Vardnoodleblast
Member
In my 'new member' introduction I listed my interests which are varied from the UK Southern Railway and BR(S) to US Narrow Gauge. I have too many unfinished projects and by joining Western Thunder I intend to put pressure on myself to actually finish projects.
Engineer Pass is as the title implies a Colorado Narrow Gauge project in HOn3. The physical layout began life as an 'N'scale project and so I have a box full of redundant N scale rolling stock that I collected while on business trips to the US in the 90's. Changing the scale meant expanding the modules of the layout to accommodate larger radius curves. Otherwise the landscape 'scales' just fine.
The attraction of the prototype is the combination of the history, the landscape and the availability of some great models such as those produces by Blackstone and the brass equipment producers. Track is resourced from Shinohara.
Progress has been limited for a decade as a result of a house rebuild and lengthy periods overseas including over ten months away at the height of the pandemic. However, there have been short bursts of intense activity and I am looking forward to a time when I can really get some continuous periods of modelling done.
As noted in my new member intro, I would like to make the layout capable of exhibiting but it will take a van to move it.
Engineer Pass Back Story
My modelling style is to plan with a plausible back history which enables features to be incorporated that the knowledgeable enthusiast would 'get' but at the same time 'Rule 1' applies as my modelling is to give me pleasure first and foremost.
This system map shows the location of Engineer Pass. The story goes that discovery of a workable right of way and securing of land rights enabled the construction of the Engineer Pass Rail Road (EPRR) bridging several gaps in the DRGW network and also providing the RGS with access to Lake City and Creede. The influence of the RGS is seen in the use of their structure designs such as the Engineer Pass Depot and the large water tank identical to the Trout Lake tank. So the model is busy with traffic transiting from west to east and the Depot is the major passing point. Red lines=DRGW, Brown=RGS.
Motive power is dominantly DRGW and RGS with Classes C16, C-19, K-27 and a solitary K-36 represented. Below are two brass examples. The K-36 is of course the gauging standard for the line.
'Engineer Pass' will have some of its own equipment. On the motive power side a renumbering and lettering of this ex-UP, ex-DSP&P and ex-Colorado & Southern consolidation will be project eventually. The loco itself is a reminder of a free range road trip I took when residing and working in Texas. While waiting for work related developments to take place, I decided to make the most of my time by heading to Big Bend Park, indulging my interests in Geology and vertebrate palaeontology in particular. Big Bend was the site of dinosaur discoveries including the giant pterosaurs such as 'Quetzacotalus' - the size of a light aircraft. Having done that and still having time on my hands I set off for the Arizona Railroad Museum in Chandler, Arizona, photographing the collection of Pullmans and parlour cars. That done it was not too far to go to visit my God-daughter and family in Los Angeles! So off I set again!
Travelling anywhere west from the Houston-Austin-Dallas triangle involves a major investment in time to get out of the State unless you fly. It's a day of driving simply to get the border with New Mexico at El Paso but then the stepping stones on the journey are closer together. The car would cover 440 miles on a tank and that became the measure of reckoning for the distance and time.
I stayed a week in Los Angeles which gave the opportunity to visit hobby shops but the best was always Allied Model Trains in Culver City (although I am not sure if it is still there). Scenic materials including the ready made 'bents' that are used on the Engineer Pass trestles were acquired. Then came the time for the long haul back to Texas but on the way I found a model store near Phoenix that doubled as a club layout room. No HOn3 to be seen but then spotted in the second-hand cabinet was this lovely wee beastie. No HOn3 trackage to test said loco so it was taken on trust. Returning it was not an option! When it was eventually tested back in the UK on my good friend "Obadiah's" American layout that has an HOn3 circuit, it was found to be sluggish but a good cleaning and lubrication solved the problem and it is now a sweet runner.
I have no idea what the VC&FRR is or if it has any historical basis but it will make a very nice 'Engineer Pass' No.1! The spark arrestor might be overkill for the location but I am not going to change that distinctive feature.
Some pictures of the layout is on my intro post - the main drawback at the moment is that one of the three modules received damage in a house move and needs re-fettling. I will prepare and post a plan of the layout next to put it all in context.
To finish off I will add some pictures I took at the Colorado Railroad Museum in 2013:
RGS Goose No.7
K-36 491
What caught my eye was this Sleeping Car. Before standard gauging of the longer distance lines took place there were sleeping car services on the DRGW system. The last, I understand, ran in 1902 so what was this vehicle used for in the intervening 111 years?
Engineer Pass is as the title implies a Colorado Narrow Gauge project in HOn3. The physical layout began life as an 'N'scale project and so I have a box full of redundant N scale rolling stock that I collected while on business trips to the US in the 90's. Changing the scale meant expanding the modules of the layout to accommodate larger radius curves. Otherwise the landscape 'scales' just fine.
The attraction of the prototype is the combination of the history, the landscape and the availability of some great models such as those produces by Blackstone and the brass equipment producers. Track is resourced from Shinohara.
Progress has been limited for a decade as a result of a house rebuild and lengthy periods overseas including over ten months away at the height of the pandemic. However, there have been short bursts of intense activity and I am looking forward to a time when I can really get some continuous periods of modelling done.
As noted in my new member intro, I would like to make the layout capable of exhibiting but it will take a van to move it.
Engineer Pass Back Story
My modelling style is to plan with a plausible back history which enables features to be incorporated that the knowledgeable enthusiast would 'get' but at the same time 'Rule 1' applies as my modelling is to give me pleasure first and foremost.
This system map shows the location of Engineer Pass. The story goes that discovery of a workable right of way and securing of land rights enabled the construction of the Engineer Pass Rail Road (EPRR) bridging several gaps in the DRGW network and also providing the RGS with access to Lake City and Creede. The influence of the RGS is seen in the use of their structure designs such as the Engineer Pass Depot and the large water tank identical to the Trout Lake tank. So the model is busy with traffic transiting from west to east and the Depot is the major passing point. Red lines=DRGW, Brown=RGS.
Motive power is dominantly DRGW and RGS with Classes C16, C-19, K-27 and a solitary K-36 represented. Below are two brass examples. The K-36 is of course the gauging standard for the line.
'Engineer Pass' will have some of its own equipment. On the motive power side a renumbering and lettering of this ex-UP, ex-DSP&P and ex-Colorado & Southern consolidation will be project eventually. The loco itself is a reminder of a free range road trip I took when residing and working in Texas. While waiting for work related developments to take place, I decided to make the most of my time by heading to Big Bend Park, indulging my interests in Geology and vertebrate palaeontology in particular. Big Bend was the site of dinosaur discoveries including the giant pterosaurs such as 'Quetzacotalus' - the size of a light aircraft. Having done that and still having time on my hands I set off for the Arizona Railroad Museum in Chandler, Arizona, photographing the collection of Pullmans and parlour cars. That done it was not too far to go to visit my God-daughter and family in Los Angeles! So off I set again!
Travelling anywhere west from the Houston-Austin-Dallas triangle involves a major investment in time to get out of the State unless you fly. It's a day of driving simply to get the border with New Mexico at El Paso but then the stepping stones on the journey are closer together. The car would cover 440 miles on a tank and that became the measure of reckoning for the distance and time.
I stayed a week in Los Angeles which gave the opportunity to visit hobby shops but the best was always Allied Model Trains in Culver City (although I am not sure if it is still there). Scenic materials including the ready made 'bents' that are used on the Engineer Pass trestles were acquired. Then came the time for the long haul back to Texas but on the way I found a model store near Phoenix that doubled as a club layout room. No HOn3 to be seen but then spotted in the second-hand cabinet was this lovely wee beastie. No HOn3 trackage to test said loco so it was taken on trust. Returning it was not an option! When it was eventually tested back in the UK on my good friend "Obadiah's" American layout that has an HOn3 circuit, it was found to be sluggish but a good cleaning and lubrication solved the problem and it is now a sweet runner.
I have no idea what the VC&FRR is or if it has any historical basis but it will make a very nice 'Engineer Pass' No.1! The spark arrestor might be overkill for the location but I am not going to change that distinctive feature.
Some pictures of the layout is on my intro post - the main drawback at the moment is that one of the three modules received damage in a house move and needs re-fettling. I will prepare and post a plan of the layout next to put it all in context.
To finish off I will add some pictures I took at the Colorado Railroad Museum in 2013:
RGS Goose No.7
K-36 491
What caught my eye was this Sleeping Car. Before standard gauging of the longer distance lines took place there were sleeping car services on the DRGW system. The last, I understand, ran in 1902 so what was this vehicle used for in the intervening 111 years?
