Thunder Mesa in the 2014 On30 Annual

My article in the 2014 On30 annual. © Carstens Publications

The 2014 On30 Annual is now available and I'm happy to report that my article on constructing a narrow gauge combine for Thunder Mesa is included in the issue. The combine body was built using photo-texture modeling techniques and the model is based on a Santa Fe & Disneyland Railroad prototype. Both the car and the article were a real pleasure to put together and I hope everyone picks up a copy of the latest On30 Annual at their local hobby shop. They can also be purchased online at the Carstens website.

The Pagosa & Southern ~ An N Scale Project

And now for something completely different...

Now that Thunder Mesa has progressed to the point where I know exactly how much real estate the expansion will take up, it got me thinking about a small, empty corner just across the aisle. I still have a lot of stuff in storage from my old N scale days and it occurred to me that there might be just enough room there for a small N scale layout. Two days and a great deal of wood butchery later, the Pagosa & Southern was born!

The Pagosa & Southern, an N scale layout in just 32" x 60". I'm using Kato Unitrack on this one for a couple of reasons: 1) It operates really well, and 2) I have a bunch of it on hand.

The layout measures just 32" x 60" and is built with dimensional MDF board and 1/4" plywood. Track level is about 56" above the floor, a bit higher than the Thunder Mesa layout, with loads of room underneath for shelves and storage. The track plan is deliberately simple. A mainline upfront acts as a staging track to bring trains onto the loop. Two additional sidings offer a little switching variety. Control is standard DC from a Kato power pack. The turnouts route power, making it possible to have up to three trains on the line without the need for complex wiring.

The track plan was laid out on a 32" x 60" sheet of 1/4" plywood using Kato Unitrack. The track was taped down and then outlined in pencil on the sheet. The locations needed for turnout and track wiring holes were also marked. 

The completed table top with track in place. The box was built from 1" x 8" MDF. Wood glue and drywall screws hold everything together. A deep canyon will separate the layout diagonally.

Backdrop supports were created using leftover 1/4" plywood and 1" x 2" MDF. The actual backdrop will be a photo print laminated to this surface.

I couldn't resist digging some old N scale structures out of storage and placing them on the layout. The locomotive is a fine running 2-8-0 Consolidation from MDC/Athearn. I lettered it for another layout with the initials "P&S" long ago and that lettering inspired the name Pagosa & Southern.

The P&S in place in my studio, across the aisle from the On30 TMMC. The 56" tall supporting legs are L-girders made from MDF. All controls are located on a shelf below.

As the name suggests, the Pagosa & Southern will have a southern Colorado, San Juan Mountains theme. The era will be the early 1950s, representing a line that was originally built as narrow gauge and later converted to standard. If you look closely, there are a few Nn3 cars in the photo above and they will be parked on a non-operating bit of track to help represent this history. The rear spur track will serve a classic, Colorado style sliver mine.

I'm sure that some may object to the lack of operating potential on this little layout but the point here is primarily display and an excuse to build a bunch of N scale kits I have that are gathering dust. I don't want a big N scale pike (been there, done that), but I do really enjoy the charm of watching these little trains go round.

Meanwhile, on Thunder Mesa

Across the aisle on the TMMC, a bit of progress continues. I ended up taking a longer than expected two month hiatus from the layout but the train bug has bit again and more progress on the layout expansion and other projects will be coming soon. In the meantime, here's a look at my latest On30 project, a combination baggage/passenger car mostly scratch built with a Bachmann frame and roof. I wrote an article for the 2014 On30 Annual detailing the car's construction and its Disneyland inspiration. More details on that after the magazine comes out.

Thanks for checking in. Adios for now!

The World of Thunder Mesa

Click for a much larger view.

Today we have an illustration of Thunder Mesa Country, the imaginary world of canyons, western towns and scenic wonders served by the TMMC. This is a spread-out and expanded view of just about everything that does or will exist on the layout as it might be seen from a low flying plane. One thing not on the layout is the junction with the Santa Fe, Denver & Carolwood, seen on the far right side of the drawing. Only a short section of track represents this interchange on the model.

I created the drawing to help visualize both the scenic treatment of the expanding layout, and the operation of the railroad between Thunder Mesa and Calico. This is what I see when I look at the layout and what I imagine as each new section is completed. To really see where the layout is headed, compare this drawing to the updated track plan posted last week.

Adios for now!

A Grand Plan for the Thunder Mesa Mining Co.

At long last, here is the "Grand Plan" for the expanding TMMC. This should give a good idea as to where the layout is headed, and help to make sense of the construction updates I'll be posting. I've been thinking "out loud" about this expansion here on the blog for awhile. Some things I thought might be included, or had planned to include in the past have ended up on the cutting room floor, while other possibilities I hadn't considered found their way into the plan as it was being drawn.

Click the image for a much larger version.  Grid spacing is 12".  Overall size is 11'x8'.

The layout will operate as a simple point to point design, with ore trains coming down from the mines at Calico, headed for the mill and an interchange with the Santa Fe, Denver and Carolwood at Thunder Mesa. A daily mixed train will head up-grade in the opposite direction, carrying freight, supplies, passengers and mail from Thunder Mesa to the far-flung mining camps. An excursion train or two will also be on the schedule, taking wide-eyed tourists for a ride through "Nature's Wonderland." Continuous loop running will still be possible using the hidden cut-off track below Thunder Mesa.

It's funny, but for the longest time I had thought of Thunder Mesa as being way out in the boonies, near the end of the line and far, far from the SFD & C interchange (which was originally to be located in another town called Grizzly Flats. That town still exists in the make-believe world of Thunder Mesa, but it's aways north now and off the layout). While creating this plan I discovered it made a lot more sense to have the interchange be in Thunder Mesa itself, with the ore trains serving the "mines above" much like the real-world Gilpin Tram once did in Colorado. Once this decision was reached, the entire plan and operating scenario fell into place.

Another idea that got rejected was the On18 tram from Calico. As fascinating and fun as I think it might have been to run those tiny trains, there just wasn't enough room for it and the On30 mainline I wanted to build. So now, the On30 line climbs a steady 3% grade up to Calico and on to what had once been planned as an On18 right of way. (I still might build a separate On18 module in the future. Time will tell!)

The layout is being constructed in three separable sections as illustrated below.

The Thunder Mesa section is roughly 4'x8' and is more than half complete at this point.

The 3'x4' Calico section is the future home of an engine facility with a 36' turntable. Down below, open caves will provide views into more of Rainbow Caverns.

The Canyon section is 8' long and drops the base of the layout about 14" to provide adequate depth for the dramatic vertical scenery planned here.

The good news is that nearly all of the scenic elements I wanted to include have made it into this final version of the plan. Heading up-grade from Rainbow Caverns, trains cross Natural Bridge, a breathtaking and precarious sandstone span. That leads into Balancing Rock Canyon, a land of strange hoodoos that seem to teeter and sway as the trains rumble past. Just beyond, Indian Pueblos sit atop a high mesa overlooking the grandeur of Bright Angel Canyon. A pair of spidery bridges span the canyon itself, the longest and highest being a scale 120' and some 94 scale feet above the churning rapids of the Rio Del Barranco far below (On the backdrop, I'll do my best to replicate the views of Disneyland's Grand Canyon Diorama). Then it's on to the Calico mining districts where the line makes a graceful curve below the overhanging alcove of Calico Mt. before winding to its end near Big Thunder Mine.

For those who may be interested, I draw my plans out by hand in pencil on 1/8"x 1/8" blue-line grid paper at a scale of 1/8" = 1". The completed drawing is then scanned to a digital file and colors and graphics are added in Adobe Photoshop.

And there you have it, a Grand Plan for Thunder Mesa that should keep me busy working on the railroad for quite some time to come. Thanks for checking in. Adios for now!