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I grew up in the lower mainland of BC in the 60’s and remember the GN running through White Rock and New Westminster. I had a book in my “library” on this GN branchline and it seemed perfect for a small layout like mine. Short trains and four axle GP’s and Alco’s were what I wanted to model and this line was perfectly suited to this 3 x 6’ track plan. I don’t have a grade profile for this line so I’m not sure if the line from Summit to Troup Junction was the ruling grade but judging from photos of Nelson from Summit I suspect so.I cross over what is now the BNSF line into Vancouver twice a day on my commutes and can hear the rumble and horns of the line from our home about a mile away so I’ve never been far from the GN…BrentHmmm, I expect you and I are hearing the same trains…
I've been thinking about John's comment about adding a staging yard long before he brought it up and I think I have a solution that will offer the possibilities for some realistic point to point operation on this folded loop as well as the choice of continuous operation.The layout is currently built on a 1 x 3 open frame grid that measures 37 x 72 overall. This is then attached with 4 screws to a frame of 4 -2 x 2" legs reinforced with 1 x 3" and 1 x 4" bracing on 3 sides. I inserted casters in the bottom of each of the 4 legs which allows me to roll the whole layout over top of my workbench to save space in the Rec Room.The folded loop although great for continuous running doesn't offer a lot of operational capacity so adding a staging yard is a good idea but what about 2 x 2 tracks? Then this could be run as a point to point layout with connections to the rest of the world on both ends. It forced me to do a little research in my own library, which was convenient, and because I'm interested in the Great Northern operating in British Columbia I primarily referenced a publication I bought in a local hobby shop years ago...Railways of the West Kootenay by Gerry & Corwin Doekson. It details the operations and equipment of the Great Northern north of Northport Washington and connecting with the Canadian Pacific in Nelson BC. This gave me a timetable, route map and the inspiration to adapt my existing track plan to incorporate what will be a hinged staging track addition representing the portions of the line South from the US border at Waneta BC and North beyond Salmo BC toward Nelson BC and the interchange with CP.It's funny that when I looked into freelancing an extension of the GN into BC one of the hardest things I found was coming up with plausible place names and a basic plan for operation. This short single track mainline and connection with the CP solved all of my conceptual shortcomings and I like the scenery too....The Timetable gives me Place names, distances, siding lengths and train numbers...With that information, and rough dimensions for a hinged 36" extension here's a revised track plan and point to point schematic...A little more online research brought up this scenery inspiration from the early 70's along the line when the Burlington Northern was operating...And a print of that same photo provided the backdrop for a scenery test section I did years ago and took a photo of this past weekend....Looks like I have a plan!
Thanks for the suggestion @Westcoast_Trains I would like to get up that way in the next few years…I see from your profile that you’re in New Westminster, I work at Royal Printers up on 12th street, small world…PM me if you want to run some trains sometime…Brent
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Topic: North West Great Northern Layout (Read 21991 times)
