Tolland

The town of Tolland is another railfanning opportunity enroute to the East Portal of the Moffat Tunnel. The town is known for its classic yellow school house near the tracks.

Tolland School House. Image by Janine.

Tolland includes a short siding of 5660 feet. That is about 2/3rds the length of Rollins siding. The town is a few houses, including a local sheriff's house, who has been known to stop local railfans rushing through town.

The town of Tolland with winter weather closing in. Photo from Inverted Sky Blog.

However, the sites here are amazing, and the opportunities for good photos are worth the trip.

DRGW5389 at Tolland. Photo by Joe McMillan.

July 6, 1978, DRGW5367 rolls west through Tolland. Photo by John Carr.

Same train headed west for the Craig Branch. Photo by John Carr.

The plan for Tolland is as simple as Tolland itself. There are a few houses, the school house, a grade crossing, and the siding. At the east end of town are a few ponds formed from South Boulder Creek, but Tolland is a quiet spot in the climb. If it wasn't for that iconic school house, Tolland would be easy to overlook and not even model.

Tolland LDE.

The siding modeled for Tolland is 100.5" long, which is similar to Clay and Crescent siding. I expect that the siding will be used in a similar fashion as the other two, that is primarily for passing shorter trains (passenger trains or helpers) past freight trains.

A 30 Day-30 Post Challenge Completed!

Cameron Turner

Tolland Canyon

Leaving Rollinsville, the mainline enters into Tolland Canyon within the Roosevelt National Forest. The canyon is beautiful, but distinctly different than either Rollins Canyon or the upper reaches of South Boulder Creek.

A view of Tolland Canyon. Photo from Google.

East Portal Road runs along one bank of South Boulder Creek, while the railroad generally runs along the other, although the railroad does cross the creek to the south bank alongside the road before Tolland.

UP6400 near Tolland, CO in June 2005. Photo by Kent Nelson.

The same location in April 2015 with a newer bridge and UP8377 leading an eastbound train into Tolland Canyon. Photo by David Sheppard.

Another eastbound shot of the same location. Photo by John Crisanti.

Sometime between 2005 and 2015, the pile trestle was replaced by a more modern concrete bridge. As my plan is to model the period from 1987-1996, I will have the pile trestle on the layout.

Track Plan for Tolland Canyon.

In the plan, Tolland Canyon extends down the left peninsula of the room and turns the corner to the layout located above Tunnels 17 and 18, and above the Cargill Elevator. At this point, the plan is for the canyon to open up into the valley where the small town of Tolland is located. With the loop at Espy, the resulting distance between Rollins and Tolland sidings is 28.4 feet, or about 2 long train lengths. The real distance is about 5 miles. By the time the main reaches Tolland, it has climbed about 3 inches to an elevation of 48.25 inches above the reference elevation on a 0.9% grade.

1 Day, 1 Post to Go.

Cameron Turner

Thankfully at Espy

Happy Thanksgiving to Everyone!

Creating the long siding at Rollins lead me to dig into my box of design tricks. If you look at the plan for the area, you may notice that the way the track is oriented by the time we reach the west end of Rollins siding, it will require a pretty sharp curve to bring the track back along the peninsula. I chose to use this point as an opportunity to add a little length to the layout, and to give up a little elevation in the process, while providing a smoother track flow at the end of the peninsula.

Details of the plan for Espy.

The track descends starting shortly after the Colorado Highway 119 overpass through Rollins siding to the west switch at Espy.With the track receding away from the viewer, I think that this elevation drop will not be obvious, particularly if I am careful with the scenery and the perspective. As the train disappears out of sight into the trees near the west switch, it will continue to descend under the track forming Rollins siding. The descent gives up almost 3 inches of elevation, by the time it emerges on the other side of the peninsula, through a backdrop opening screened by trees. The mainline once again begins the climb out of the "Espy Loop" and crosses over East Portal Road as it heads towards Tolland Canyon.

BNSF 6447 near Rollinsville. Photo by Joe McMillian.

The above photo is the inspiration for the scenery I have planned. I imaging being able to have the train disappear into the trees, much as it does to the left in this shot.

The additional curvature in Rollins siding is not entirely unprototypical, here are two trains, UP 7347 and 2745 on the left running light, and UP 5307, and 7296 working as helpers on an eastbound coal train at Rollins. Photo by Joe McMillian.  

You can see just to the right of the engines in this Joe McMillian shot, the remains of the ice house foundation.

April 2002, Rolf Stump captured this photo west of Rollins. This is the scene I hope to replicate after the "Espy Loop" feature. 

My scene will have a few more trees around the tracks, but I like how it works. It let me add about 2 feet of length to Rollins, and a another third of a mile of mainline run, while lowering the top deck of the layout and letting me have a little more substantial grade between Rollins and Tolland. The descent through the "Espy Loop", while totally unprototypical, will I think be almost invisible to the engineers, coming after a flat run in Rollins, and being unable to easily see the difference in height between the two sides of the peninsula. All in all, a good clever design solution.

2 Days, 2 Posts to Go.

Cameron Turner

Wordless Wednesday

Southern Pacific uses a trio of BN SD60Ms, led by BN9259 to lead a coal train east towards Blue Mountain Drive in August 1993.  Note the pair of DRGW Tunnel Motors as swing helpers in the background. Photo by John Shine.

3 Days, 3 Posts to Go.

Cameron Turner

Rollinsville and Rollins Siding

Rollinsville is the first town to the west of the Tunnel District, and the location of the 8320 foot Rollins siding. Rollins siding is the longest siding between Denver and Tabernash, located at MP 66.0 west of Denver. Rollins is an very interesting spot, with lots of interesting buildings.

Rollinsville, Colorado. Photo from Wikipedia Commons.

Rollinsville is bisected by Colorado Highway 119, which connects to Colorado Highway 72 west of Pinecliffe. This provides access to the railroad from Denver for crew changes in most weather conditions. With a long set of sidings, and highway access, Rollins becomes an important meet location on the line.

Looking eastward along Rollins Siding. Photo by HiveMiner.

Helper Unit UP7260 and its crew await a pickup at Rollinsville, CO in May 2010. Photo by Mark Hinsdale.

UP7249 enters the west end of Rollins siding in 2013. Photo by Erie Limited.

Rollinsville is a siding and a substantial house track. Line with Pinecliffe, I have chosen to add a little bit of local industry to Rollinsville in the form of a team track off the house track and a small industry, probably a wood furniture manufacturer. 

Track Plan for Rollinsville.

Rollinsville is located along the length of the left peninsula in the room. The siding of Rollins runs the length of the peninsula, and has a length of 224" making it the longest siding on the east side of the Moffat Tunnel. The trains emerge out of Rollins Canyon, past Gamble Gulch, and through downtown Rollinsville. The siding curves up the valley, and loops back on itself with another Belina drop at the end of the peninsula. Modeled inside the loop is one of the ponds that were used as ice ponds in the area called Espy. Only the foundation of the ice house remains in my era, but by carefully arranging the backdrop, the siding wraps around the end of the peninsula. Rollinsville is located at an elevation of 48" above the reference elevation, making it another 1.5" above Pinecliffe and about 15" above the railhead height of the second deck below it.

4 Days, 4 Posts to Go.

Cameron Turner

Tunnel 30: The End of the Tunnel District

Just as Tunnel 1 is orphaned from the rest of the Tunnel District, so to is Tunnel 30. Located in Rollins Canyon, this final tunnel is a last gasp of the climb though the canyons to get to the high mountain valleys leading to the Moffat Tunnel.

After departing Pinecliffe, the mainline runs through some mountain settlements, including Pactolus. In this area, South Boulder Creek wanders int he valley and supports multiple small lakes and ponds near its channel. But once again, the valley closes in, and a short winding canyon has to be navigated to continue the climb. After crossing South Boulder Creek on a bridge (MP 38.6), the mainline enters Rollins Canyon. South Boulder Creek navigates the canyon with two sharp curves. The railroad follows, but has to use Tunnel 30 to make the first curve before following the canyon through the western curve.

Tunnel 30 penetrates a significant rocky ridge in Rollins Canyon. Photo from Rio Grande Secret Places, Volume 1 by R.C. Farewell.

To the west of Tunnel 30, South Boulder Creek was relocated to eliminate 2 bridges. I decided to retain the bridges in the plan, simply because I like bridges. In my mind, they add to the feel of a mountain railroad.

Pactolus and Rollins Canyon Track Plan

My plan faithfully includes these elements and should provide a sense of scenic separation between Pinecliffe and Rollinsville.

5 Days, 5 Posts to Go.

Cameron Turner

The Town of Pinecliffe

At the western end of the Upper Region of the Tunnel District is Tunnel 29 and Bridge 36.45. After these scenes, the canyon opens up into the town of Pinecliffe which is the location of Cliff siding. Cliff siding is at MP 37.0, 5.8 miles from Crescent siding.

A BNSF manifest freight heads east out of Pinecliffe. Photo by David Sheppard.

Pinecliffe is a classic mountain town with a siding and a house track. I plan to add a single spur to the town, just for a little switching opportunity.

A Penny Postcard of Pinecliffe Colorado. The scene is pretty close to that of today.

Pinecliffe is a location where CO Highway 72 meets up with the mainline for the first time since Coal Creek Canyon. Although, the weather can sometimes make even that access difficult.

Pinecliffe Colorado in a "minor" snowstorm.

Physically, my model of Pinecliffe is located above the Flatiron Region of the Tunnel District and Leyden siding. So, while I have two sidings above each other, neither has a lot of switching in these locations.

Track Plan for Pinecliffe.

The plan for Pinecliffe places the town at 46.5" above the reference location. This is about 20" above the elevation of Plain siding, located nearby and below Pinecliffe. The town of Pinecliffe extends up behind the track towards the ceiling, and is planned to transition from N-scale in front of the river, to Z-scale and smaller on the other side, enhancing the sense of depth, while keeping the track easily accessible. The siding itself is a significant siding, modeled at 177" long, or almost 15 feet long, which should be long enough for any of the planned trains. Cliff siding is almost 86 feet (or 2.6 miles) from Crescent siding which is itself nearly 3 scale miles from Plain siding. This is truly a massive grade to model and climb.

6 Days, 6 Posts to Go.

Cameron Turner

Looking for Tunnel 28 and Finding Tunnel 29

The canyon to the west of Tunnel 27 is increasingly rocky in nature. Tunnel 28 was built through a spur of rock that projected into the canyon. With a length of 124 feet, the rock through which Tunnel 28 penetrated was unstable and problematic. In 1951, Tunnel 28 was removed with explosives. So, Tunnels 9 and 28 are daylighted in my plan.

The location of the former Tunnel 28. Photo from Rio Grande Secret Places, Volume 1 by R.C. Farewell.

The mainline continues to wind its way up the canyon, rapidly closing the vertical distance between the track and the waters of South Boulder Creek. In the tight quarters of the canyon, it becomes difficult to avoid additional tunnels, and Tunnel 29 becomes necessary to continue west through the canyon. The eastern approach to Tunnel 29 leads the mainline along the banks of South Boulder Creek until another projecting ridge is encountered, requiring the shortest tunnel on the Tunnel District, Tunnel 29, with a length of 78 feet.

Eastern approach to Tunnel 29. Photo from Rio Grande Secret Places, Volume 1 by R.C. Farewell.

Exiting Tunnel 29, the main line runs along a shelf cut into the side of a shear vertical cliff face, and then across Bridge 36.45 to the other bank of South Boulder Creek.

DRGW5342, 5386, 5389, 5513, 5405 and 5410 lead a coal train west out of Tunnel 29. Photo from Rio Grande Secret Places, Volume 1 by R.C. Farewell.

In my plan, Tunnel 29 is modeled at full scale (6 inches). All the other tunnels are scaled from this tunnel in a proportion to how much longer they are than this tunnel. I did pay particular attention to the length of the shelf to the west of Tunnel 29, so as to replicate the scene above, where we have more than 3 SD40T-2 engines between the tunnel portal and the bridge. In my plan, I have 18 inches between the western portal of Tunnel 29 to the eastern abutment of Bridge 36.45.

Eastbound train on Bridge 36.45 crossing South Boulder Creek. Photo from Rio Grande Secret Places, Volume 1 by R.C. Farewell.

Bridge 36.45 is one of the signature scenes on the tunnel district. The bridge is composed of 3 plate girder bridges for a total length of 139 feet. In my plan, it had to have a prominent location.

Track Plan for Tunnel 29 and Bridge 36.45 area.

The track plan for this area extends down the right peninsula in the room, above the location of Plain siding. As mentioned, Bridge 36.45 is full size, the distance between the east end of the bridge and western portal of Tunnel 29 is similar to the real distance as well as a full scale model of Tunnel 29. The site for Tunnel 28 is an outside curve rather than an inside curve, but I think it is workable plan that captures a lot of significant scenes.

7 Days, 7 Posts to Go.

Cameron Turner

Tunnels 24, 25, 26 and 27

Beyond Tunnel 23, the main line continues to climb. With each successive tunnel, the track gets closer to the banks of South Boulder Creek, which finally arrives trackside just after the west portal of Tunnel 26.

Tunnel 24 is a bit more separated from Tunnel 23 than was the norm to the east of Tunnel 23. The approach to the east portal of Tunnel 24 is a fill over a deep chasm which was likely spanned by a trestle at some point. Tunnel 24 penetrates a rocky ridge with a bore 815 feet long. To the west of Tunnel 24, two rock cuts are used to penetrate smaller rock ridges.

DRGW5385 leads four sister units eastbound out of Tunnel 24 with a coal train off the Craig Branch. Cut into the train are two more units 70 cars back serving as a swing helper. Photo from Rio Grande Secret Places, Volume 1 by R.C. Farewell.

Tunnel 25 cuts through another rocky ridge with a 643 foot bore. The proximity of South Boulder Creek is increasingly evident in the location and curvature of the tracks and the increasingly rough terrain that it replacing the weathered and rounded features present around Crescent.

Amtrak341 leads the westbound California Zephyr out of Tunnel 25. Photo from Rio Grande Secret Places, Volume 1 by R.C. Farewell.

The 295 foot length of Tunnel 26 penetrates another rocky spur extending into the canyon. To the west, is an active landslide zone, and some evidence of previous derailments, such as one that occurred in September 1991.

The rough terrain to the west of Tunnel 27 shows the dramatic changes to the landscape as the banks of South Boulder Creek approaches track in the narrowing canyon. Photo from Rio Grande Secret Places, Volume 1 by R.C. Farewell.

As we approach Tunnel 27, having finally reached the inner gorge of South Boulder Creek, the creek quickly turns away from the track into a tight horseshoe bend that the railroad could not hope to follow. So, Tunnel 27 was used to bore through the ridge of the horseshoe. The resulting tunnel is 646 feet long. To the west, the mainline emerges on a shelf blasted into the canyon wall, that includes retaining walls that use lengths of rail in their construction.

DRGW3129, DRGW3040, DRGW5334 and DRGW5337 heads west out of Tunnel 27 through the inner gorge of South Boulder Creek Canyon. Photo from Rio Grande Secret Places, Volume 1 by R.C. Farewell.

SP357 westbound out of Tunnel 27 from the banks of South Boulder Creek. Photo from Rio Grande Secret Places, Volume 1 by R.C. Farewell.

These are dramatic and compelling scenes to model. When the elevation of these scenes, (approximately 6 feet) is considered, the view of the trains will be similar to the image above for most people.

Track plan for Tunnels 24 through 27 in South Boulder Creek Canyon.

The plan for the representation of these tunnels uses the upper wall of the garage located above the locations of Rocky siding and LDEs such as Blue Mountain Crossing and Coal Creek Canyon. The tunnels are again in proportion, with Tunnel 24 at 45.1", Tunnel 25 at 37.4", Tunnel 26 at 19.9" and Tunnel 27 at 37.7" in length. One minor modification I may make is to bring South Boulder Creek into view between Tunnel 26 and Tunnel 27. I have looked at the satellite photos of the area, and the distance to the riverbank from the track would place the river in the aisle, but I may include the edges of South Boulder Creek anyways. During this run, the grade resumes, and the mainline will climb from 40.5" to 43.875" when exiting the west portal of Tunnel 27, forming a grade of 0.83%. This is less than the actual grade, but sufficient to gain about 18" of railhead to railhead elevation over Plain siding. So, at this point, while I would like to maintain a climbing grade, I no longer need to have as much of a grade as was necessary on the second deck. Furthermore, too much grade would result in the mainline reaching the ceiling of the the garage. One additional advantage of this height though is that the mountainsides will rise well above eye level, which should make forced perspectives to increase the apparent height of the mountainsides even more effective and realistic.

8 Days, 8 Posts to Go.

Cameron Turner

Tunnel 23 – Starting the Third Deck

Tunnel 23 is where I am transitioning to the third deck of the layout. This transition occurs near the electrical panels to the house, so I need to take into consideration how to maintain access to this area. Part of my plan to do this is to minimize the width of the benchwork, ideally keeping it to 6 inches wide or less.

East Portal of Tunnel 23 headed for Denver. Photo from Rio Grande Secret Places, Volume 1 by R.C. Farewell.

In the prototype, Tunnel 23 leaves Advent Gulch and tunnels through a substantial ridge for 1622 feet. This makes Tunnel 23 the third longest in the Tunnel District. I plan to take advantage of this length to to make this narrow scenery section just scenery, with the track hidden in a tunnel for the entire length. The ridge through which Tunnel 23 passes is quite the obstacle. Over its crest can be found Miramonte Road and a couple of mountain residences.

Track Plan for the Tunnel 23 region.

In the plan for Tunnel 23, I have provided for an 80" model of the tunnel. The benchwork starts out at 6 inches wide, and grows to 12 inches wide by the end of the module. I plan to make this stretch of track removable, although I am not sure it is going to be removable, or will be hinged to fall out of the way. The lower module in particular could be the only module I need to remove to allow access to the fuse boxes. Tunnel 23 is designed to be a flat stretch of track, owing to the complexities of this stretch of the layout. With such a long span, at an elevation of 40.5" above the reference elevation, likely to be close to 6 feet from the floor, I am expecting to support the benchwork not from the floor, but hanging from the ceiling. With careful construction, I believe that this region will work surprisingly well.

9 Days, 9 Posts to Go.

Cameron Turner

Wordless Wednesday

A BNSF Passenger Special heads eastbound, passing between Tunnels 2 and 3. Photo by John Shine.

10 Days, 10 Posts to Go.

Cameron Turner

Tunnels 19, 20, 21, and 22

To the west of Crescent, the mainline enters the Upper Region of the Tunnel District. This region transitions from the mainline residing well above South Boulder Creek to the shores of the creek. As the main resumes its climb west of Crescent, it climbs into Sawmill Gulch which narrows, until the line is forced to tunnel through another ridge line with Tunnel 19.

SP212 and SP139 lead a coal train east bound out of Tunnel 19 headed for Crescent. Photo from Rio Grande Secret Places, Volume 1 by R.C. Farewell.

Tunnel 19 is 1055' long, and is quickly followed by Tunnel 20 at 460' long. In between, lies a fill across Chamberlain Gulch, once again separating two ridges.

DRGW3064 and DRGW3136 lead an eastbound piggyback train towards Denver. Photo from Rio Grande Secret Places, Volume 1 by R.C. Farewell.

The pattern continues. Upon exiting Tunnel 20, the main crosses Advent Gulch on another fill and enters into the 667' long Tunnel 21, which allows the line to continue along Advent Gulch. Tunnel 22 is used to penetrate through a 177' spur of rocky entering into Advent Gulch, before yet another fill leads to Tunnel 23 and finally a departure from Advent Gulch.

Amtrak F40s (392, 334, 370, and 332) emerge from Tunnel 21 into one of the drainages that form Advent Gulch. Photo from Rio Grande Secret Places, Volume 1 by R.C. Farewell.

DRGW3120 leads a loaded coal train east out of Tunnel 22. Photo from Rio Grande Secret Places, Volume 1 by R.C. Farewell.

So, the initial stretch of tunnels west of Crescent brings the main line through a ridge, across a drainage and into another tunnel, repeating the process several times. The track plan does the same, climbing all the way from an elevation of 38" above the reference elevation to 40.5" above the reference elevation at the portal to Tunnel 23.

Track Plan for Tunnels 19-22.

These tunnels bring the main line back across the width of the garage to the left side of the room, headed back towards the Big 10 Curves. Again, I maintain the proportionality of the tunnel lengths (Tunnel 19 at 55.4", Tunnel 20 at 29", Tunnel 21 at 38.6" and Tunnel 22 at 13.2") as well as their spacing. Furthermore, the tunnels lie across a generous aisle of 38" wide from the rest of the layout. By the time we reach Tunnel 23, the layout has wrapped around to the electrical panels along the left wall in the garage. Dealing with these panels is the next challenge in the design, and marks our entry into the third deck of the layout.

Track Plan for Deck 2 showing how all of these elements fit into the room.

 To wrap up the tour of this deck, I've included a plan that together with the snapshots from the individual plans, shows this entire deck from the west end of Rocky Siding, to the east portal of Tunnel 23.

11 Days, 11 Posts to Go.

Cameron Turner

Crescent Siding

After a long climb of nearly 3 scale miles, we have reached the siding of Crescent, Colorado. Having visited Crescent, it truly has the feeling of being in the mountains. However, it is accessible via car, so it becomes a favorite railfanning location.

DRGW5319 and DRGW5376 lead a freight west through a meet a Crescent Siding in  May1977. Photo by Tim.

At Crescent, the rolling terrain that began to emerge after Tunnel 17 opens into a wide valley in South Boulder Canyon. In fact, below Crescent lies Gross Point Reservoir. Crescent Siding is only 5550 feet long, and is the shortest siding in the Tunnel District. However, it is halfway between Plain and Cliff sidings and provides an important point for shorter trains to pass and for crew access or helper engines to make it back down the mountain without interfering with traffic.

DRGW 5389 approaching the east end of Crescent Siding, May 5, 1988. Photo by Tom Byrnas.

DRGW3106 approaching the east end of Crescent, October 4, 1984. Photo by John Rus.

DRGW5344 leads a train downgrade through Crescent siding on October 3, 1982 on the way to Denver. Photo by Timothy Tonge.

Crescent siding rests on a sweeping curve on the western end. While short, its location makes it a commonly used siding for meets, particularly with shorter manifest freights or passenger trains.

Track Plan for Crescent, Colorado.

The plan for Crescent Siding is to allow the layout to cross the doorway on a nod under, and connect to a shelf along a half wall across the garage to a narrow shelf on the far wall that will lead the main line back over towards the Big 10 curve region, but at a higher elevation. Crescent is planned as a flat siding at an elevation of 38" above the reference elevation at Prospect Junction. While Crescent has a sweeping curve on the west end in the prototype, I have had to make the curve on the east end in the plan, so as to follow the flow of the benchwork. Like the prototype, this is the shortest siding along the Tunnel District at about 98", making it about 2" shorter than Clay siding.

I suppose it may be possible to swing the siding a little further around on the east end, and introduce at least a bit of curvature on the west end. I may need to consider that line change at some point and see if it is feasible. However, I can live with this configuration as is. Crescent serves its purpose to provide a dramatic pause in the climb, a place for trains to meet, and a point to transition from the Middle Region of the Tunnel District, to the Upper Region of the Tunnel District.

12 Days, 12 Posts to Go.

Cameron Turner