Hi all, My plans for my new trainroom are developing, I have my space all done in my back yard, I have the track plan that I want, the era I'm going to model which is modern era, all is well, BUT,,, there is still one thing, I live here in Oregon, so this question will be for you all that either live in these areas or know of them, of course there are alot of mountainous locations as well as high dersert, the problem is this, I don't know if I want to model 1) the Cascade summit subdivision, 2) The Columbia River Gorge, 3) this one would be a freelance sub, it would be called the Coos Bay sub, running west from Eugene Oregon to Coos Bay, so which one would you enjoy modeling the most, my track plan will be mutilevel. take care guys n gals!!
It´s a simple question of making up your mind, pal!
Happy times!
Ulrich (aka The Tin Man)
"You´re never too old for a happy childhood!"
Every railroad corporation has its own feel or sense of identity to it. I always try to give a layout the visual look of the railroad I want to model. When I was working I spent a good amount of time at CN, CP and BNSF yards and the environments all had their own feel and look to them.
Pretty hard to fit an entire subdivision in a trainroom, why not pick a few items or spots you would like to include from all of them and start building. I wanted to build the CP line from Vancouver to Calgary and had to settle on a few highlights from along the way all jammed togeter in a 15' x 24' trainroom. I am satisfied that I am capturing the character of the Canadian Pacific Railway by making sure the the bits and pieces are prototype and not generic.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
Which of your two options most resembles the topography between Eugene and Coos Bay? I'd think the unique features adjacent to the mighty Columbia would rule out the Gorge option. Additionally, with very minor exceptions (like the trackage of the current Hood River RR), the routes on either side of the Columbia are heavily used mainlines, and always have been. They themselves are unlike any traffic that ever occurred between the Willamette Valley and the Oregon Coast.
I'd investigate branch lines off the Cascade route - or just freelance it. Travel Oregon 38 between I-5 and Reedsport to see what it looks like if you're set on something west of Eugene.
And one other consideration: what kind of traffic are you imagining? I'd think anything between the Willamette Valley and the Coast would be classified as a short line, in any era. Put another way, any modern consist that is prototypical will be a "local" by nature - unless you are giving free reign to fancy. Which is certainly fully acceptable!
I hope you have great satisfaction in what you develop. Keep us all posted!
John
Well this isn't the worst kind of dilemma to have. Unless there are unique circumstances this is not a final decision or a last layout.
Deciding based on the scenery is reasonable I suppose but what about the operations that you want (for example, local switching versus through freights? helper districts? Amtrak or other passenger trains? agricultural traffic or urban manufacturing/business?). Do any preferences there dictate a choice or narrow the choice?
Preferences for types of trains and operations often dictate or at least help clarify what the scenic geography prototype should be.
It's also helpful to keep in mind what a relatively tiny slice of the world even a big layout represents.
Another consideration, and here each of us marches to our own drummer: how much do scenic and track arrangement and other such compromises bug you? In most cases mountains on layouts are usually big compromises because it is rare to have space to model a mountain so large that a prototype railroad would be compelled to tunnel through. Obviously thousands of layouts with mountains and tunnels have resolved to live with that compromise.
Dave Nelson
If you really cannot make up your mind, it would seem obvious to me to take the freelancing option.
Then you can include the appealing parts from the other options, and be happy.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Since all of us are limited by space, I would recommend modeling some form of short line operation such as logging, mining, steel works, etc. This way even a small layout has a recognizable purpose and the potential for entertaining operations. One of the most entertaining layouts I get to operate from time to time is a small logging railroad. The Shay, Climax and Heisler locos run so slow it takes a long time to run a train the entire length of the layout. With both logging and a few small mines on the layout, there is a lot of work to be done. Good luck!
Hornblower
You're far better off representing some industries, scenery, etc. than capturing everything. Having your layout depict something is a welcome challenge. This is similar to my layout in SW Virginia along the old N&W line. I use signs from industries along the line and plenty of N&W cars. Of course having banners or signs from local unversities help ground the layout even more in the location. There are plenty of ways to strike a balance between realism and the model.
Hi there,
I'm not sure how much space you have for your trainroom, or even the scale you'll be using, but you have alot of options for each of your locations:
Cascade Summit Division: If you're basing your layout on the SP line between Oakridge and Klamath Falls, that would be some interesting singletrack through/over the Cascades. Scenery could be light snow/winter at the higher elevations (Odell Lake) and summer foliage below the summit and around Oakridge.
Columbia River Gorge: Alot of train traffic on both sides of the gorge (UP in Oregon & BNSF in Washington). Perhaps you could use the aisle itself to represent the Columbia River that separates the two states. It would be really cool to add a model of the "bridge of the gods" located between Cascade Locks (Oregon) and Stevenson (Washington), located in the heart of the gorge. Don't forget the windsurfers you see on the water throughout the Gorge!
For the Coos Bay Sub, were you thinking about modeling the SP branch from Eugene to the coast? The sand dunes near the coast would be interesting to model. Another possibility would be the SP Tillamook branch. At the end of the line (Tillamook) there is a large air hanger that I understand was also used for a lumbermill, that might be an interesting structure to model. If I was going to model an Oregon railroad, it would probably be the Tillamook branch, especially the area around the coast.
You might want to check out some railroad pictorial books as well as train videos for some more modeling ideas of the region.
Good luck!
Jeff
Well, you don't necessarily have to choose... On my layout, it's CN one day, CP another day, with a short line that runs in the junction. Just remove the offending locos using the 5 finger crane, and put the other ones on the layout, and voilà, you have a whole new railroad...
Simon