Well, the winter has come and gone but I got a lot done. And with a nice Father's day, I have had the chance to finally get some pictures uploaded of the layout. Wo-hoo!
Now for the real part. My wife and I are renting a house here in Phoenix. While I got the garage, I am limited on what I can do as far up grades to the house and such. For instance, the garage had shelves and cabinets hung all ready. Handy as they are, I wish I could get rid of them. Also, no painting the walls, hence the blue sheets. Not the best, but it works. Also, originally, my wife and I had planned on being here only a couple of years so the first year, I rushed the bench work thinking it would be torn down. Well, things changed and we are still here 3 years later and no plans on leaving (We do have a good thing so we are staying)
But knowing some day we are leaving is why none of the track is ballasted (and wont be) so I make due with the painted road bed and pinned track work. Yup, none of my cork or track work is glued, just used Atlas track nails and sewing pins to hold it all down on to 2" white foam. Cheap, easy, and most important, I know I can pull it all up quick and easy save it for another layout. Oh, 3 years and 3 summers 100 degree temps and it works great.
Now for the fun part....
The Kiva Valley Railway is a fictional freelanced road that I came up with to allow me to have all the fun I could in model railroading. I model both 1956 and present day. I tried to keep era neutral buildings and structures. I pull up one set of rolling stock and put down the other. A good example of my traveling techniques... My SD7 and SW7 are either brand new.... or still old faithful's the KVR hasn't given up on and just have fresh paint.
So......The KVR started back in the early 1900's trying to compete with the Santa Fe to connect Flagstaff and Phoenix. At the time, Kiva Valley itself was pretty small and industry was limited to few mines, cattle, and farming. Most of line was completed by the early teen's before WW1. During the WW1, mining (Copper being the big one) got enough of a foot hold to help finish the line and make the improvements to bring it up to a modern day railroad.
By the 20's, enough people lived in the town that passenger traffic became popular as it also became a nice vacation spot for people in lower deserts to escape the heat. Like Payson and Prescott in the mountains, Brandy the major town in the Kiva Valley, became popular place to get away.
The big "Boom", came from World War 2. The KVR grew leaps and bounds. So much so that owner's got overzealous and double tracked most of the main to allow more trains to go through the valley. Southern Pacific coming from the south and Santa Fe from the North. Interchange traffic was huge as the KVR would take freight back and forth.
Industry became key. Mining, farming, beef, even a few prisoner of war camps were set up for German POW's. Manufacturing also sky rocketed as cheap land was to be had. Things were busy and the Valley churned and burned.
After the war, like everyone else, things slowed but growth of homes and the post war economy helped keep the KVR afloat. The Korean War provided enough a pick up that the KVR pulled two of its Hudsons and returned steam to the rails for the first time since '47. The 2 Hudson's stayed in regular service until 1958.
Lean years through the 70's and 80's made things difficult and the 2nd track became a curse when it was once considered a blessing 30 years ago. It sat idle for years until things picked up again in the late 90's and it was re-worked to make it usable again.
Kiva has been going through another boom again as manufacturing returning to Brandy for the rail service and cheap rates compared to Phoenix. As Arizona has grown and the Kiva Valley Railway is thriving once again.
Here is a tour. More picture are in the photo album at the bottom of my signature line.
The layout is in a 19x19 garage. 15 feet wide and 18 feet long, it is an around the room style with a middle finger roughly 11 long.
Work building and yard office.
Looking down the main yard
Shack Town. Also, bottom right the main switch into the Central District
Looking south. On the left is the switch into the East Side Switching district. Also can be seen the tunnel on the "William Hunter Line" heading south to connect with Phoenix.
Town of Brandy on the left and Lark's Spur on the bottom. Team Track for the farmers of the area. Feed, supplies and chemicals are somewhat regulars.
The whole thing. "Therapy room". Also at the back end of the yard, you can see the "Old Main". Used to be the repair building until the the new steel one was built in '50 or '51. it is still used to for long term repairs and also houses one of the Hudson's that still sees annual Rail fan trips. Like the Grand Canyon Railway provides tourism dollars for William, Arizona. The "New York Girl" provides plenty of sold out hotel rooms in town for its rail fan trips.
In the middle of the picture, is Tower Junction. This where the line splits and goes north to Flagstaff and connects with Santa Fe/BNSF
Why we spend our money, deal with frustration, cut our thumbs and glue our fingers....
Makes it all worth it...
Best Regards, Big John
Kiva Valley Railway- Freelanced road in central Arizona. Visit the link to see my MR forum thread on The Building of the Whitton Branch on the Kiva Valley Railway
Big John--
Whoa, my friend, you've been BUSY! And for a good cause, that's one nice looking layout, ballasted track or not, LOL! I can certainly understand your reluctance to ballast, since you're a renter, but I really like your trackwork, concept and details. AND what seems to be some really nice, sweeping curves.
You've got MY vote!
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!
Why is it anything I come up with has already done, much better by the way, by other people before I know it? Great layout, ballast or no. Love to see smoe more ground level shots like the UP swinging around. And if I might suggesty, in leiu of "real" background, maybe you could use the blue background as a bluescreen? and you could still design background, and have all the "fun" of it, and edit it in for an even better pic
(The above is a suggestion, not trying to tell you how to do anything)
Good
-Morgan
twhite wrote: Big John--Whoa, my friend, you've been BUSY! And for a good cause, that's one nice looking layout, ballasted track or not, LOL! I can certainly understand your reluctance to ballast, since you're a renter, but I really like your trackwork, concept and details. AND what seems to be some really nice, sweeping curves. You've got MY vote! Tom
Thank you Tom! I know I havent been around as much I usually am on the board... life just getting in the way. But I was still busy out in the garage for a few minutes here and there and felt good today to get a chance to share it. I was hoping a few the regulars would comment.
Flashwave wrote: Why is it anything I come up with has already done, much better by the way, by other people before I know it? Great layout, ballast or no. Love to see smoe more ground level shots like the UP swinging around. And if I might suggesty, in leiu of "real" background, maybe you could use the blue background as a bluescreen? and you could still design background, and have all the "fun" of it, and edit it in for an even better pic(The above is a suggestion, not trying to tell you how to do anything)Good work
work
Thanks for the kind words Flash. I admit, I had thougt about it and myfe, who is quite gifted webdesigner has been wanting to do that. its just one of those things on the list. I did the blue sheets as I was getting tired of seeing white brick walls and the garage door. Yuck!
And for kicks...
Here is an early picture of the East Side and main line curves. Thanks for the comments Tom on trackage. I am big fan of the sweeping curves and tried to put them in where I could. I was lucky enough to see a huge, 2400 sq ft basement layout that had some great curves to it. I had alot less room to wok but I really wanted that feel.
I just think it make the train look so much better and longer when you can see moveing versus the straight shot. I think it helps to add the "vast" look of it.
For the heck of it, I thought I would post up some pictures from the early years when I first started. I thought we would be in this house for maybe 2 years, so I wasted no time and took some shortcuts to get the track down and get trains running. Well, 3 years later.....ah, almost miss it
Layin' down some track. This would have been around June of 05'. White foam and the face fuzz are long gone.
Thanks for the update, John. Always enjoyed your posts and it was fun to follow your progress. You have come a very long way in a short time and it reall looks good.
Keep up the good work.
Life is simple - eat, drink, play with trains!
Go Big Red!
PA&ERR "If you think you are doing something stupid, you're probably right!"
John,
Great photo essay of the KVR! I especially appreciate the back story of the fictional railroad, it really adds and supports the layout theme. I struggle with creating a good back story for my layout and I really like the way you came up with yours.
Regards,
Ryan
Ryan BoudreauxThe Piedmont Division Modeling The Southern Railway, Norfolk & Western & Norfolk Southern in HO during the merger eraCajun Chef Ryan
Thank you Tom for the kind words. I really hadnt thought about how far I have come until I went back and started looking at my old photos. Wow. That's why I posted them as I had to remind myself how much work I have put in. I sure have learned alot.
SilverSpike wrote: John, Great photo essay of the KVR! I especially appreciate the back story of the fictional railroad, it really adds and supports the layout theme. I struggle with creating a good back story for my layout and I really like the way you came up with yours.Regards,Ryan
Oh, I struggled too, ironicaly, the name threw me for the biggest challenge. i went round and round trying to come up with name when after a few weeks of scratching everything out, my wife comes in and says... "What about Kiva." Its the name of the street we live on... Doh, perfect.!
The rest was a pure by product of too many nites alone in the garage with cheap beer and I can spin anything.
Melchoir wrote:Nice pictures and great layout...Like that idea of painted roadbed..What did you use for paint and I assume you painted it before the track was laid...Keep up the cars on the rails and evjoy.
That was born out crazy expeirment. I bought some of my first cork and I trying to figure out what do with it... "Hmm.., be great if it was gray color.... Oh look, a spraycan of cheap gray primer...... I wonder?" Bingo.
I would paint them gray, then hit them lightly with speckle paint. Once dry I would tack them down with nails or pins and be done with it. I would love to weather the track but I know the day I pull them up, they will be marked and have a heck of time painting them again.
John, I am amazed - - and more than a little chagrined - .
In just about the same amount of time, with just about the same amount of space, I have accomplished about a tenth as much! Not only that - I own the garage (and attached house) so I can't claim that there are any obstacles to progress that I didn't put there myself.
Love those sweeping curves. That's what happens when the rails follow the contour along a watercourse, even if the water is only present after a rainstorm.
From 1956 to 1960, I toyed with the Phoenix and Northern Arizona, which probably would have been built along the Kiva Valley's route. (I also owned a NYC Hudson for a while during that period.) That idea never got out of the armchair, and I had switched to Japanese prototype before I built my first serious layout.
Very nice work so far. I'm looking forward to seeing more.
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - in a Mojave Desert garage)