Finding a Focus

I started this blog by discussing a number of possible layout themes that I have been considering. These included:

1. D&RGW Moffat Line (Denver to the Moffat Tunnel and Beyond)
2. D&RGW Craig Branch (Bond to Craig)
3. D&RGW Tennessee Pass (Pueblo to Minturn/Dotsero)
4. D&RGW Soldier Summit
5. D&RGW Belt Line
6. Freelance "D&RGW-like" Line combining elements of the above
7. D&RGW Marshall Pass Line (Nn3)
8. RGS/D&RGW in Nn3 (Durango-Ridgeway/Silverton)
9. Freelance Rio Gorre Northern in Nn3 (based on Colorado and Western NG lines)
10. Colorado Central in Nn3 (Denver through Golden to Silver Plume/Central City)
11. Wildcards...

Each of these I described in a separate blog post describing the line. And over the years I have started plans for almost all these lines. Yet, there are two I keep coming back to, and have probably done the most planning for over the years. These are the Moffat Line, and the Rio Gore Northern. These are basically two different lines, but I have pretty much concluded that right now, these are what I want to build. Furthermore, I am convinced that I want to focus on the Moffat Line as my primary operating layout. Does that mean I won’t but the Rio Gore Northern? No, I may well build it, but I think I will keep it smaller, and maybe use it as an interim layout that could be fully operational while the pieces come into place for the Moffat layout. After all, there are some things I would like to build and model that simply are not found on the Moffat line.

Three in a Row by Mike Danneman.

So, the main layout will be a Moffat Line focus. I chose this over Tennessee Pass, Soldier Summit and the Craig Branch primarily because it is close to my childhood home, and there is a nice mix of local switching, mainline operations and helper operations in the area. Tennessee Pass is a lot more limited for local switching traffic and Soldier Summit has even less. The Craig Branch is effectively Coal first, second and third, although there is a little switching along the way. Both Tennessee Pass and Soldier Summit really need to have either Pueblo or Provo included to provide any significant switching action and both of those terminals are a long distance away from the signature climbs. The Moffat is also a single-track railroad, so dispatching is more interesting than that of Soldier Summit. I want some local switching, an interesting dispatching layout and so the Moffat seems to be not only a nostalgic choice, but a good choice.

Mike Danneman Models the Yampa Valley Mail exiting the Moffat Tunnel.

Mike Danneman’s Moffat Line model however, demonstrates that the stretch of Denver to the East Portal of the Moffat Tunnel can be well modeled in a reasonable area. And given that I am more interested in a multi-deck layout than he was, suggests that I may be able to model this line in such a way as to produce a suitable operating layout with significant scenic potential. Finally, there are several nice elements to model, including Union Station, the Rio Grande Yard Tower, the Cargill Elevator, and the Moffat Tunnel itself. Each of these should be nice modeling projects.

I continue to follow Mike through his Flickr account (Flicker Handle Moffat Road). I still devour his articles in N Scale Railroading starting with (Issue #5 May/June 2001). I even got to visit the layout once and it does look fantastic. I still love watching the videos, like these below. I don’t want to duplicate his layout, but it certainly sets a standard. And I still watch and re-watch videos of his layout in action, like those at these links.

Mike Danneman's Moffat Line Slide Show.

Mike Danneman's Layout Video.

Mike Danneman's Layout Video Part 2.

So, with a slightly ambitious and audacious goal of building my own version of the Moffat Line, next time, we can delve into the space I imagine for the layout.

Cameron Turner