GENERAL INFORMATION AND OPERATIONS
The mainline of the railroad represents operations in the Blue Mountains
in the state of Oregon. I have chosen a section roughly from La
Grande to The Dalles. Six intermediate towns are
represented between La Grande and The Dalles. From east to west; La
Grande, Kamela, Meacham, North
Fork, Reith, Echo, Messner
and The Dalles. I have used complete "modelers
license" in representing these towns and I have not attempted to duplicate
the track arrangement or buildings actually present. Certain other liberties
have been taken. For example, during the time period modeled, all steam power
used oil fuel. Coal towers are still very much in evidence on the layout.
A LAYOUT TOUR
We will start our tour at the east end of the layout at La
Grande. As we leave La Grande we encounter a
1.8% grade as we climb the 6.5 turn double track helix to Kamela.
The trip requires nearly 28 fast (8:1) minutes. When we arrive at Kamela
we will first replenish our coal supply at the large concrete coaling tower and
take on water. Kamela has a number of industries that
ship by rail. Among the major shippers is a large grain elevator that supplies
the breweries on the layout. Also important is the American Can Company plant
and Western Beef Supply. Kamela is also the point where
we change from double to single track.
Leaving Kamela we shortly arrive in Meacham.
Meacham is a fairly small town but has a number of
important industries. A brewery, a box factory, and a boat manufacture are
present along with several smaller shippers. As we leave Meacham
we encounter the steepest grade (2.1%) on the layout. Our train loops back over
itself and if we look down we can see the small town of Pilot
Rock on the branch line. We cross a high wooden trestle and approach North
Fork. North Fork has no passing track and train
orders instruct west bound trains to place setouts for North
Fork ahead of the engine before leaving Meacham.
As we pass North Fork we plunge into a short
tunnel and soon arrive at Reith. Reith
is a major stop on the railroad for several reasons. It has major yard facility,
and several routes originate or terminate here. It also is the point where the Pilot
Rock branch joins the main and all freight to and from the branch
interchange at Reith. The railroad has its coal grading
facility here and all coal for use on railroad originates at Reith.
In addition, an interchange track and several major industries are present.
After taking on fuel and water, we again head west. Shortly we encounter the
second helix and this time head downhill (1.6%) and emerge from the tunnel just
east of Echo. We stop at the Fountain Brewery for a tour
and free samples. Shortly we're back aboard and in about 15 fast minutes arrive
at Messner. As we enter Messner
we notice a cannery, large warehouse a fruit exchange and an interesting stone
depot.
Our train orders indicate that are to wait on the siding for the east bound PFE
reefer train, and at 4:30 pm (right on time) PFE 298 emerges from the tunnel and
crosses the bridge into Messner. Shortly we cross back
onto the main and continue west to The Dalles. Upon
arriving at The Dalles our train is turned and readied
for the return trip the next morning. We will wait and catch the City Of
Portland back east where we plan to stop at Kamela for
the night and take the morning motor car the remainder of the way back to La
Grande.
OPERATIONS
Operations on the railroad are based on freight fowarding which managed by a
computer program from Sonora Software (RMS 3). A typical 3 hour operating
session will involve the movement of 10 to 14 trains. Generally two turns are
run in each direction between La Grande and The
Dalles. The routes are designed so that the two east bound and two west
bound trains switch different sets of industries in each town thus spreading the
work among the four trains. In addition, local freights operate in both
directions between Reith and La
Grande, and Reith and The
Dalles. Due to the number of industries, these locals may occupy a crew for
most of an operating session. As of late, we have been using local crews at the
major towns to handle most of the pickups and setouts. This has streamlined
operations to a large extent. Fortunately RMS supports the use of local crews
and will print a set of instructions for each town.
In addition to the local freights, a number of passenger and express freight
movements are included in any operating session. These trains make limited stops
and add interest to operations.
Operations are coordinated by a dispatcher. Communication is by two way radio. A
tranceiver is located in each town and we require operators OS all trains.
The optimum operating crew would be 16, but we usually operate a crew of 6 to
10, and we can operate with as few as 4. Solo operation is also possible as an
"extra" train can be called whenever desired.
LAYOUT STATISTICS
SCALE AND GAUGE: HO standard gauge
PROTOTYPE: Union Pacific
LOCALE: Pacific Northwest
PERIOD: Steam to diesel transition, late 1940's, early 50's
LAYOUT STYLE: Double deck point to point with division point yard
HEIGHT: Lower deck 36 to 40 inches, upper deck 56 to 60 inches
MAINLINE RUN: Approximately 500 ft
MINIMUM RADIUS: Mainline 36", Industrial track 24"
MAXIMUM GRADE: 2.1% Between Meacham and North Fork
ROADBED: Homasote roadbed over half inch plywood
TRACK: Flextrack, code 70 (La Grande yard), code 100 (hidden track), code
83 (remainder of railroad). Track is by Rail Craft, Atlas, Micro Engineering.
TURNOUTS: #5, #6, #8 Shinohara, approximately 140 turnouts are present on
the layout
TURNOUT CONTROL: 95% of the turnouts are powered by slow motion type
switch machines.
SCENERY: Scenery is about 20% complete and is plaster over cardboard
framing.
CONTROL: DCC by CVP Products (Easy DCC)
FREIGHT FORWARDING COMPUTER SOFTWARE: RMS 3 (Sonora Software)
OPERATING SYSTEM: By track warrant with train movements controlled by
dispatcher
ROLLING STOCK: 165 Freight cars and 22 passenger cars
MOTIVE POWER: 38 Steam locomotives, 13 diesels, 2 motor cars
Contact Information:
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