Model Railroad Concept and
Standards - Layout at a glance
Name: Great
Northwestern Railway
Theme: Regional feeder line built on the
acquisition of narrow gauge shortlines in Colorado, specifically the Denver,
Southpark and Pacific (DSP&P), and connecting central New Mexico into Utah.
The railroad interchanges with the Southern Pacific near Tucumcari New Mexico;
the AT&SF near Albuquerque, New Mexico; and the Western Pacific and the
Denver and Rio Grande Western at Green River, Utah. The South Park District
extends from Montrose, Colorado to Denver to interchange with railroads in
Denver. The New Mexico Division constitute the modeled portions.
GNW System Map
Era: 1975-1981
Scale: HO (1:87)
Size: Phase I: 20' long x 2-1/2' deep with an
8' long by 12" wide staging yard arranged as an L. Phase II: 12' x 24'
room. Phase III: Added 17'x22' to Phase II.
Layout
style: Linear
walkaround
Layout
height: Phase I:
Nominal 55". Phase II: Low of 48" to 70" on 2 decks; 3 decks at
staging.
Benchwork:
Phase I: Open grid
covered with extruded foam. Phase II: Combination of open grid, table top, and
cookie-cutter construction as appropriate for need. Phase III: Same, but doing
some areas with Rosin Paper.
Roadbed: Phase I: Extruded foam (the pink stuff):
1" layer + 1-1/2" layer + 1/2" top. Additional 1/2" layers
added or cut out as needed for terrain. Riverbed and underpasses cut into
1-1/2" layer. Phase II: Shaped homasote on plywood, or cork on homasote on
plywood. (I found the foam does not hold over time against the forces of the
ground throws on the turnout mechanisms with regular operations. Nails into
homasote are hard to beat!) Phase III: More of the same!
SP/D&RGW Coal Train TMEVC is a
run-through on the GNW from the 20-Mile Coal Mine to the Wm Nixon Generation
Station in El Vado, photographed here passing through Chloride.
(Part of the Phase II buildout)
Track: Commercially available code 100 and 83
rail for main lines ~ Mostly Atlas Flextrack
Turnout
min: No. 6 for main
line, no. 4 for yards and industrial areas ~ Mostly Atlas Custom Line
Turnout
Control: Caboose
Industries sprung ground throws
Minimum
curve radius:30"
(main line), 24" Yards, smaller in certain industrial areas.
Maximum
grades: Phase I:
< 1 percent. Phase II: 3%. Phase III: 3.5% (just could not make it work any
other way)
Scenery: Foam covered with real dirt and other
scenery materials. Some plaster castings and saturated paper towel shell over
foam as needed.
Backdrop:
Masonite with
paintable caulk to fill gaps and screw heads.
A daily transfer train is run between
the AT&SF from Albuquerque to the Valley Gate Yard on the GNW Phase II
expansion. Here we see a pair of SD45-2's leading the AQVGT on a rare AT&SF
transfer into Warm Springs instead, photographed passing through Sand Creek.
Lighting:
LED track lighting
Train
Control: MRC
Prodigy Advance DCC, Both tethered and wireless
Layout
Control: LCC
utilizing RR-Cirkits LCC components + JMRI operating on a PC.
GNW
SW1500 #1791 idles in the Warm Springs Yard, waiting for the next manifest
freight to bring the day's work. The railroad favors EMD SW and MP type units
for yard work.
