Phase 5 of Layout
Recording the progress of building the Denver’s RailRoads N Scale layout
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Re-organisation of Construction Phases
The following are the Construction Phases for 2020:
- Phase 1: Modules 1-5a – Joint Line Loop and Denver Union Terminal; CB&Q/D&RGW Coach Yards; UP & CB&Q 23rd St Shops; C&S Rice Yard; UP Wynkoop Street Branch and D&RGW Burnham Shops
- Phase 2: Modules 5b-9 – Main Line from Salt Lake City Loop to Utah Jct. & East Denver Belt Line; D&RGW North Yard & Industries; UP 36th Yard
- Phase 3: Modules 10-12 – Coors Brewery Branch, Glenwood Springs Industrial District and D&RGW Moffat Line & Craig Branch
I will be updating the information on the main web site as time permits.
Phases 1 to 5 November 2018 update
I am not sure anyone reads this Blog except of course the Web Robots. If you do read the blog please register and make a comment, or send me an email. However the blog was started as a useful place to record the progress on my layout, so I will keep updating every so often.
Phase 1 – the Clear Creek RR continues to progress. All track is laid. All turnout motors are installed. By the end of today all of the BUS wiring will be complete. Golden Station building is complete and five other kits have been completed. In addition the scenery work and ballasting has been completed on the canyons west of Golden. The scene is ready for photographs to be taken for an upcoming magazine article, except for the addition of some model people. This will happen once they arrive by mail from the USA in about 3 weeks time. Two new control panels for Black Hawk (Power District 2c) and Idaho Springs (Power District 2b) are ready and awaiting artwork and connections. Golden is in Power District (PD) 2a, Glenwood Springs in PD2 and the Grand Jct Loop in PD1.
Work will shortly commence on adding the industries and rolling stock into the “Ship It” Prototypical Switch List Generator program.
Phase II – the Main Line from Grand Jct Loop to D&RGW North Yard. All track laying and BUS wiring is complete, and in the process of being tested. The point motors have been installed and are currently being connected to the Power District 2 & 3 control panel and to Relay switches which will change the lights on the control panel to indicate direction. 30 NCE BD-20 track detectors have been purchased for installation in the return loop and the main line. An NCE AIU01 Auxiliary Input Unit has been purchased to link the track detectors with the Railway & Co “Train Controller” computer system.
East Denver Belt Line – all track has been laid and most of the turnouts will be controlled by Caboose Industries ground throws.
Phase III – Denver Union Terminal (DUT). Rod has finished laying track in the main station complex. Installation of the point motors has commenced. This is expected to take some considerable time. When the track BUS and point motors have been tested we will carry on installing the C&S/CB&Q Rice Yard, the coach yards and industrial branches.
Phase IV – D&RGW North Yard and industries and the UP 36th Yard. All work is on hold pending the completion of the work on Phase II as above.
Phase V – the D&RGW Main Line from Denver to Glenwood Springs and a branch line to Craig. Peter has laid all of the cork roadbed for this phase and I have finished the Gore Canyon scenery for the time being. Track laying for this phase will begin after phases 3 and 4 are complete.
Phases 1 to 5 July 2018 update
Phase 1 – the Clear Creek RR is progressing very well. All track is laid. All turnout motors are installed. Golden branch is completely wired. Scenery work has started on the canyons west of Golden. Ballasting of Golden yard is about to commence. Golden Station building is complete and two other kits have been painted and are ready for gluing. Two new control panels for Black Hawk and Idaho Springs are ready and awaiting artwork.
Phase II – the Main Line from Grand Jct Loop to D&RGW North Yard. All track laying and BUS wiring is complete, and ready for testing. Main line point motors are yet to be installed. East Denver Belt Line – all track has been laid and most of the turnouts will be controlled by Caboose Industries ground throws.
Phase III – Denver Union Terminal (DUT). Rod continues to lay track. Both of the scissors crossings are installed and most of the main tracks. It is beginning to look very impressive due to the length of station trackage.
The following sections are now part of Phase III:
(1) UP/CB&Q 23rd St Shops & D&RGW/CB&Q Coach Yards – connects with the Denver Union Terminal. Work will be started once the DUT trackage is complete.
(2) C&S Rice Yard – connects with the Denver Union Terminal. Work will be started once the DUT trackage is complete.
(3) UP Wynkoop St Branch – Gary has stated both the cork roadbed and the track laying at the North end of the Denver Union Terminal.
4) D&RGW Burnham Shops – this section will not be started until phase 4 and the rest of Phase 3 has been completed.
Major surgery to Phase 3 & 4 Benchwork modules:
Most of module 5 (the corner section with the passenger Y and loop trackage and industries within the loop) has been bolted onto module 6, which is now a little too heavy for one man to lift. The ends of the D&RGW and C&BQ coach yards, which commenced in module 4 and ends on module 5 have now been cut away and bolted onto modules 2, 3 & 4. This is a two man lift.
Phase IV – is now divided into the following sections:
(1) D&RGW North Yard – most of the North Yard track has been laid. As this module bridges the Phase II and East Denver Belt Line track with the Phase III Denver Union Terminal trackage, special trackwork for bridging the gaps will be required. Kato extended track pieces are currently favoured as the solution between:
- Modules 8 & 9 (Phases 1 & 2)
- Modules 6 & 7 (Phases 2 & 4)
- Modules 4 & 5 (Phases 3 & 4)
- Modules 1 & 2 (Phase 3)
(2) D&RGW North Yard Industries and trackside buildings.
(3) UP 36th Yard – adjacent to the D&RGW North Yard.
Phase V – the D&RGW Main Line from Denver to Glenwood Springs and a branch line to Craig. Peter has laid all of the cork roadbed for this phase and I have almost finished the Gore Canyon scenery (see an earlier blog). Track laying for this phase will begin after phases 1 and 4 are complete.
Gorge Canyon completed
The Gorge Canyon, which is between Kremmling and Bond Colorado, has been completed to paint detail stage. Constructed over a foam base it includes a large number of rock outcroppings, made from half a dozen Woodland Scenics rock molds, Cripplebush rubber rocks, Mountains-in-Minutes foam rocks and Cooch Flexible Blasted Rock Walls. This diverse group was held together with Gorilla expanding glue and Sculptamold. It was then covered with a thin layer of grey paint which in turn was covered with a black India Ink stain. More work is required before the Gorge Canyon is complete . . .
Phase V Benchwork Completed
All of the benchwork for Phase V is now complete. Below is Gorge Canyon, (between Kremmling and Bond) where the foam scenery supports will be installed ahead of the trackwork, so as to minimise the mess that will be created during construction of the 200-300 (15″ to 22½”) foot mountain side above the Canyon. The actual canyon walls were 1000 feet high. That is 75″ in N Scale which while doable would be out of proportion with the rest of the layout. The Colorado river will be modelled on the lower part of the benchwork.
Below is the baseboard for the town of Craig in Colorado. The Craig branch from Bond is still an active coal branch on the Denver & Rio Grande Western.
Below is the foam base for the Aspen branch line from Glenwood Springs. This branch line was built by the Denver & Rio Grande Western in order to tap silver mines in the area around Aspen and was completed in 1887. The line saw significant business in its first few years, but as the silver boom tapered off, traffic along the line declined. Ultimately, the portion of the line south from Woody Creek to its end at Aspen was abandoned in 1968 and the rest of the line in 1995. As Denver’s Railroads is set in the period 1947-1963 for Passenger traffic and 1968-1969 for freight traffic the Aspen branch was still an active railroad, with passengers, coal, cattle, sheep, poultry, petroleum, perishables and explosives (dynamite) being the main commodities carried.
Commenced Phase 5 Bench-work
This week I started to install the L-Girder bench-work for Phase 5 of the model layout. Construction will follow traditional L-Girder and cookie cutter sub-roadbed methods.
The following is the L-Girder plan:
