The Phoenix Arises

I have, at last, begun construction of my new HOn3 layout.  The past several months have been spent in finishing the basement, including the addition of an HVAC system, bathroom, workshop, utility room, and layout room.  The layout room itself is approximately 22' by 45', with an additional 4.5' by 9' area which will house my version of Ridgway, Colorado.  As with the previous layout, this layout will be built in HOn3, will include Durango, Colorado, and will be set in approximately 1948.

I have received track planning help from several friends, particularly Steve King and Larry Nyce.  Thanks, guys!  Although the total plan is not finalized, I completed the area that will be occupied by Durango.  I added a line to represent Silverton, which will be mostly staging, but there is enough space to allow for switching activity.

I began, of course, with construction of the benchwork using standard 1x4 lumber.  Normally, I would cover the Durango Yard with plywood and Homasote.  Unfortunately, in the part of North Carolina where I live (Western NC mountains), the standard response at every lumber yard I visited to the question "Do you carry Homasote?" was "Hunh?  What's Homasote?"  Obviously, if I was to build this layout, an alternative needed to be found.

A friend on the Southeast side of Charlotte recommended a product available at Home Depot called Quietbrace.  This is a 1/2" fiber panel that is covered with a very fine layer of asphalt.  I ordered several sheets of Quietbrace and 1/2" Sandeply plywood, and the benchwork for the Durango Yard, and the Silverton staging area was constructed.

Benchwork for the Durango Yard.  The black material is 1/2" Quietbrace.  The white lines are track centerlines drawn on the Quietbrace using white chalk.  The loop is the track used by the prototype to turn the San Juan passenger train.  The white track centerline exiting the photo to the right leads to Silverton staging.

Once all of the benchwork for Durango and the Silverton Branch was completed, I began transferring the track centerlines from the track plan to the railroad.  I found that I needed to make some changes to the track plan as I proceeded, mostly to more accurately represent the prototype track arrangement in Durango.  By the way, I made extensive use of the Durango Workbook published by Mike Blazek  (http://blazeksplan.com/). 

Durango yard track centerlines in front of the Durango Depot.  The depot was built from a Raggs...to Riches kit.  The roundhouse in the foreground was scratchbuilt by the author and moved from his previous layout.  The line to Silverton can be seen in the background in front of (and blocking!) two sliding glass doors.

The Durango Yard showing track centerlines, the scratchbuilt roundhouse, and Depot.  The scratchbuilt car repair shops are located on the left.  It is attached to a base, which will be recessed into the yard, and tracks will be laid up to it.

An overall view of the Durango Yard.  The loop in the foreground is not the loop for turning the San Juan, but, rather, is the Eastbound track out of Durango.  It had to be looped because of space limitations.  At the far left rear of the photo, the track will continue to the left onto the Rio Grande Southern, and eventually to Ridgway.

Looking from the Rio Grande Southern connection into the Durango Car Shops.

Installing the trackwork is next!  I will be using Flex track, but will be building my switches using Fast Tracks fixtures (http://www.handlaidtrack.com/).