Dave,
We were thinking alike. Just tonight I was planning on doing a rendition of what I thought the entire pike would look like. I was thinking of Towle for the lumber operation on Phase 2 and Truckee for Phase 3 in the entertainment room. Staging is not a problem when either Phase 2 or 3 is added. Each area has a place beyond it that has space for trains longer than I have passing siding space for.
I'm sorry if I was unclear. At Rocklin, trains go through a mandatory engine change for the grade. At Colfax they take on helpers. Rocklin is the yard where all merchandise is sent for local delivery, so I guess it is the "division point."
I probably won't use helpers if just running Phase 1 as it seems a lot of work for just 5-6 feet to staging. When Phase 3 is started, Summit will be a small space at the start of that area. I will not run the helpers up from Truckee as the distance will be too short to be satisfying.
Chip
Building the Rock Ridge Railroad with the slowest construction crew west of the Pecos.
That's too bad.
You seemed to have forgotten you were going to standard gauge the NCNG. So, oil, freight, and fruit transfers aren't necessary at Colfax. You would need a turntable and runaround for the Nevada County STANDARD Gauge, a couple of interchange tracks, and possibly some dummy SP mainline tracks.
Gee whiz. With six scheduled trains and possible extras, it would be very easy to keep at least four operators busy (enginer and conductor on each) on the NCSG, and there would certainly be need for a fifth working as dispatcher.
Sorry, but the NCSG looks a lot more honest than the Colfax and Rocklin. And by the way, do you have SP prototypes (particularly models of prototype locomotives, cabooses, and passenger cars ) for an SP Colfax/Rocklin line? The NCNG offers the opportunity for much more flexibility in selecting locomotives and rolling stock..
You can alway imagineer growth possibilities. While copper mines weren't in this exact location, there were quite a number of them in the upper Shasta area and in Feather River north of there, as well as south of Colfax at Copperopolis. Most of those mines were quite active around the turn of the 19th/20th centures. Ores were sent elsewhere for processing, such as the Mococo smelter near Martinez, CA.
Mark
Mark,
I agree the NCNG looks more honest. And I do have several options for SP locos. I do have 3-4 SP cabooses, and plenty of SP rolling stock. To be fair, two of my engines would work well on the NCNG.
So assuming 3 phases with the space above, how would you see expanding the NCNG? I guess I could increase the size of Colfax and make that phase 2, using staging then to represent Sacramento. And then use Phase 3 still to represent Truckee. Hmmm. Maybe I need to expand that one as well to 3 phase 3 before I choose.
SpaceMouse I agree the NCNG looks more honest. And I do have several options for SP locos. I do have 3-4 SP cabooses, and plenty of SP rolling stock. To be fair, two of my engines would work well on the NCNG. So assuming 3 phases with the space above, how would you see expanding the NCNG? I guess I could increase the size of Colfax and make that phase 2, using staging then to represent Sacramento. And then use Phase 3 still to represent Truckee. Hmmm. Maybe I need to expand that one as well to 3 phase 3 before I choose.
I'd be thinking not to alter the Nevada City yard, but possibly have the NCSG extend its mainline to a fictitious but not unimaginable mining district taking out bulk ore such as Copper. Extensions to Truckee and Sacramento would be on the SP/CP mainline.
Since the NCSG would be intimately connected with the SP, it would be sensible if it acquired some older SP equipment for its own use, as its prototype did in acquiring surplus SP narrow gauge stuff (locomotives, freight and passenger cars). Obviously, the majority of cars traveling on the NCSG would be SP.
There are opportunities for more online industries for the NCSG. See my earlier posts.
Chip:
Another thought: If you would be standard-gauging the NCNG, then any produce would be 'through' and not transferred at Colfax, ergo: A small shipping and refrigerator icing dock at Peardale or Chicago Park, since the now standard guage Nevada County Railroad would be using refrigerator cars instead of narrow-gauge ventilated box-cars.
And as far as lumber--for years there was a huge lumber operation called Cal-Ida near Downieville, up on the North Yuba canyon. You could 'imagineer' a planing mill/transfer at Nevada City (the actual one was in Auburn), or better yet, 'imagineer' a logging railroad out of Nevada City to the rugged North Yuba country. That would give you a lot of traffic both for shipping out to the mines in Grass Valley, or to the SP at Colfax.
You might want to get hold of a USGS survey map of the area ("Tahoe National Forest") which would give you good information as far as elevations. That's what I did when I 'imagineered' my Yuba River Sub through the area.
Tom
Tom View my layout photos! http://s299.photobucket.com/albums/mm310/TWhite-014/Rio%20Grande%20Yuba%20River%20Sub One can NEVER have too many Articulateds!