When the Denver and Salt Lake Railroad was built they went to the expense of building over Rollins Pass. Heading north to Craig and Yampa Valley. Pretty much coming to a halt up there. The intention was to build to Salt Lake City as is obvious by it's name-sake. A tunnel was proposed at the time so that the route would by pass Rollins Pass. Keep in mind the Denver & Rio Grande Western had built down to Colorado Springs, Pueblo with intentions of building to Mexico. They choose to build through a Gorge and on up to Leadville back down the hill to Grand Junction and on to Salt Lake City. At the time there wasn't a connection to the D&SL and the D&RGW at Dotsero/Orestod. That was built later. So, the name of the tunnel to no where is? You guessed it. Today, Tennessee Pass is all but shut down. There are still mines up there that need railroad service and are done so with local's. Or at least that was the last word I had on things up there. Of course the Gumbies up there would like to go and pull out all the track, all by themselves. Never mind the local communities up there that were built thanks to the railroad. No thanks, as in no gratitude. Don't you know I'd like to capture some of that on my layout. But alas, I don't have but a little space to even hint at it. Sigh. Breakfast is over. Now back to "Wireus Repairus."
The D&SL aka Moffatt Line built additional tunnels along the cliff's to get to Craig. One of those is fairly long. I do know there was several attempts at mining that resulted in tunnels in the region. Nampa Valley district of the DRGW. That might work. Still thinking about it.
I just read in RandR magazine that the Rio Grande Pacific just leased the Tennessee Pass line from UP. Could be interesting.
Is it a done deal, or are the lawsuits still ongoing?? Never did get a chance to see trains over TP. Like you say, this should be Interesting!
They have live cams set up to watch railroad traffic over the Tehachapi Loop and at the train station in Tehachapi. Do an oogle google search and unless they are censoring it, you should find it. Enjoy.
Yes, I did. Glad to see it's not a problem to find or buy again. Tennessee Pass. I got it. I got a chance to see trains pull the grade while visiting Camp Hale. Not much there but it was good place to relieve one's self.
Where I retired from had roles like that in the s@$dd&r stalls. Looked like TP, felt like crocus cloth.
It's the "John Wayne" roll. Rough, tough and won't take crap off anybody. What's the latest news from the wire Sir Rick?
What's up with the wiring? Not good. I'm not moving along so well. To many other things to distract me. The eagle landed and I had to go shopping. Dr's Appointment and shot to shoulder. Not as much fun this time. Got the carpet extractor out to clean the carpet. Cat oop's. Neighbor's dog needed the Heimlich maneuver. It worked and we manged to save him. When I saw him the next day he jumped all over me. I didn't mind, that was what I wanted to see. Then the neighbor needed to run some errands and we were off and about. That's it in a nutshell. I know excuses, excuses, excuses. Later.
i sure hope so. Saturday morning and the the town is quiet. I stepped out the front door to check for a package and you could hear the train whistle. uhh..err horn. That should start the day off on the right foot. I embedded some videos and wanted to comment about them. Almost afraid to do so for fear the owners will darken them. What I liked about the videos is they are a form of freelanced layouts. Grabbing the essence of the places best represented such as Mojave. The truth is BNSF does not have a yard there in Mojave, Ca. The former Southern pacific Railroad built a yard there and is now under the management of Union Pacific. It is a type of, "What could of been". However, Santa Fe choose to have their yard or hub in Barstow, Ca. So why all the chatter.? That's the best I can hope for as well. There's no room for a San Bernardino Yard, Barstow Yard, or even the Williams and Ashfork locations. The D&RGW Monarch Branch might work. The more I think about it. That's what I'm best trying to emulate. Although my trains are hauling Coal which doesn't come down the Monarch Branch. The Craig Branch would best reflect the intentions of this modeler. I think they are still mining coal up there and coal trains are the key reason for the spur line. Plus the fact I've been slowly (only because you can't find this train equipment) working on building the Yampa Valley Mail train. The Yampa Valey Mail train is going to look weird leaving Ashfork Junction and returning there. So, I may have it leave Wiliams climb the hill up to Ashfork Junction and then cut off to the Branch line to do it's work. Authentic, prototype, realistic? Not hardly. Fun it is. That be my thoughts for Saturday morning. Remember if you look long enough, you will find a prototype for practically anything you want to do on your layout. Yep, I did say that. A paraphrase of an earlier editor who worked for MR.
We made it to Sunday, and what a day it is. Managed to get my house cleaned up and in order. Those kitty litter boxes cleaned out. The smell almost neutralized. Now it's time to spend sometime on the layout. But wait. I have another video for you to either drool over or hate. For some of you this will be boring. I mean real boring. For me I could spend all night switching a location like this. More fun when there's a switching puzzle to solve. Wouldn't hurt if there was a run around track. Anyway, I like what this hobbyist has done. You can learn more about the hobbyist by visiting You Tube. I clicked on it to see if it works and guess what? Why would anyone put out a video and then darken it. If they don't censor you... I guess you can censor yourself. You'll have to go to You Tube to see it. Anyway, this kind of yard with a industry is something I desire on my layout. First step is getting back together and operational what I have. Then I can think about industries. Don't have a good Sunday, have a Great One.
The week is in full swing. Cat food is all but back on the shelves of the local grocery store outlets. I found most of what my cat's like to eat. Hating wasting good money on food they won't eat. This is the fifth year in a row grocery stores have run low on canned (wet) cat food starting in December and lasting until the middle of March. Go figure, or someone should. The new Capri wire strippers works nice. I found I had wire smaller then 20 gauge on some home runs. I plan on pulling those out and replacing them with a minimum of 20 gauge. It's hard to find a wire gauge between 20 and 18. I will be hooking up a power supply today and start tracing the routing I used for the various track blocks. Some soldering needed to the test light and micro-meter I will be using. Would you like some more pictures? You're bored with them. Really? Here are some pictures from the upper yard. I put my equipment out to get some idea of how things will look. Sometimes I get lucky and see a configuration I don't like and want to change. And that's exactly what happened with the upper yard aka Ashfork Yard. Not that's important for you to know the fictitious name of this location. Some inquiring minds might want to know. Above: It was obvious I needed more room. So, "More Track Rick" one of my other nick's. Got to work and lengthened the tracks in the yard by going around the corner in front of the future Ashfork Station. More on that later. Above: This is for the SP fans. An RS 2 Tiger Stripe, sitting on one of the turntables yard tracks. This may well be the last and only Brass model I'll ever own. It does run but poorly. I'm looking for a different chassis or mechanism for it. Looking at the rail, end of track. You can see where I soldered the wire. It will eventually be covered over with fake ballast and dirt. Above: The Dry Gulch Arch Bridge leads to the front of the Ashfork train station and watering stop. Which overlooks the Ashfork Yard. If you look into the picture you can see a freight train drifting downgrade in the Coal District. There is enough clearance to get the tallest double stacks and auto racks through the helix. Looking down off the bridge you can see the not so hidden, future hidden staging yard. I don't think my elementary school teacher would've liked how I put that. I can hear a screechy voice calling me out, "Rick, I thought I taught you better then that". There will be some steam running on the layout and unlike everything else they need water to make steam. With those pistons driving the drive rods and all that visible action...locomotion. Did I miss saying? That result is called locomotion. Something a diesel can't begin to replicate. Diesels are Motors (electric motors are use to propel them) Stoves are Engines because they use a steam driven piston to propel them down the tracks. That makes the stoves Locomotives. Don't even start with me on what Diseasels are!! There you go. Reminders to me. All of which is the driving force of getting her restored. Thanks for tuning in, the likes and your participation here is always welcomed. Note, any duplication of images embedded here are simply due to bragging rights. Later.
I haven't heard "Howling" used in reference to anything related to my last name in years. Usually it's SOB, DA and B. I'm sure you can figure those out. To funny badlandnp, to funny. Nicely played and well put. I will add that to my considerations.
