Wordless Wednesday

UP1996, the SP Heritage Unit leads a train east out of Pinecliffe in December 2015. Photo by John Shine.

Happy New Year!


Cameron Turner

Deck 3 Overview - Tunnel 23 to East Portal

Before continuing past the Moffat Tunnel, let's review the third deck to put these pieces into relative context with each other.

Deck 3 Plan - Garage Side.

The second deck ended with the passages through Tunnels 19-22 after the siding at Crescent. This trackage is shown in a light grey as the visible track for a lower deck in the drawing above. I started modeling the third deck at Tunnel 23, and proceeded through Tunnels 24-27 and ending with Tunnel 29 and the Bridge at MP 36.45 before entering Pinecliffe. Pinecliffe is about 8 scale miles by track from Rocky siding where the climb began in earnest. Trains continue through Pinecliffe, the neighborhood around Pactolus, through Rollins Canyon and Tunnel 30 before reaching Rollinsville. Leaving Rollinsville, the trains pass through Espy, where I have incorporated a hidden loop to further lengthen the run, into Tolland Canyon and to the siding at Tolland. Departing Tolland on the opposite side of the aisle from Crescent, the trains enter Mammouth Gulch, where scenery will screen their transit through the doorway back into the basement while operators navigate under the nod under formed by the east end of Crescent siding.

Deck 3 Plan - Basement Side.

Re-entering the basement for the first time since leaving North Yard, trains run through a hidden loop at Mammouth Gulch to add distance between Tolland and East Portal before coming back into view and crossing the Mammouth Gulch bridge. Trains proceed into East Portal and the Moffat Tunnel under the continental divide at James Peak. While East Portal is directly above North Yard, I think the wider aisle at North Yard and the lack of significant work at East Portal will prevent the need for crews to congregate in the aisle. Furthermore, the North Yard switch crews will likely be seated to do their work, while the trains at East Portal are nearly 4 feet over the yard.  The end of Deck 3 is marked by the Moffat Tunnel, whose 6.2 mile length is modeled by a 1.6 mile run through a helix that allows the train to exit West Portal into Winter Park at an elevation only 4 inches below that of East Portal.

One legitimate option here is for me to end the layout here. I could ignore Winter Park and the western slope altogether and simply run the Moffat Tunnel down the back side of the backdrop (above Rennick Yard) and into the helix to get to staging. But, as I have mentioned before, I do want to simulate the Ski Train operations, and at a minimum, that means including the stop for the Ski Train at Winter Park. So that is our next stop as we go Through the Rockies...Not Around Them in 1:160.

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