Finding a new focus

Well, my last post was a harbinger of doom, the space constrictions I began to worry about have in fact come to pass, and so for at least the near future I am looking at new layout options, and primarily in directions that may not be a Phase I of anything larger to come. In fact, I have begun to put a lot more focus on the idea of just getting something to build so that I can have something to enjoy in my dwindling spare time.

Long term, I may eventually get some space back. There have at least been a couple of discussions that we may someday put an extension on the house to provide for some additional garage space, and with that may come a layout room. But I have no idea what that time frame might be. So, in the interim, I have been looking at a few outstanding questions that were raised in the last post. One in particular has caught my attention.

Why not Z?

I'd come to the conclusion that an 18" minimum radius was acceptable in N, and if you do the math, that 18" minimum radius in N becomes... (160/220)*18" = 13.1" in Z. A Z scale version of the previous Tennessee Pass Layout becomes much more feasible in the remaining space. After all, the Helix would drop from a 42" x 42" module to about 33" x 33", allowing me to reduce the width of the layout, while maintaining the length. The aisle would still be pinched down near the helix end of the layout, but I should be able to keep at least a 30" aisle on the closet side at that end of the layout.

Fortunately, there are models of D&RGW cars and locomotives available. In fact, in the last few years, not only are F3s and F7s available, but so are GP-7s, GP-9s, GP-30s, GP-35s, and SD45s. These represent a nice range of D&RGW motive power. In fact, looking at the historical locomotive roster of the D&RGW, these models provide the basis for modeling a particular era on the D&RGW. The F3s ran 1946-1966, the F7s from 1949-1968, the GP-7s from 1950-1972, the GP-9s from 1955-1991, the GP-30s from 1963-1999, the GP-35s from 1964-1995, and the SD45s from 1967-1999. So, the intersection of those dates is 1967 and 1968, when everything but the F3s were running. From 1964-1966, I can get everything but the SD45s. But what else is running in those eras?

Well, the other locomotives running from 1964-1968 include:
Alco PA-1s (1947-1967), EMD F9s (1955-1996), EMD FTs (1942-1965), SD-9s (1957-1996), SD-7s (1953-1991), RS3s (1951-1966), KM ML4000s (1961-64), GP40s (1966-2001), and a variety of yard switchers, but those were primarily located in Denver, Pueblo, Salt Lake City and Grand Junction. Of these, only the KMs, FTs, F9s, PA-1s, and GP40s were common on Tennessee Pass. Although, GP-9s were used on the Standard Gauged Monarch Branch out of Salida after SDs proved unreliable on the curves.  So, this proposes two eras - either a 1964-66 era without SD45s but F3s, FTs and KMs, or a 1967-8 era with SD45s and GP40s but no F3s, FTs or KMs.

The KMs could probably be built on an SD45 chassis (just as has been done in N), but FTs have not been done in Z. Alternatively, GP40s have not been done in Z, but seem likely to emerge, and would be a chassis match for GP38-2s - which are available in Z now. Passenger traffic essentially ended on Tennessee Pass in 1964, and there were some line changes around 1965-66, includin the elimination of double track through parts of the Minturn side of the line. This tends to make me look a bit more at the later era, with GP40s and SD45s, even at the expense of the F3s. It also solidifies the use of GP-9s and GP30s on the Monarch Branch.

Okay, so I could probably design/build a late 1960s DRGW layout featuring Tennessee Pass or the Monarch Branch in Z, but given the size, and the reputation of Z as more of a runners scale, could I do the switching and operations that I would desire? I've done some of that in N, and in Nn3, both slightly larger, although Nn3 cars and Z scale cars are very similarly proportioned - but would it be something that I am comfortable with? And that sounds like a layout idea in the making.