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

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