Feather River Canyon in N-scale

[rodsup9000]

 Well it has been several years since I really worked on my n-scale stuff. I also model 20.3 large scale and have been working on that for the last 7 or 8 years. At the urging of Jason (superturbine), I'm going to try to get all of the mainline done this winter. Also I'm going to try to get some UP 9000 frames milled out of brass when I get the 20.3 scratch built locomotives done I'm working on. Those of you that have been around for awhile (Altas and Trainboard) will remember some of the pics of the layout. The layout is 28 feet X 52 feet and is a mushroom design with a minimum radius of 24 inches. ME code 55 track on all visible track and Atlas code 80 on all other. #12s turnout on the mains and Atlas #7's in the yards. Passing siding will hold a 60 car train. I'm modeling Feather River Canyon, but on my railroad I back dated the UP merger with the SP, WP and Rio Grande to 1952 and model 1953, so I can have bigboys, challengers, daylights, and cabfowards running together. Other than running trains, the only work I've done on it is some turnouts realignments in the Oroville yard over the last few years. The mainline is finished up to Keddie Wye and Oroville yard is almost done.

 Here is the track plan. Keddie Wye is in the top left and Williams Loop is in the top right. Coming out of the helix the layout height is 53" off the floor. The track is level till you get just beyond Oroville and then It starts it's 1.5% climb to Portola where the track is 78" off the floor and links back to the helix. The helix is designed to be revering loops, continuous runs or get to and from the 10 track staging yard that is 90" off the floor. The floor is raised 20" from right inside the door along the wall (Keddie Wye and Willams loop) and around the corner and then I have about a 10 foot landing that drops 10",then back down to the basement floor. The track over the door is going to be about 74" off the floor.




  Here is the heart of the operation of the layout.  The stool is for the staging yard operator.







 The staging yards is 10 tracks that will hold 100+ car trains

[img width= height= alt=Image Hosted by ImageShack.us]http://imageshack.us/a/img43/8438/dscf1390o.jpg[/img]








 If I remember right, there is like over 600 feet of track in the helix and staging yard.

 More to come later

Rodney

[Denver Road Doug]

Dang, that's a big undertaking there.   Looking forward to more pics.

[GaryHinshaw]

Wow, this looks intriguing; I hope you'll keep us posted. 

How does the staging yard operator get to and from his chair inside the helix?

-Gary

[C855B]

How does the staging yard operator get to and from his chair inside the helix?

Transporter.

That helix is a black hole for trains. My guess is it would take a train 10-12 minutes to negotiate the whole thing at scale-ish speeds.

[rodsup9000]

How does the staging yard operator get to and from his chair inside the helix?

Duck under, From the floor to the bottom of the helix benchwork is 47"

 

 Rodney

[rodsup9000]

  My choice for control is Easy DCC from CVP with 6, 10 amp and 2, 5 amp boosters. As of now I have 8 radio and 10 tethered throttles. 








 This is a ABBA lashup with 60 stock cars and a caboose in the helix.




 Coming out of the helix into downtown Oroville. Layout lighting is hung from the benchwork for the upper level.










Rodney

[superturbine]

Glad to see your back Rodney!!!

[rsn48]

Hope you can keep your enthusiasm up.  I had a severe hobby burn out that last almost ten years and really it was the help of a buddy who helped shore me up and ultimately brought me back to the hobby.  Amazingly in N scale, not much had changed and my modern fleet didn't suffer to badly.  To help many of us out locally, a group was formed with no rules, nothing except the hope each keeps visiting and supporting other's work.  Nothing like the anxiety of having a group of modelers over to help spur on a year of work carried out in one month.

[Van Horne]

Rick, I believe you meant to say a year's worth of work completed in one week!  I'm going to need that X5 to be able to host in the spring.  Merry Christmas!

Dave

[rsn48]

Dave, we'll schedule for your place in January....lol!

[rodsup9000]

Hope you can keep your enthusiasm up.  I had a severe hobby burn out that last almost ten years and really it was the help of a buddy who helped shore me up and ultimately brought me back to the hobby.  Amazingly in N scale, not much had changed and my modern fleet didn't suffer to badly.  To help many of us out locally, a group was formed with no rules, nothing except the hope each keeps visiting and supporting other's work.  Nothing like the anxiety of having a group of modelers over to help spur on a year of work carried out in one month.

Well I can tell you it wasn't burnout. Too many irons in the fire but all model railroad related.
 I would ask for help but I'm too dam anal about my trackwork. It is nice to be able to run trains for hours and hours and never have any derailments.

Rodney

[rodsup9000]

 Leaving downtown Oroville




Coming to the Oroville yard













More to come

Rodney

[rodsup9000]

 Some how I missed updating this thread on my layout. Anyhow I will do a complete up date over the next few days.
 
 Last winter I relaid some of Oroville yard. Here is what I had down first.



 This is what I have now.






 The other end of the yard in the previous photos hasn't changed much.


Here we are leaving Oroville yard.


















Rodney

[superturbine]

So that's where all of the Atlas track went..... keep posting Rodney! !

[C855B]

Very nice. I'm jealous of the progress.

I find your premise amusing since I'm familiar with (and a fan of) both the Feather River and "classic" UP. You need more WP power, however. Like high-hood GP20s with barrel headlights. 

Running 8500GTELs through the canyon, Sac'to and Stockton, however, wouldn't have lasted very long. UP tried that on the LA&SL and quickly had their hands slapped. Jet engines work fine out in the middle of relative nowhere on the plains, but not in high-density suburbs.