The Uintah Railway, How "Modelgenic?"

[mlehman]

riogrande5761

There is one rub I can think of. Wouldn't it require brass? $$$

Yep, it would in HOn3. But consider that you can probably find one of the two articulateds needed for what you'd pay for two or three new DCC/sound equipped locos. Throw in a couple of Shays and then you're done. The Uintah had a brief roster that helps make a budget work in your favor.

If you went for On3, that would be more expensive (IIRC, the articulated were offered in On3, but can't find my brass book right now to confirm) but you know that going in if you're in 1:48.

LGB is it's own thing, but the short roster still limits your overall outlay.

Those diesels seem affordable one at a time, but after a couple of dozen, you're talking big money there, too. All depends on what suits your needs.

[riogrande5761]

There is one rub I can think of.  Wouldn't it require brass?  $$$

But I guess if someone sold off all their trains and focused on that one RR, it might be doable if you could find the brass loco's and appropriate cars.

[mlehman]

Beebe and Clegg provide a charming intro to the Uintah, but there are richer materials available. Rodger Polley covered the line in two volumes, published in 99 and 02 by Sundance as the Uintah Railway Pictorial, Volume I and II. Tons of pics, lots of text, plus maps, etc make these must haves for the serious Uintah fan.

Another worthy book is Henry E. Bender's Uintah Railway: The Gilsonite Route (Heimburger House, 1970).

HOn3 is what I'd do it in, because the big power is available. Keep in mind that if you want it big, go G with LGB, which offered a version of #50/51. I'm uncertain about which Uintah Shays may have been produced, but pretty sure you can come up with something close.

Everything else will require decent scratchbuilding skills, but will be worth the effort.                                                                                   

[OT Dean]

If you get really serious about this, try to find a copy of Lucius Beebe and Charles Clegg's "Narrow Gauge in the Rockies."  I just finished what is probably my 100rdth rereading of the book and it has a chapter devoted to this serious but very strange railroad, with lots of facts and good photos of it.  Every time I read about it, I wonder if model locos could make it through those incredible "Mule-shoe Bends" on wicked 7-1/2% grades!  Those fascinating articulated 2-6-6-2 tank locos did, indeed go to the Sumpter Valley, where they were shorn of their saddle (panier?) tanks and equipped with tenders--which were impractical on the URY.  When the Sumpter shut down, these well made little workhorses were shipped south to Gautemala, where they ended their days. 

The scenery would be simple--if you could do it convincingly--and it would be a unique model railroad.  I've never heard of anyone else doing it.  Might be fun, too, though I think modeling the "Mallets (they weren't; simple engines front and rear)" might be a challenge, although...  (If you could get a couple of the former Mantua/Tyco models, which are sometimes available from Historic Rail catalogs out of Minneapolis, you could probably rework them into convincing On30 critters.)  Good luck and Happy Modeling!

Deano

[ACY Tom]

If I'm not mistaken, the Uintah 2-6-6-2's were the same engines that were used on the Sumpter Valley, except that the SV used tenders with them. PFM imported models of the Sumpter Valley engines in HOn3 many years ago. I don't know for sure whether a Uintah version was offered, but I think so. If you can find two of these models, that's probably the way to go, and you won't need to fiddle around with a compromise gauge.

Tom

[7j43k]

GP-9_Man11786

 

 

I think this obscure prototype could make for a great operating layout, possibly in On30. What do you guys think?

 

 

THIS guy thinks it should be done in 3'.

Well, yeah, it is a bit curvy:

 

 

 

Ed

[Geared Steam]

I love it, especially the 2-6-6-2's the replaced the shays with. I think it's very model worthy. To get some idea of the crazy curvature and grades....

http://www.drgw.net/trips/report.php?tr=UINT.3

 

 

[GP-9_Man11786]

The other night, I was working on the layout and for some background noise, I grabbed a DVD out of my collection about the Uintah Railway. The Uintah was the three foot gauge line that ran from Mack, CO to Dragon, UT. It was built primarily to haul Gilsonite to a connection with the Rio Grande but hauled other cargo as well. Conventional locomotives hauled trains west from Mack to Atchee, CO. At Atchee, Shays took over with the 7.5% climb over Baxter Pass to Wendella, CO. At Wendella, there was another change of engines before continuing to Dragon.

Here is a link to the Wikipedia article: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uintah_Railway

I think this obscure prototype could make for a great operating layout, possibly in On30. What do you guys think?