And then it grew!

Dear friends,

In my last post I mentioned setting up the modules and getting everything ready.  Well, the administrator of the neighboring rail empire kept insisting that I add more and more.  It has now grown from a simple 8x9 layout to a 6x40+ layout. It will have a huge yard and many sidings and businesses.

The view from the south.

As you can see it stretches off into the distance.  At this end it will have a mountain with some logging and mining along a narrow gage track.  Circling the entire layout will be dual gage rail.You can see some of it in this picture.

The view from the North

With this view you can see the dual gage track, which winds up a 2% grade to the shelf at the back of the layout.  This shelf is very important as it will eventually connect with the layouts that you see on the opposite side of the room.  This requires a bridge across the entrance from the South, complete with flashing RR crossing sign and an alarm that will sound if the door is opened while the bridge is in place.

Another view

This is again from the South and shows the HO layout in the NW corner of the room.  Access from that layout will be possible to my layout through a narrow gage layout, across the doorway and up the wall to my layout.  Three different DCC controllers are involved.  Digitrax and two manifestations of NCE.

Left end of the layout

Right end of the layout

The two ends are almost mirror images.  The major differences being that the left end does not have a WHYE required at the right end for the connection to the other layouts.  Additionally, the left end will not have a mountain as such, but will climb a ridge behind a city scene with a few industries nestled in the basin.  The right end will be mountain with a dry stream-bed running through Rose Gulch (have to keep the name in there someplace - after all, I now have a significant number of rolling stock with that name on them).

The Yard and connecting rail

of the adjoining Empire

Looking through the opening in the wall on can see the narrow gage yard with the dual-gage track running through.  In the middle picture on can see the rolling stock of the narrow gage railroad.  This road is set in the late 1800's.  At the right the dual gage rail passes through the wall of the room to travel behind the wall toward the other end of the narrow gage railroad and the beginning of the other standard gage railway.

The Great WHYE

This is more of a picture of the track going behind the wall, but it is also the Whye that allowed trains to turn around on the narrow gage railway and for engines to turn around for the standard gage railway.  When my layout is complete they will be able to turn around the longest trains they can muster as I will have both a WHYE and a reversing loop.