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