provide a long mainline run. I also tried to minimize turn back curves as the prototype, with the exception of San Timiteo Canyon is vitually straight from Yuma to Colton. The Tucson portion has more curves but most of these are just for gradual alignment change. Even if I reduced the scope of the layout to cover say just Beaumont Hill most these trains would still traverse the area modeled so it would not cut down the number of trains that significantly.

2. I am a builder and I do not want to reach the point of a finished layout too quickly.  Also by using the TOMA approach I can have a fully operational layout while I work on the next section. If I dont finish it all the layout will not suffer.

3. The final piece of the puzzle is that I face an early retirement. I have 13 years until I am eligible to retire, and 20 until mandatoty retirement at age 57. This means I am going to have a lot of free time a lot sooner than most of my peers. Also people in my line of work tend to die with in 6 years of retirement unless they have an active hobby to pursue. What better way to ensure that I can annoy my wife into my 90's than to have a layout that will take me that long to build.

So while I am aware of how large and crazy this layout is, I do appreciate feed back and will take peoples suggestions into consideration. So if I pose a question on the Facebook page feel free to comment, sometimes a few extra sets of eyes are all I need to get over a hurdle I have encountered. Remember this hobby is as much about having fun with the process as it is with enjoying the final product. This is a journey and like college I plan to make this journey last as long as humanly possible.

Coming full circle

There comes a day when you realize you have gone full circle and are right back where you began. In this instance I am not referring to physically but rather when we come back to what got us into the hobby. Now this could mean a couple things as discussed earlier I grew up railfanning the Stevens Pass area of Washington State in the late 80's and early 90's. Dont worry I am not changing my prototype, my dad models that area so if I ever need to scratch that itch I talk to him.

Its more along the lines that as I was researching the Sunset Route the other day something caught my attention and made me reflect on that seminal moment when I decided I wanted to seriously get into model trains. As I have stated previously it was Presidents Day 1989 and Southern Pacific 4449 was making a run over Stevens Pass to Wenatchee, Washington as part of the Washington State Centennial Celebration.

A later encounter with SP 4449 on BNSF rails east of Vancouver WA in Summer 2001. A few months later in response to the attacks of September 11 she was returned to her American Freedom Train colors.

So how do we get from the North Cascade Mountains of Washington State to the desert of Arizona? The answer is Facebook; more specifically a group on Facebook devoted to the Southern Pacific Railroad. It was in this group that some pictures of 4449 were shared from two of the occasions that she made an appearance on the Sunset Route in excursion service. This got me thinking how many times had the 4449 made an appearance on the Sunset Route, and specifically in the areas I am modeling, since she was restored to active service?

Counting directional movements and not roundtrips the number I come up with is six. Twice in American Freedom Train colors and four times in the classic Daylight colors. These apearances are as follows:

January 1976 eastbound as the American Freedom Train.

April 1977 westbound as Amtrak's Transcontinental Steam Excursion (return to Portland from AFT service).

1984 eastbound and westbound as the Louisiana Worlds Fair Daylight.

1986 eastbound to Ferrum for the filming of the movie "Tough Guys" with a westbound return trip.

Other than the lines in and around Portland, the Shasta Route and parts of the former Buington Northern, the Sunset Route provides me with more chances to run this locomotive than if I had modeled another locale such as Donner Pass or the Siskiyou Line. Even more interesting is I read on the internet (so it must be true) that for a period during the 1940's 4449 was based out of Yuma, so if I decide to backdate the layout to the 40's the 4449 can be a part of it. Of course most new locomotives were delivered via El Paso so they would have come through Yuma on their way west, but to be based out of Yuma provides many more opportunities to feature this famous locomotive and there is photo graphic evidence to back it up in the Barriger Collection:

https://m.flickr.com/#/photos/barrigerlibrary/12352667055/in/set-72157640346919596/

We truly have come full circle.

Am I a model railroader or a railroad bibliophile?

Ok everyone get your head out of the gutter, just because a word has "phile" as a suffix does not make it bad or dirty.  I could have said book collector but I decided I would put my bachelors degree to good use. Also these type of words tend to trip people up when they try to pronounce them and I can't be the only one who experiences a bit of schadenfreude (look that one up) when I hear Lionel Strang butcher a word on "A Modeler's Life". Sorry Lionel, I love ya man, in a like if I was going to the fridge to get a beer I would ask if you wanted one kinda way.

Seriously if you somehow found this blog and don't listen to "A Modeler's Life" do yourself a huge favor and check it out  although like NyQuil we recommend not operating heavy equipment while enjoying (dont ask me how I know this). Also in the interest of fairness if you dont already check out the other model railroad related podcasts such as "Model Rail Radio", "Model Railcast", "Mike and Scotty Live" and the "Model Railroad Hobbyist Podcast", they are all excellent shows and each fills a different niche in the hobby. But this isn't a post about podcasts although now I think one might be in the future.

So we now return you to your regularly scheduled programming already in progress...

The other day I was going over my hobby purchases for the last month and realized it was very heavy on the book end of the spectrum. So I went back a little further and realized that in the last year or so I have acquired more books than models. In fact it is almost a three to one ratio and thats not including the inspirational railroad artwork I have acquired, once again a post for another day. Now there are probably some very good reasons for this, first and foremost that I am in full research mode and therefore acquiring books for research. It could also be that the railroad I model has an active historical society and many prolific authors such as John Signor, Tony Thompson, and Joe Strapac. The last two have been more responsible for my latest spending than others, where as Signor is one of the go to authors for history of any given route Thompson and Strapac are the go to guys for freight cars and locomotives respectively. Thompsons books on SP Freight cars and Pacific Fruit Express are considered the bible of for Southern Pacific Freight car modelers where as Strapac's recently completed 22 volume Diesel series and his two volume compendium on SP diesels will tell you everything you needed to know and some things you didn't about the over 5000 diesels Southern Pacific owned over 57 years.

Then there are the motive power annuals and "yearly" reviews, some of these written by Strapac as well but other authors have contributed here as well.  Then there are the non SP books on freight cars such as the X-car series in hard cover from Morning Sun or there are two freight car collections available  from Morning Sun as well (last I checked one of the collections was on sale for just over the price of 1 X-Car book and the other one was less that the price of two. They are also available individually for around $20 US, so for the budget minded model railroader these may be the ticket). I acquired the Morning Sun book "Amtrak Across America" as an e-book a few months ago and my only complaint is I wish I could zoom in further, but hey you cant zoom in on a real book either unless you use magnification devices.

So whats so important about the books I mentioned? While the text may be important the pictures are the real stars of the show. In high school and to some extent when I was working on my history degree we talked a lot about sources. There are primary sources, secondary sources and tertiary sources, primary sources of course being eyewitness accounts and secondary sources being works gleaned from primary sources. Tertiary sources of course are those that gathered all the information with in from a secondary source; I wrote a decent senior thesis in college for the most part using only secondary sources but this would be considered a tertiary source. Thats not to say that tertiary sources arent valuable resources; these sources can be mined for leads to primary and secondary sources. One of the first things I do when I read an interesting book or article is jump right to the footnotes or end notes to see where the author got their information and then start playing connect the dots.

Returning to photos, the reason photos are important is they are a primary source embedded in a secondary source. Also while oral histories can contain inaccuracies a photo is infallible. This leads to Pro-tip number 1: make friends with the local librarians and archivists in the area you are researching. If you build a rapport with them they are more likely to help you in your search, but dont expect them to find everything for you. The archivist in Yuma has given me good information that I needed that she found during her research on a completely unrelated topic, but she made note of it when she saw it because she knew I was looking for it.  Likewise I helped identify several photos in the unidentified folders as well as missidentified photos that I came across in my search of the archive, therefore helping them fix errors and ommisions.

Which leads us to Pro-tip #2: look everywhere even if you are not sure it is related. While I was able to rule out certain folders containing photos located well away from the tracks or taken inside buildings I am now just three boxes shy of searching through the entire subject photo collection in the archive (all 70 boxes). This has been a ton of work but it has yielded terrific results such as photos of the Union Pacific Olympic Torch Relay Train parked on the Somerton Branch prior to the Atlanta Olympics (Summer,1996) which would have been in the final months that the SP existed.  More importantly it hae been things in the background of photos that have caught my eye, such as a long since demolished building or a circus flyer in the window. This hunt for evidence and information is an aspect of the hobby I enjoy immensely and if it stalls progress on the physical railroad so be it, after all I dont even classify as young yet to some in this hobby so time is something I have. Besides most of us didnt get into this hobby to finish everything overnight, and as the great Frosty Westering, the football coach at my alma mater, always reminded us life is more enjoyable if you focus on the journey instead of reaching the destination, till next time.

Plan B

In the March 2017 MR Tony Koester discusses having a plan B on era and I think this is something that merits discussion.

When I started modeling the Southern Pacific it was the early 1990's.  In fact the other night I was relaying to some friends that it was Presidents Day 1989 (George Washington's birthday or what ever it was called back then) when I first laid eyes on a Southern Pacific locomotive, albeit a steam locomotive.  It was on that day that Southern Pacific 4449 lead an excursion train, across what would become my railfan stomping grounds the Burlington Northern Cascade Subdivision over Stevens Pass, for the Washington State centennial celebration.  On that day a love affair with the Southern Pacific was born and although I still have a soft spot in my heart for BN in the late 1980's and 1990's it is nothing compared to my passion for the Espee. 

Of course for the first few years I had to have everything  the SP ever ran (and somethings it did not, but hey someone made a model of it), I didn't care if I was running a wood sheathed boxcar with GP60's I had to have it, what can I say I was all of 9 years old. When my teen years hit I had pretty much settled on being a contemporary modeler.  Although my dad still bought me tons of Black Widow locomotives (he models the 1950's and doesn't much care for "modern" paint schemes) I just couldn't get enough Bloody Nose power and like Tim Taylor I wanted more power (grunt grunt grunt) so I was trying to keep up with the horsepower race that was going on in the mid 1990's.  On a side note there is an excellent article on the last locomotives ordered by SP in the most recent issue of Trainline, the Southern Pacific Railroad History and Technical Society magazine.

Enter September 11, 1996 and the Southern Pacific ceased to be; Swallowed like many great railroads before it by the Union Pacific. Call it the Borg or other derivative name the fact of the matter is that the Scarlet and Grey was gone and being replaced as fast as possible with that disgusting Armor Yellow.  As a modeler this was great as I had an end to my era unless I became a UP modeler but as a railfan an history buff it was a sad day. I continued on planning to model the 1990's and began the task of collecting the necessary intermodal equipment and high horsepower diesels.

When Plan A becomes Plan B

I don't remember the exact day it happened and it was probably many months in the making, but I know it was after I got married in 2007 but most likely sometime after moving to Yuma in 2008.  It started like with all things money; I was looking at the price of model trains and how it was continually rising and making some comparisons. For example a well car set from intermountain will run you well over $100 and then you still have to buy the containers. 89 foot flatcars are not cheap either, infact most longer equipment such as passenger cars or auto racks seem to carry a significantly larger price tag with it. At the same time I was lamenting how much I missed miss matched locomotive consists and heavy drag freights. My ever growing video collection also allowed me to see SP power in the pre ditch light days with fully functional light packages.  The final push came when Athearn released their Genesis SP C-50-7 bay window caboose (it should be noted that other than a Details West casting which are becoming harder and harder to find, no one makes an era appropriate End of Train Device). It was then I decided I was going to model the 1980's. Obtaining a copy of the 1981 SPINS book for Yuma set the year at 1981.

So Plan A is currently 1981, this ironically is the last full year of SDP40Fs on Amtraks Sunset Limited. It was also in this time frame that the SP cut back operations on the Somerton Branch.

So what about plan B? Well my research shows that the biggest physical plant changes in Yuma occured in the late 1970's with the construction of Interstate Highway 8 and Giss Parkway.  It was during this timeframe that the new yard office was built (the old one stood where the Giss Parkway underpass is today) and the ice deck was removed. From then until after 1996 the physical plant of the railroad did not see many changes so it is concievable that I could change years easily just by adding and subtracting locomotives and vehicles to fit the modeled year. So I looked at the various years and decided on a couple that I could model in the three and a half decade span I am interested in.  I have broken the plans down as follows with the specific year listed as a subset of the plan and list some of the interesting points of that year.

PLAN A The 1980's 

Plan A1 1981- pre HEP Amtrak, Somerton Branchline still in use, Cabooses, Iron ore train, copper trains, missmatched consists. B-boats have been on property 3 years Some Alcos still on roster.

Plan A2 1985- Kodachromes, need I say more? There is optimism as the SPSF Merger has not yet been denied. Last hurrah for the big U-boats. Superliner Amtrak (unfortunately no one makes a P30CH in plastic). No Somerton Branch but produce traffic is still heavy and lots of Beet trains out of El Centro. Copper mine in Ajo has closed so limited interchange at Gila Bend.

Plan A3 1988 - GP 60's and B39/B40's are arriving on property. Merger with DRGW brings more Rio Grande power to SP rails. Some trains still have a caboose but more and more are using a FRED.

Plan B the 1990's 

Plan B1 1992- Speed lettering makes its debut, more intermodal trains, P30CHs are starting to disapear in favor of more reliable F40's and new dash 8 "Pepsi Cans"

Plan B2 1994- all new locos have been delivered. SD70's and Dash 9's are starting to be more common on trains. AC4400's are on property but mainly on coal trains on the former DRGW in Colorado, Depot Burned down in 1993, Amtrak P40 and P42 locos are replacing the older Amtrak power. Its the last year before the mergers of the 90's began and doomed SP (BNSF merger approved September 22, 1995).

Plan C 1970's

Plan C1 1978- Agriculture is still a booming source of traffic, Alcos still on the roster physical plant changes have been completed in Yuma, Colton Tower is in its final years, Iron ore drags for both export and domestic production, post rainbow Amtrak. DD35s and U50s scrapped.

Plan C2 1975-1976- Bicentennial locomotives, American Freedom Train and Preamble Express, rebuilds are becoming a common sight,  Amtrak begining to find its identity, some rainbow but not as much, Ice deck present but derelict. Post FRA roofwalk ban.

Plan C3 1972- PFE still icing some reefers, Amtrak is full on Rainbow, old yard office some Black Widow units still around, F units are still in regular use, odd ball locomotives (U50 & DD35) still in mainline use. Roofwalks being removed from older cars.

All of this does not of course rule out a retro night of 1960's or late 1950's operation. Hey I have to find an excuse to run all those beautiful Black Widow F units my dad made me and my Daylight E9. Remember as a certain publication used to proclaim "Model Railroading is Fun"

Would you like mushrooms on that?

When I started this journey I had wanted to do a single deck layout. Single decks are so much easier to maintain continuity throughout, don't require any complex construction as there can be no grades and most importantly do not require a space eating helix. As I began to put my ideas on paper I soon realized that I would need a fairly substantial space to build this monster as a single deck layout and at the planned 50' x100' footprint for phase 1 and 2 this was already an ambitious layout. So the obvious solution is to double deck this thing.

After making this decision it was decided that it would be simple enough to get the linear space needed if phase three was placed on top of phase 1 and 2 but that meant that this contingency must be planned for in the design of phase 1 and 2. Also since it was my desire that the Yuma area be open and operable from both sides a traditional double deck plan would not work. This left me pondering whether to build the layout as a mushroom design.

Having visited Joe Fugate's Siskiyou Line and talking with Joe I learned many drawbacks to this approach.  Also there have been a few articles on the subject recently in the hobby press which have illustrated the pros and cons of the approach.  First and foremost it requires special carpentry in order to support the top deck. Also the bottom deck usually ends up with a sloped backdrop that can be difficult to hide.  because of the nature of the construction the mushroom design does not lend itself to phased construction.  Secondly the turn back curves on the lower level must be broad enough to accommodate the turn back curve on the backside of the backdrop for the upper deck. Another factor is that back to back scenes must leave room for an aisle and upper deck behind the backdrop, this leads to cramped aisles as well as a sense of claustrophobia. One draw back I noted when visiting the Siskiyou Line was that the mushroom portion of the layout was hot and stuffy most likely from less than optimal airflow. While I am modeling the desert I don't feel I want my operators to have to endure prototypic temperatures while operating. It should be noted that Joe has recently announced that the Siskiyou Line is going to be rebuilt and that he most likely wont use a mushroom design this time. While I haven't completely ruled out a mushroom design I will say I am definitely leaning another direction.

Enter the Mezzanine.

Since this layout is being designed for a space that is as yet to be built we can think outside the box. If instead of trying to fit phase three on the back side of phases 1 and 2 what if a floor was built above part of the layout and the helix continued up to that level. Phase 3 could then be built independent of the other 2 phases so long as provisions to support the Mezzanine were made in phase 1 or it was constructed with the building. This would allow for wider aisles on all phases as parallel scenes could be built back to back instead of having to allow for an aisle between the back drops.  Anyone who has visited the San Diego Model Railroad Museum has seen this approach put to good use by the La Mesa Club on their Tehachapi layout. It has allowed them to have a longer mainline run with out many of the drawbacks associated with other multi-deck methods.  The biggest draw back to this approach is that it requires extra tall ceilings.  While this is easy to plan for in a dedicated structure it effectively rules out a basement build as the minimum 20 foot ceilings in the basement would be hard to come by in most houses.  While it is obvious that this approach would yield greater quantity of run, the final question is would all this be worth it in regards to quality of run? I feel as if that question can only be answered through experience and the purpose of the layout.  In my situation I have always been a builder and model railfan. This layout is being designed with operations in mind only to make it interesting at ops sessions. So by that reasoning as long as I have room to keep building I will be happy and that is the ultimate criteria for this project.  I have seen too many quality layouts disappear because the owner finished it and had nothing more to build.  While I am not completely sold on this approach considering it has given me a great chance to think outside the box which has been liberating. As they say it is the journey not the destination.