The End of the Line

Today's Denver Union Station.

Okay, perhaps a little dramatic, but there are a few truly dramatic and iconic scenes I want on the layout. Denver’s Union Station is one of them. From the downtown side of the station, only a little has changed with the recent renovation, but the same is not true on the railroad side of the station. Fortunately, this all came to pass after my intended modeling era. So, I can still capture the old station that I remember from my childhood. But there is something iconic in my mind about this structure and so I must have it on the layout. And, I want to have it in something close to scale size. There are only a couple of structures that I want to represent with such fidelity on my layout, and this is one of them.

Denver Union Station from above in full-size N-scale.

At more than 13-inches wide, almost 40-inches long and a little more than 6-inches tall, it will be an impressive and challenging model to build that will dominate the scene. It will also be one of the first things visitors will see when they come to the layout, so I think it is worth the space. One advantage of the renovation project is that a lot of information and drawings of the station became available as a part of the architectural reviews. There is even at least one good book on the station that was authored by Rhoda Beck, who is affiliated with the renovation project as well as another classic book on the Railroads of Denver.

The depot dates to 1881 but has been rebuilt several times. As such, different portions of the structure embody different architectural aesthetics. Fortunately, the 2014 renovation project that rebuilt and revitalized the station led to a great deal of information about the station both before and after that is available on-line. I’ve been collecting this information and using it to build a set of drawings to use to create the station. The diagram above is the result of the need to produce an overhead view to include in the planning process. 

There are some compromises that I have accepted in the planning of the model. Based on the location of Prospect Junction and the aisle-way, the station should be in the background, behind the tracks. Given my space though, that would make it unnecessary to build more than a flat model of the station. With the anticipated effort of this model, I want it up front. So, it is going to be on the wrong side of the tracks based on everything else. This also means that trains are coming into the station from the left as you view the front of the station, where it would be correct for them to be coming in from the right. So, there is a compromise here that allows me to put the station up front. 

Configuration of the Denver Union Station Layout Design Element.

Similarly, this means that the modeled tracks are numbered in reverse. I have decided to standardize my track numbers from the aisle side to the rear across the layout to make it easier for operators. This does put Track 1 closest to the station, but means I have to rearrange the throat of the station as well. I ultimately decided that I would model 7 tracks at the station. I believe that the station had only 6 at the time I am modeling, although it now has 8 dedicated to heavy rail operations. I do have a plan from the National Archives where there are 13 tracks shown, so the number has fluctuated over the years. Ultimately though, I made my decision based on operational considerations. In this era, Denver saw as many as six Amtrak trains per day, including the California Zephyr, the Pioneer and the Desert Wind. Technically, the Desert Wind was combined with the California Zephyr through Denver (dividing at Ogden/Salt Lake City) to head to Las Vegas. Similarly, during part of this time period, the Pioneer was combined at Denver before continuing to Chicago, although for a period, the Pioneer also was combined until Salt Lake where it would head northwest to Portland. There also was a period of time where the Pioneer traveled separately via Cheyenne over UP’s Overland Route. Anyways, depending on how I want to model it, I may have as many as three Amtrak trains in the station at once. Furthermore, there were times during this period where the California Zephyr was as much as 16 Superliner Cars pulled by 4 engines (possibly with Material Handling Cars too). This massive train would be more than 10 feet long. 

In addition to these trains, I plan to include a provision for the DRGW Ski Train, a train such as the UP Frontier Days Train (which could take up 2 tracks), a freelanced additional train (maybe a Hollywood Special or a Steamboat Skier that would use vintage California Zephyr cars), and an additional track for some possible commuter rail. It is a little early for commuter rail in the area, as that is just now taking off, but there were some discussions in the late 1990s about a service between Denver and Albuquerque, as well as simply Denver to Colorado Springs/Pueblo. Most of these additional trains would not add much action to the mainline, but since I love passenger trains and have collected several of them, I have decided that I would like to be able to model them in some fashion on the layout if I choose to do so. The seven tracks range from 116-inches to 149-inches, so all of the tracks are suitably long to represent substantial passenger trains that complement the model of the station.

All of the turnouts are designed as #10 turnouts to further complement the passenger traffic, and while the throat is not an exact model of the one used in Denver, it is functionally similar. At various eras, the station also had a couple of spurs that served local industries, so I have decided to include these as well. I do not believe any were in use in the era I am modeling, but a couple of plausible extra spurs never hurts operations.

Most of this part of the layout can be built on a 16-inch deep shelf hung off the wall. That should make it fairly easy to build this part in sections, and even relocate it if necessary. However, there is one complication. As can be seen in the upper right-hand corner, to fit this in, I did have to extend the station in front of the access to the crawlspace and build this section of the layout to a depth of 32-inches. I have decided to build this end of the Layout Design Element (LDE) as its own removable module. I will probably even mount it on wheels so that it can be disconnected and rolled out of the way to provide access to the crawlspace when needed. Given that access to the crawlspace is a rare necessity, I think that this is an acceptable compromise of my standards. This module can even be removed from the room and taken for display at train shows if necessary. The depth of the module does pose a bit of an access problem for the tracks in the rear but given that these are all straight tracks without turnouts or other complicating features, I think that the derailment risk and maintenance issues are manageable.

BNSF Rennick Yard in Denver February 23, 2013 by Mike Danneman.

So, there it is, Denver Union Station fits into the area of the layout just as I had hoped it would. With this sketched into the plan, the next step is to develop the plan on the other side of the aisle through the BN Rennick Yard and onto the DRGW North Yard.

Cameron Turner