Tunnel 10 – Wait what about Tunnel 9???

The next tunnel after Tunnel 8 is Tunnel 10 as we continue up the Middle Region of the Tunnel District. The observant might be wondering what happened to Tunnel 9. There was a Tunnel 9, briefly. The tunnel was about 120 feet long, through a spur off Eldorado Mountain, but was unstable from the beginning. A tight radius shoo-fly was built around the tunnel, and remained until 1938 when the tunnel and unstable spur were removed for the present alignment. I plan to model the remaining wide spot of the shoo-fly, but no tunnel.

The original tunnel 9 cut through the ridge in the picture above. Photo from Rio Grande Secret Places, Volume 1 by R.C. Farewell.

So, the next tunnel on the line is Tunnel 10. Tunnel 10 is a large tunnel at 1572' in length. In 1943, the tunnel caught fire and had to be sealed to extinguish the fire. The tunnel is linear, but I modeled it with a long curve to turn the corner of the benchwork. The two tunnel portals are about 600 scale feet apart, but the train travels over 7 feet between portals. Some trains will completely disappear into the tunnel, although not for long. Again, I use the track piecing through the backdrop but remaining below the scenery on the far side of the layout to achieve this distance.

Tunnel 10 cuts through a major ridge line reaching into South Boulder Canyon. Photo from Rio Grande Secret Places, Volume 1 by R.C. Farewell.

The long spacing between the portals affords me the opportunity for a large area of nothing but scenery. While this may seem like a disadvantage, I am looking at it as a significant opportunity to gain the illusion of distance. Tunnel 10 pierces the first of several ridge lines as the main line climbs up the canyon. even scaled down, this ridge line will further emphasize the magnitude of the scenery in the area.

Tunnel 10 LDE Plan.

Tunnel 10 ends up with a modeled length of 86.9". The grade, which paused at the start of Tunnel 8, resumes with the visible track emerging from Tunnel 8. This helps prevent the mainline from climbing too much as it works its way back around the room and gaining too much elevation for the upper deck. By the time the track emerges from the west portal of Tunnel 10, it has climbed to 32.5" above the reference point (Prospect Junction) and 1.5" in its climb through the Middle Region of the Tunnel District.

16 Days, 16 Posts to Go.

Cameron Turner