Nevada County Narrow Gauge

I've been doing research on the problem I posed in my last post and I think I might have found a solution (or at least the general direction of a solution).  I'd really like to stick with narrow gauge, and Sn3 is such an ideal scale that I don't see why not go with that.

Afternoon Research

To stick with Sn3 however I need to address the layout.  Initially I was thinking of making the layout smaller, however it dawned on me that I could achieve the same thing by reducing layout density.  That is, I could reduce the overall amount of track and industries, which in turn reduces the amount of structures and cars to build.

In order to achieve that however I needed to figure out something important: how would I know what to cut and what to keep?  And then it hit me.  I suddenly understood why people build prototype layouts:  The work to figure all that stuff out is already done on the prototype!  It turns out, real railroads were already in the business of reducing density, reducing the amount of rail laid, and reducing the amount of structures they had to build.

As an added bonus of "going prototype" the track plan and scenery plan are already done.

Since the Nevada County Narrow Gauge is closest to what I had in mind, I stared there.  Using the prototype track layout in the appendix of Best's book, I did some measuring and came up with the following numbers:

• Nevada City: 8 structures, taking a space of about 10 ft. by 3 ft. in S scale
• Grass Valley: 7 structures, taking a space of about 14 ft. by 3 ft. in S scale (not counting the two curves on the outer edge)

Nevada City

The best part is the shape of Nevada City and Grass Valley near perfectly fit the basement space I have, with enough room in between to capture the essence of the run between the two, particularly the part where the NCNG parallels the highway (one of my favorite scenes).

Key Pieces

From what I can tell, most of the key pieces are all available.

Locomotives:

• #8 - PFM C-16 with Wiseman Whaleback Tender
• #9 - Railmasters PCR #105 Kit
• #11 - D&RGW #50 (diesel)

Freight Cars:

• 23 ft and 25 ft boxcars - These might need to be scratchbuilt
• 30 ft boxcars - PBL D&RGW 3000 series "economy door" kit with some minor modifications
• 25 ft flatcars - Rio Grande Models WSLc 24 ft flat -OR- scratchbuilt
• 30 ft flats cars - PBL D&RGW 6200 series kit
• Gondolas - Kitbashed from PBL flat car kits
• Tank cars - Kitbashed from PBL UTLX narrow frame kit

Passenger Cars:

• Coach - Trout Creek D&RGW coach/combine kits on PBL trucks
• Combine - Trout Creek D&RGW coach/combine kits on PBL trucks
• Caboose - Scratchbuilt

Decals

• Offered by Republic Locomotive Works

Structures

• All structures scratchbuilt (15, including water tanks and sheds)

Other

• 41 ft at Nevada City - Unknown
• 50 ft at Grass Valley - Unknown
• Harp switch stands - Unknown

Operations

Nevada City was the northern terminus of the line (ie. a dead end), but the railroad continued south through Grass Valley to Colfax.  That southerly continuation could be simulated by a simple (likely unsenicked) staging yard of some sort.  Nothing hidden or complex, just a few extra tracks to hold trains entering or leaving the layout.

The track plan would basically boil down to 3 yards connected by scenery.  There are more consumers than producers, so an operation session would likely start by running the daily mixed from the staging (Colfax) primarily with "fulls" and doing some switching in Grass Valley, followed by some switching in Nevada City.  Empties could be organized in the Nevada City yard or dropped off at the Grass Valley yard (which is bigger).  The daily then returns back to staging running a bit ligher.  It would probably take between an hour to an hour and a half to do a full cycle of a daily mixed with a one or two person crew.  An optional third operator role could run the #11 switcher, and be putting together cuts of cars at either Colfax (staging) or perhaps Grass Valley.

In total, I'd estimate there is around 20 unique car spots between Nevada City and Grass Valley, excluding the engine houses and service areas (which would increase that number to 25).  Operation sessions could be generated either by using car cards, way bills, or something similar.

Producers:

• Alpha Hardware (Nevada City spur, boxcars, occasional flat or gondola)
• Nevada City Hardware (Nevada City spur, boxcars, occasional flat or gondola)
• Valley Feed and Grain Co. (Nevada City spur, boxcars)
• Nevada City spur (far end) as team track (boxcars, flats, gondolas)
• Nevada City Freight Depot (boxcars, occasional flat or gondola)
• Nevada City Passenger Depot (passenger cars)
• Grass Valley spur #1 as team track (boxcars, flats, gondolas)
• Grass Valley spur #2 as team track (boxcars, flats, gondolas)
• Grass Valley spur #3 as team track (boxcars, flats, gondolas)
• Grass Valley Freight Depot (boxcars, occasional flat or gondola)
• Grass Valley Passenger Depot (passenger cars)

Consumers:

• Alpha Hardware (Nevada City spur, boxcars, occasional flat or gondola)
• Nevada City Hardware (Nevada City spur, boxcars, occasional flat or gondola)
• Valley Feed and Grain Co. (Nevada City spur, boxcars)
• Nevada City spur (far end) as team track (boxcars, flats, gondolas, tank cars)
• Nevada City Freight Depot (boxcars, occasional flat or gondola)
• Nevada City Passenger Depot (passenger cars)
• Nevada City Oil Tank (tank cars)
• Nevada City Engine House (boxcars, flats)
• Grass Valley spur #1 as team track (boxcars, flats, gondolas, tank cars)
• Grass Valley spur #2 as team track (boxcars, flats, gondolas, tank cars)
• Grass Valley spur #3 as team track (boxcars, flats, gondolas, tank cars)
• Grass Valley Freight Depot (boxcars, occasional flat or gondola)
• Grass Valley Passenger Depot (passenger cars)
• Grass Valley Machine Shop (RIP, boxcars, tank cars)
• Grass Valley Blacksmith Shop (RIP)
• Grass Valley Storehouse (boxcars)
• Grass Valley Oil tank #1
• Grass Valley Oil tank #2

Making it Happen

There's a lot of potential here with some opportunities for interesting equipment and a few challenges.  I think this might be a winner.  This concept might break my 2.5 year goal a bit, however, I think some other areas could be cut a bit to make that possible.

First, I would attempt to eliminate any grade, doing all of the benchwork as open grid with a layer of blue foam.  Scenery contours would be carved using a hotwire type tool which is fast.  Some sloping and changing of elevations would be need, but they would be minor and under 1".  This would greatly simplify benchwork construction.  I need to look through the pictures again, but for the modeled areas I don't believe any exposed rock is present, thus eliminating the need for rock casting.

Second, there will be no valance and diffused track lighting will be the lighting source as this is very easy and quick to install and works fairly well.

Third, if at all possible I will attempt to use battery power in order to eliminate the need for track wiring.  The larger tenders on the two locomotives I have planned should be big enough to hold a battery.  With only two locomotives this will likely be a big savings in time.  What about the diesel? Maybe only the staging yard will be wired with DCC.  I need to think about that some more.

Challenges

There's enough kits that are "close enough" or kitbash-able that the rolling stock could get started based on what is easily available without getting too weighed down into the scratchbuilding part of things.  Once the layout is operational, scratchbuilding could get underway.  One-off kit bashes, like the unique caboose, will probably end up being a fun project anyways.  The NCNG wasn't a large line so the amount of cars needed to operate this layout should be on the smaller side, I'm thinking around 30 or so, with maybe 12-15 needed to actually consider things "operational".

The two turntables are potentially complex bits of trackwork that can become burdens if they aren't kept in check.  To keep things simple it might be necessary to make these manually operated -- After all, both were "strongarm" type so it is technically prototypical.

The primary challenge I see at the moment is Grass Valley.  The railroad facilities were higher than the town, which means that the scene will recede as it goes in.  This is generally considered a poor aesthetic as it makes the layout feel squished and smaller than it really is.  A possible solution would be instead of dipping the scenery downwards, keeping it more narrow and thus flat, and featuring a photo backdrop of Grass Valley.  That is it's own challenge of course -- Where do I get a photo backdrop of Grass Valley in the 1940's?  That ain't happening, so there might need to be a creative solution there.  Forced perspective could potentially solve this problem.

A bigger problem however is that the 3 tracks of the Grass Valley yard were flanked on either side by the passenger/freight depot and the machine shop, creating a "canyon" effect.  This is actually a big problem because I was planning on making the track height around 50" and the machine shop is about 6" tall, ground to roof peak.

To see just how much of an issue it would be, I created an S scale mock-up of the machine shop with foamcore and a hot glue gun -- two of the funnest modeling tools out there.

The structure is 34" long.  This mockup is slightly too tall.  I built it with the walls at a scale 23 ft. high, however with the equipment next to it I can see that's a bit too much.  20 feet tall would probably have been correct, as the average "story" height is 10 feet.

Well, you know, since I built it I just had to see what it looked like with some cars sitting next to it.  Man!  Even a simple little foamcore mockup is really exciting.  The sheer length of the machine shop is so bold and commanding and makes a statement.  (Also, is that an Sn3 brass locomotive? :) Yes, I do believe it just might be, though that one is correctly visualized here as being "in the machine shop".)

But for as cool as the machine shop is, it's a big honkin' building, and it will for sure be in the way.  At 34" there's not really a chance to  "see behind it", even with a lower track height of 50".  This could be solved, I suppose.  The machine shop could be made removable.  That seems like a good way for it to get broken.  Or perhaps the layout height could be lowered, which seems extreme for one scenery problem.  Right now I'm not sure at all how it will be solved.

Other Challenges

Both Nevada City and Grass Valley are semi-curved, and as a result appear to have a few curved turnouts.  Those aren't particularly easy to come by in Sn3 and might just have to be built by way of a 2nd fixture.  Additional planning will reveal if this is perceptual or actually the case.

Conclusion

Is it possible?  If I can't get an Sn3 brass engine running that will probably be a deal killer.  And if I can't figure out a good way to do the turntables that probably also will be.  Both of those will need to be figured out in the next 2 months if I'm to make this happen.  Grass Valley is still puzzling to me.

But there are other prototypes out there.  The Ilwaco Railway & Navigation Co. is a railroad I've probably spent the most time researching.  There ain't nobody producing any kits or decals for that, so I would be far and away on my own.  The Oahu Land & Railway Co. is possibly interesting too.

In the mean time, I'll keep investigating and keep building foamcore structures.