Thanks to the friendly members of the Sun N Sand club in Scottsdale, Arizona, on a recent weekend I was able to run trains for the first time in three years. The Rio Grande PA's and the California Zephyr car set which I had purchased several months ago finally came out of their boxes. It was a thrill to see one of my trains running again. This opportunity began a week earlier when I had dropped by the club's layout and was impressed with the energy and friendliness of their club. After taking a few pictures  of their layout, I shared a few photos of the MK&P layout. I even got an invite to become a club member. Too bad I live four hours away and then for only five months of the year. Plus my unpredictable schecule makes it nearly impossible to participate in an regularly scheduled activity.

I had visited the park a couple years ago. An account of the visit can be found in the March 10, 2008 entry in this Journal. The Sun N Sand is one of three clubs occupying a building in  McCormick Railroad Park. While making my recent return visit I learned they are scheduled to move into a new a new building being put up by the Scottsdale city parks board to house new layouts for the N, HO, and O scale clubs. I decided whenever I again had a weekend in Phoenix to make a longer visit with the club to find out more about their project. It was on this second visit of the summer when I ran my California Zephyr.

Fortunately for SNS one of the club members owns a commercial property with some empty space where the club stores their NTrak modules. And that is where they are buiilding their new layout. The bench work is built in sections which will be separated for moving and installation in the new building. SNS is one of the oldest NTrak clubs and their lengthy experience building modules shows in this construction. They are using 1/2 inch plywood for light weight. The sectional approach also allows wiring to be done without crawling under the layout. The layout will have separate wiring for DC and DCC. Because several members have locomotives without DCC installed, it was decided to retain both DC and DCC control systems. This sort of dual system likely will not be needed when this generation of modelers has been replaced by a new generation.

Last month on another weekend I attended the Spring meet of the NMRA Arizona Division in Flagstaff. The clinics focused on the experience of the host club shifting to more formal operating sessions on their HO scale layout. A final presentation was made by a member of a Scottsdale HO club. He showed how a club could move from the track warrent style of operation being implemented by the Flagstaff club to timetable and train order operating. TT&TO operations is all the current rage in model railroading circles and I thought this was the clearest explanation I had heard of how to begin TT&TO operating. TT&TO was certainly a prevelant mode of prototype operations during the steam and the transition eras. I was interested, however, if any railroads were currently operating under this system. After the presentation I approached the presenter with my inquiry. His response was I should "grow up" because I would never be permitted to operate on any quality layout without learning TT&TO. He asserted any other system is little better the "sending up smoke signals. I would suppose the fellows in the UP Omaha dispatch center might be a bit surprised to hear they are just sending up smoke signals. And I certainly hope TT&TO is not a requirement for a quality layout. While I understand it is incongruous to be using radio dispatching on a steam era layout, would it not be equally out of place using TT&TO on layout featuring contemporary mainline railroading? And is CTC only appropriate for dull-headed operators?

 The rail yard at the South Rim in Grand Canyon is undergoing significant modifications. For more years than I have been in the Park several tracks have had no connection with the rest of the yard. The Park Service has decided to remove these un-used tracks and put parking for tour buses in their place. From a practical point of view this makes a lot of sense, but it does remind me that the days when rail travel had large significance for the the Grand Canyon will never return. It was, after all, the Santa Fe railroad which built the El Tovar hotel, Hopi House, and Bright Angel Lodge. The railroad was a major player in tourism development in the Grand Canyon. Those rails which were being pulled up were at one time required by the level of rail traffic to the Canyon. One train a day, sometimes two, handle all of the current rail passenger traffic. The American Orient Express had been making a few visits each summer to the Canyon, but no more. Although the successor train to be operated by Xanterra will likely be seen here at least a few times when it begins operations next year.

I have also managed to squeeze in a small bit more railfanning at one of my favorite locations just west of Flagstaff. This train has just completed the climb out of flagstaff, one of the steepest grades on the line in Arizona. Only two lead units and two DPU's on the tail managed to get these containers up the hill. Many trains have a much larger power requirement. This entry has not had any central theme, just accounts of unrelated experiences since returning to Arizona. Maybe I can manage something a bit more coherent for my next entry.

Posted by The Station Master at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Wednesday, 28 July 2010 1:23 PM CDT

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Winter is past, at least that is what the calendar says (cool temps here on the South Rim), and I have returned to Grand Canyon National Park and the El Tovar Hotel for a third season. Why wouldn't I work at the El Tovar? It was built by the Santa Fe Railroad! Just as important, I'm once again near mainline railroad action. Last week for my first foray of the season I returned to one of my favorite train watching sites, Parks Road. I managed only a couple hours and saw only two trains. It was a long wait for the first train, an eastbound intermodal, also the most commonly seen train in this territory on the BNSF mainline. It was late afternoon and the light all wrong for photos of eastbound trains. After another long wait I was more lucky. The train was westbound and I had moved to the other side of the tracks for better light. I expected another intermodal train, but this was a unit train of an entirely different sort. It was a long string of loaded woodchip cars. As evidence of how long this train was (no, I didn't count the cars) and the heavy load, it rated both mid-train and tailend DPU's for a total of seven big locomotives.

I do not recall ever before seeing so many cars for hauling woodchips. Although this was a unit train, i.e., all cars carrying the same commodity, the cars represented a variety of owners. It is always interesting to find locomotives from an eastern railroad, like the Norfolk Southern unit, so far out of their home territory.

Sunlight slices between the venitian blinds of my company dorm room waking me early nearly every morning. Last Sunday morning, while still lying in bed hoping I might somehow get more sleep, my thoughts somehow drifted to an account of a recent biking trip by a Mississippi Valley N Scale club member. After peddling down the Katy Trail he climbed the hill in Augusta and peeked through the windows of the now closed Augusta Station. He observed the Missouri Kansas and Pacific layout still appeared after nearly three years as if he could flip a switch and start running trains. Now there would be no more sleep, only daydreaming. Since the announcement Augusta Station would be closing, I have always thought the Museum of Transportation in St Louis would be the appropriate place for the MKP layout. With the MKP theme of "from the Mississippi to the West" I believe the layout is a good match with the Gateway City.

But my Sunday morning dreaming was taking me beyond just the MKP. There is a close connection between transportation and many forms of modeling. Not only trains, but planes, ships and automobiles all have avid followings of modelers. What could be more suited to a museum devoted to modes of transportation than displays devoted to modeling forms of transportation? Modelers fly, sail, drive, and engineer their models all across the country. I wish the Augusta Station layout could be the kernel for dynamic displays of model aircraft, boats, automobiles, and trains. The modeling communities could be a significant source of grass roots support and public enthusiasm for the Museum of Transportation.

Displays should go far beyond housing collections of models. People should not just see model airplanes. The planes should be taking off and flying from an outdoor airstrip. Model ships could sail lakes and rivers in a garden with trains crossing those rivers and climbing mountains. A garden where cars and trucks roar over miniature highways and bridges. Could there be any lack of persons desiring to take the throttles or man the helms? Unlike the static display of prototype vehicles, these displays would move and soar. The MKP need not be the lone layout. Perhaps there might be persons wanting to build a layout in a different scale depicting trains rushing from Saint Louis to the East. And why not a Lionel and American Flyer layouts to show the history and appeal of toy trains? Maybe trolleys could once again ply the streets of Saint Louis if only in miniature. Such displays coupled with the existing Museum displays of the full-sized trains, planes, cars, and boats would make the Saint Louis musuem unique. It would surpass other museums of which I'm aware devoted to either the prototype or to the model but not to both.

So that was my Sunday morning dreaming. Hope you're having a good day. Now back to the more mundane life of everyday living. - - - But if someone were to find financial support from one of those transportation companies residing in Saint Louis (Boeing, the former ACF, etc.) it might not be just a dream.

Posted by The Station Master at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Wednesday, 2 June 2010 11:16 AM CDT

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I am discovering a whole new facet of model railroading culture, i.e., the backyard patio. No, this is not garden railraoding in the traditional sense. Back in Saint Louis, or Denver, or even in Arizona if you are going to have an NMRA meeting you rent a room in a church, a Legion hall, or somewhere similar. In Las Vegas you find a member with a large patio. This appears to me to be a very novel choice. But these folks in Vegas don't think it odd at all. Is it the milder climate? A quirky result of an economy built on casinos? Whatever, it seems to work. Las Vegas does have some interesting twists on model railroading which I experienced again this past Saturday.

The Cajon Division of the NMRA held a "mini meet" in the backyard of Jim Simmons. In attendance were 47 people, a greater number than expected but we all fit on the spacious patio. As is common in Las Vegas, the backyard was enclosed by a high masonry wall. An awning completed just the day before provided shade. The entire crowd would be fed from a grill to one side of the patio. No need to dash out in search of some fast food, thanks to cooking by the very gracious wife of our host. All in all, a very comforable setting for a meeting of this size. Modelers in Las Vegas may be onto something.

The mini-meet was pretty informal. Members had been invited to bring recent projects for a show-n-tell and a few did. We even had a 9-year old tell how he kit-bashed a simple building with left-over kit parts. Personally, I like this approach much more than contests. I think it fosters group solidarity, expands our knowledge, and encourages persons to try their hand at something they have previously been intimidated about attempting. After all, if a 9-year old can kit-bash why can't you? The show-n-tell was a bit like mini-clinics and prompted a good deal of question and answers. There were more traditional clinics about dry brush techniques and using powders for weathering. Both clinics were brief. The one about powders was, in fact, only a small segment of a full hour clinic to be presented at the national NMRA convention this summer. 

These mini-meets are not held in just anybody's backyard. Inside the Simmons house was an excellent HO Boston & Maine layout under construction. Jim, his son, and grandson (the 9-year old) are recreating scenes from the Connecticut River Line. In Las Vegas even very nice homes such as this have no basement. The layout is located in the intended 2-car garage. No space for the family car here. The mult-deck layout fills every corner. Each scene is separated from the ones on either side. Trains enter from one side of the scene and exit out the other. Carefully selected scratch-built and craftsman level kits do a great job of capturing the character of New England. A lot of layout is packed into this garage. Without a long duck-under and other compromises it would not have been possible to model this many scenes. Although my personal preference is for single level layouts, the multiple levels are allowing the Simmons family to create more beautifully modeled New England railroad scenes. It is little surprising that all of this complex benchwork, the many fine structures, and track laying has  been accomplished in just two years. These guys are very focused! A great example of family teamwork.

Posted by The Station Master at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Wednesday, 14 April 2010 3:32 PM CDT

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Members of the Southern Nevada NTrak club were getting together in Las Vegas on a recent weekend for two days to operate their oNeTrak modules. I'm not one to pass up an opportunity to see model trains running. A little two and a half hour drive is not going to keep me away. Inexpensive hotel rooms can be found in Vegas even on weekends. All too frequently I take advantage of those with even less reason than model railroading.

Most often modular setups require a shopping mall or convention space. Not so with this NTrak group. One SNNT member has a large back yard patio. Given a milder climate such as found in Las Vegas you can have a N scale version of garden railroading. SNNT has several oNeTrak modules and enough of these are corner modules to allow a setup with several twists and turns. This allows members to run tracks across the patio several times and even around the corner of the house. The patio is covered so operators can find some shade and modules would be protected from any infrequent rain shower. There was another weather hazard this weekend, however. Wind can create havick for N scale garden railroading. With the yard looking as if a scale sized hurricane had struck and trains out on the line fairing little better, crews finally gave up and canceled the second day of operations.

This change in schecule did leave me with some time to begin investigating an unusual form of railroading, i.e., the Las Vegas Monorail. Instead of steel rails these trains run on a concrete "rail", also known as a "guideway". The monorail runs right in front of the Best Western where I was staying. Even though a train passes by every 7 or 8 minutes these are no railroad noises to interrupt your sleep. These trains run on rubber tires. The monorail route extends along the east side of the famous Las Vegas Strip from the MGM Grand on the south to the Sahara casino on the north. There had been plans a few years ago to expand the route north to the original Las Vegas casinos along Freemont street in downtown. The federal funding for that never materialized, however. Further, this expansion was not favored by the casinos on the Strip. No doubt they were reluctant to see anything which might revitalize the old casino district and possibly increase competition. Without funding that plan never materialized

The more recent plan is to expand to the airport south of the Strip to the airport. This expansion is favored by the casinos along the Strip, but opposed by limo and taxi drivers who fear the monorail would rob them of a lucrative portion of their market. In any case, the monorail company declared bankruptcy this year. This is not supposed to have an effect on operations, but it is unlikely any expansion will happen so long as this circumstance persists.

One evening a couple years ago I rode a monorail train for a short distance from the MGM Grand station, but I had have never photographed any of the trains. Given a unsheduled sunny Sunday afternoon I decided it was time to do some shooting. I chose to explore the north end of the line this time. It was nearer my hotel and not as busy an area as  the south end of the line. Originally all white, monorail cars now come in a variety of paint schemes. There is no public funding of the monorail. Corporate sponsorships provides a source of revenue in addition to rider fares. In exchange for corporate contributions cars are painted to showcase the sponsorships.

 At the south end of the route trains run immediately behind the casino/hotels. This puts the trains in shade during the afternoon and the backs of the buildings do not provide the most photogenic of backgrounds at any time of day. The monorail track has a bit more breathing space toward the north end and modernist high-rise condos provide an attractive backdrop for photographing the trains. Whatever their paint scheme the sleek trains look right at home passing in front of these structures gleeming in the afternoon sun . The monorail stations are also designed in keeping with the modern or futuristic theme.

Posted by The Station Master at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 22 March 2010 12:10 PM CDT

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Back in early December I had a rollover accident on my way to San Diego. Last weekend I was finally able to complete that planned trip. The weather had played an unfortunate roll during that December trip. Weather forecasts last weekend were less than ideal. However, this was likely to be my last opportunity to make the trip before the end of this season working in Death Valley. So I got behind the wheel of my new Ford Fusion and headed down the highway to San Diego.

The model trains museum in Balboa Park was my destination in San Diego. Many times I had seen photos in hobby magazines of the layouts housed there, but I wanted to see them for myself. Seeing a layout in photos is one thing, but seeing it in person can be another. I took my camera along to Balboa Park hoping I might be able to get some good layout shots. In the end my hopes for much in the way of photography would be disappointed. Seeing the layouts in person, however, was an interesting experience.

So many layouts in such close proximity makes comparisons inevitable. I am sorry to say I was quite disappointed with N scale layout. It was definitely, at least in my opinion, the weakest layout there. It was not so much the quality of the modeling as the enviroment. Lighting was the chief culprit. There were four flourescent fixtures mounted on the high celing. As a result the lighting is so dim I found it difficult to see any detail of the models. There was a single operator who never so much as glanced in the direction of visitors. He was completely absorbed in what appeared to be routine maintainence. The layout is behind windows which at the least discourage contact between visitors and the operator.

The toy train layout was in stark contrast to the N scale layout. It was brightly lit. There were several operators. The layout was protected only with low plexiglass panels which allowed casual contact between visitors and operators. The HO layouts were likewise well lighted. One of the HO layouts was protected in some areas with a iron fence which kept visitors out of reach but able to speak with operators with handheld controlers who were following their train. Bright lighting on these layouts allowed clear viewing of the models and gave visual appeal. Limiting barriers between operators and visitors encouraged interaction thus creating a friendly atmosphere. In my estimation the presence of a single operator at the N scale layout meant the club was less active than the others. The dim lighting made for little visual appeal. Combined with the windows separating viewers from the layout prevented any sense of involvement with the layout. Finally, the lack of opportunity for interaction between the operator and the visitors left me with a sense no one was having fun with N scale.

The HO Tehachapi layout is an extreme example of a double deck layout. It is literally two stories high. Visitors use a ramp to go from one level to the next. It is a novel approach, but a successful one in my opinion. It is definitely not an architectural engineering project for the faint of heart. To pull off this ambitious project the club has raised a half million dollars. Now that is a dedicated membership! They have also recently signed a 50 year lease with the city of San Diego. The layout also has some unconventional bench work, i.e., 3/4 inch steel angle iron supporting 3/4 inch plywood. I have been told this is to allow walking on the layout. Whatever it takes, I guess. But I wouldn't suggest trying this at home.

I wanted to include a stop at Cajon Pass as part of my trip. So I elected to spend the second night of my trip in Hesperia to be close to Cajon for picture taking the next morning. I planned to spend the morning taking pictures at Cajon and then have the afternoon to drive back to Death Valley before night. The weather had other plans. It was cold and rainy all night and the next morning was on the nasty side as well. Consulting the weather report on-line from my motel room promised the weather would improve after noon. It indeed had stopped raining by noon and the clouds showed some signs of breaking up. Following an early lunch I headed back down I-15 to Cajon. It was still windy and on the cold side, but good enough for picture taking and exploring the unfamiliar territory.

It was easy to see why this is a railfan hotspot. Several relatively accessible spots to watch and photograph trains; close by a large metropolitan area; appealing landscape are all present. The track arrangements here to me seem to be on the complicated side. I will need to do more research before returning to Cajon if I am to do a decent job of setting up for the best shots. Colorado is still my favorite locale for trains, but I will want to return to Cajon Pass. Given my work schedule it is likely a second visit will have to wait until my next season at Death Valley.

Click on this photo to view an album of photos from southern California and Nevada.
 

By the way my employer, Xanterra Parks & Resorts, has purchased the former American Orient Express train. If you have $7,000 per person they will give you a tour of National Parks. No, I will not be joining the train crew. Bunk beds four high in a crew dorm car is not my idea of fun.

Posted by The Station Master at 4:11 PM CST

Updated: Wednesday, 2 June 2010 11:11 AM CDT

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