2010 March 04 "Day 4"

Days three and four continued with cleaning up and disposing of unwanted "junk", also thinking about how to build the layout and what plan to adopt. It would be a major job to rehang the door to open outward (and it would not be that weather fast), so it looks like the layout will need to avoid the swing area of the door.

I think I have settled on a minimum height of 1130mm from floor level. Still debating whether the main line should be a twice around the room loop or just a single circuit at the datum level, with a "hidden" storage yard on a narrow (500mm) peninsula. The branchline could then come off the main and do a 75% circuit of room before terminating on the peninsula above the storage yard.

Following a visit to Canada last year (July 2009) that included a couple of day trips to USA (Seattle from Vancouver and East Galcier Montana from Calgary) I have decided that a representation of the Two Medicine Bridge at East Glacier (BNSF) should be included in the layout with some of the other scenery coming from the Three Valley Gap area on the Canadian Pacific (west of Revelstoke). Two Medicine Bridge was one of the places on my "wish list" to see (see my Canadian holiday blog http://johnstewartnz.blogspot.com/ for more details). Other places I got to see were Morant's Curve on the CP and Lethbridge Viaduct also on the CP.

So what else is there to do before layout building starts?

1. Line the western wall of the garage (and a little of the southern wall). Eastern wall is done and northern wall is the large garage door wich will be the last thing done (once done a car can't be parked inside the garage).

2. Lay some carpet down on the part that is currently bare concrete floor. Some of the existing carpet we brought from the previous layout room (in Tovey Street) and this was off cuts of what was laid at Christchurch Airport about 10-15 years ago.

3. Rewire some of the light switches/power plus as they will be behind scenery at the current level.

4. Start to intstall a ceiling and then lights for above the layout.

5. Start with some benchwork on the eastern, southern and western sides (this will include a lift out section by the access door). This will include cutting down some of the existing metal shelving units to the correct height required.

And what type of layout am I building?

Originally I was a modeller of the British prototype (OO scale/gauge), but in 1977 decided that I would change to model the New Zealand scene in Sn3.5 (3'6" prototype gauge on 16.5mm track). This was known to be an expensive exercise as NZR equipment was pound for pound very expensive compared to British and American equipment available in the shops at the time.

A holiday in Westport (actually bereavment leave - late 1978) saw me run out of reading material so I went to the local book shop (news agent) and the only railway magazines they had were American. I bought two; Railfan (for $1.30) and Railway Quarterly (for $3.95 - expensive in 1978). The Railfan (July 1978 issue) had a fantastic article by Bill Rettberg titled "Western Vacation" (about two guys headng west to follow the Californian railroads). The Railway Quarterly mag was the Spring 1978 issue and featured "The West", with all articles covering the major Western Roads. It was this magazine that got me into the two roads that I love, both now gone through merger or takeover. The Western Pacific (now part of Union Pacific) and Burlington Northern (now part of BNSF - Burlington Northern Santa Fe) were and still are my favourite USA railroads.

I returned from the few days in Westport and after looking at current pricing trends (NZR v British v American) traded my meager NZR equipment on an Athearn GP7 in Great Northern colours and a couple of boxcars (50' GN blue and 50' GN red).

Three weeks later I was back on the coast (Greymouth this time) to the New Zealand Association of Model Railway Clubs (NZAMRC) area meet organised by Ian Sandford. This was my first NZAMRC convention or area meet (mini-convention) and was a great success (apart from the weather). The stories of conventions and area meets will one day be the subject of their own blog. Below is a photo from a trip (first miners train of the day) up the Rewanui Inclinea mixed train with empty La wagons and two passenger cars (one for the miners, one for the railfans). The train stalled on the hill and was broken into two to get it up to Rewanui. This was the only time of the weekend that it did not rain! The weekend is now known as the weekend of the 100 year flood in Southland.

Gradually I aquired more rolling stock until I could run a train around the perimeter loop in the bedroom that could not take another car (there was no space between the caboose and the locomotive and the layout then was around the walls).

I acquired as many books and magazines on these two railroads (WP and BN) along with other western (and eastern) railroads as I could afford, and even now my friends are no longer amazed when I produce a book on the XYZ railroad.

So my layout will be a cross between the BN and WP, with a bit of Canadian Pacific thrown in. The logical choice (excluding CP) would be the Inside Gateway, the BN route down through Oregon and Northern California meeting the WP at Beiber and then carrying on another 112 miles till it merged with the WP west/east main at the famous location of Keddie Wye. In the early days of BN (merger was in 1970) the Inside Gateway was known for the collection of "Rainbow Trains" with locomotives in up to eight different BN and predecessor road paint schemes being used.