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1. DURDY DAWG

I’m really pleased with the way Durdy Dawg came out.  In the background the track to the far right is where the engine house will go and the turnout leading off to the right is the coaling siding.  The next track over is for locomotive storage, and the track to the far left is the tail track for the main/passing siding turnout.  The two curved sidings at the lower left in the photo are for caboose and freight car storage.  The two curved tracks at the bottom in the photo are the main and passing sidings leading to the turnout at Durdy Dawg North.

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2. CHUGWATER

This is Chugwater looking south with Durdy Dawg in the background.  These curves are extremely important.  Chugwater and Durdy Dawg will be separated with scenery and the curve at that end provides room for a mountain divider.  The curve in the foreground is Phantom Curve leading into Frisco Canyon.  The scenery in this section will separate Chugwater and Frisco Canyon.  In this photo you can see the walkway to the right of Chugwater, which allows Chugwater to be viewed from both sides, which of course means that this entire area will be well detailed.

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3. FRISCO CANYON SOUTH

This is the south entrance to Frisco Canyon looking north.  With the roadbed in place you can now see how this is going to work out.  A high canyon wall will separate Frisco Canyon from Westcliffe.  Things got a little tough here.  I needed to maintain my 24” minimum radius curves with 36” tangents, and still have room for Fork River through the canyon.  If I would have put more room between the tracks they would have cut into the Westcliffe area too much.  In order to give more room for Westcliffe the passing siding track is only 3” from the edge of the railroad.  This makes building the west wall of the canyon quite a challenge.  So Fork River became a very narrow river, but it worked out okay.

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4. FRISCO CANYON NORTH

This is the north entrance to Frisco Canyon looking south.

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5. WESTCLIFFE SOUTH

This is the south end of Westcliffe looking north.

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6. WESTCLIFFE NORTH

This is the north end of Westcliffe looking south

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7. DURDY DAWG SOUTH

Now we’re getting somewhere, the track is in place and it’s actually beginning to look like a railroad.  At this point in time the turnout ground throws are installed and the wiring is done, so now I can run trains to test the trackwork.  This is the south end of Durdy Dawg looking north.

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8. DURDY DAWG NORTH

This is the north end of Durdy Dawg looking south.  I always mentally visualize how I want things to look and Durdy Dawg turned out exactly how I visualized it – what a deal.  The track on the left is the passing siding for Durdy Dawg and also the northbound main.  The track on the right is the southbound main.  The station will go on the right side of the southbound main on the straight track just before the first turnout.

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9. CHUGWATER

Now you can see how Chugwater is going to be laid out.  You will also notice that the sub-roadbed and roadbed are in place where the trestles are going to go.  I am not hand laying any track, so the roadbed will need to be cut out and then the trestles built, which is backwards from normal trestle construction, but I will get into that later.

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10. FRISCO CANYON SOUTH

This is the south entrance to Frisco Canyon looking north.  A lot of curves here but they are very smooth.  Also, the beginning of each curve has a 36” tangent and there is also a straight section wherever the curve reverses itself.  You can also see where the roadbed has been cut out for the bridge over Fork River.  Not only is the track on the left the passing siding for Westcliffe, but it is also the southbound mainline and the track on the right is the northbound main.  The inspiration for Frisco Canyon came from Rio Grande’s Eagle River Canyon on Tennessee Pass.

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11. FRISCO CANYON NORTH

This is looking south at the north entrance to Frisco Canyon.  You can see the cutout for the flat bridge over Fork River in the upper right of the photo.  The straight track between the Frisco Canyon turnout and the Westcliffe turnout is where the station will go.

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12. WESTCLIFFE SOUTH

This is the south end of Westcliffe looking north.  This photo puts both ends of the railroad in perspective, with Durdy Dawg in the background and Westcliffe in the foreground and the walkway between the two.  You can also see part of the walkway to the left of Westcliffe.  Like Chugwater, Westcliffe will be viewed from both sides which means the entire area will be well detailed.

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13. OVERALL VIEW

This is as good of an overall view of the railroad that I can get, but it does show the design of the U shape with an L leg at one end.  You can also kind of see the walkways around three sides of the railroad.

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14. FLAT BRIDGE

This is the flat bridge at the north end of Frisco Canyon, just before entering Westcliffe.

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15. FLAT BRIDGE

This photo shows just how tight Fork River is going to be at this end.  This bridge was made so it’s removable until the scenery is finished.

16. The siding at Westcliffe was made into the east-west main.

Making the run-through track at Durdy Dawg was more of a challenge.  I needed to tighten the curve to fit.  Although visually too tight for intermodal trains, it does work.  Had I used a No. 5 turnout the curve may not have been quite so tight, but when I did this No. 5 turnouts could not be found anywhere, so I used a No. 6.  After this is ballasted the difference in tie spacing won’t be so noticeable.

This is the liftout section of the new run-through main between Westcliffe and Durdy Dawg.  This section will get basic scenery.