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

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