The Rock Mountain model railroad is based on a location in Wisconsin. The line is run by the BNSF railroad between Minneapolis MN. and Chicago IL.. This location was originally used by Model Railroader Magazine, as an attempt to show that a layout could be built in a small bedroom which measured 10 x 9 feet. Working with my dad, we took the scale drawing from the book, had it blown up and and had squares for a 12" scale drawn on it. We then proceeded to change elements of the original layout, including double tracking the entire mainline. Locations of industries were moved around or substituted altogether for other industries. The first priority was to make the bench work. My dad designed all the bench work, which was constructed in six sections, so that it could be moved later as I was only renting a house at the time. This turned to be a great plan as just a year later I bought a house and built a room just for the layout. As the construction progressed, I had sent for all the back issues that displayed how the layout was put together. The first two sections had been built when the books arrived. To our surprise, when we looked at the issue with the bench work, we discovered that we had actually designed the layout the same as they had. This was a confidence builder for both of us and away we went. We were building the sections in my dad's basement and moving them back to my place when each was completed. In between the construction sessions, I was busy installing track back at my place.
I started with the main yard in the town I call Otter Creek. The town is still the same but the yard has been renamed Northtown. I was very fussy about my track work insisting that all joints were very smooth. This attitude has paid dividends since with very few problems or derailments. I originally started with a single controller in DC format and then added a second controller with some Atlas switches to change between the two. This allowed for some fun as construction continued on the other sections. When all the sections and the track work were completed, we decided that some changes were necessary. We added a staging yard on the right side of the layout, behind the back drop. We also added a second level to allow for a coal mine to be constructed. This was achieved with out too much of a track relocation process from the west end of the yard. This one addition has allowed for a lot of action during operation sessions, which we will discuss later in this article. The staging has a five track yard with a cross over between tracks one and two to allow for a run around. To accomplish this we built two tunnels. One that goes to the staging yard which we now call Caseville. The second to the coal mine, which has a ruling grade of two percent, which ends in a four track setout at the mine. I also included a single spur line into another industry called Rock Mountain Forest. This allows for logs to be shipped to another industry on the layout. With the track work being complete, it was now time to start the scenery.
The backdrops were made of 1/4" birch plywood and painted white. Later they were painted with a light blue and blended together to create an sort of foggy look. The back drop scenery was achieved by enlarging a photo and then cutting out the sky just leaving the hills and trees. This turned out to look fabulous and achieved the effect we were looking for. The bench work was constructed with 1/2" plywood with cork under all the track. Blue styrofoam was used to create all the raised scenery on the layout and then covered with plaster. The basic scenery is now complete with just trees, some buildings and more Woodland Scenic's ground up foam to be applied.
The greatest changes had taken place in the cab control area. After originally setting up to use two controllers. I discovered that it was too restrictive and we needed more controllers. I contacted Gene Lewis at GML Inc. and ordered four walk around tethered throttles. From Radio Shack, I ordered thirty-five rotary switches as I had created thirty-five blocks. When wiring was competed, I was able to operate four trains at the same time on the layout. This was great for operating sessions. With the number of industries I have on the layout, it allows for a tremendous amount of fun during these sessions. This system stayed in service for about two years until two other members of our little group decided to go D.C.C. Craig Symington who has a HOn3 layout was the first. I remember going to his place the first time and operating the new system from CVP called Easy DCC.
I could not believe it worked this well. Matt Wilson, who has an HO layout, was next to change. I went last but we all have the same system from CVP. There is nothing fancy about any of the equipment but the operation is outstanding. When it came time to change, I discovered that it was not necessary to change any of the wiring. I just had to make sure that all the rotary switches were set to the same location. I used position one and I can actually still use the other controllers on DC if some one comes and brings an engine that is not set up for DCC. In the spring we are all planning to upgrade our systems to the latest software which includes the chips in the control station, remote receiver and hand held throttles.
