THE RAILROAD AT YEAR THIRTEEN

This year’s anniversary of the start of construction in August, 2012, marks thirteen years of construction.  Perhaps even more important for a layout built for operations is that this also marks ten years of operations on the full mainline of the railroad.  I have been having flashbacks to 2015 when I:

1.     Completed the mainline with a Golden Spike in April, 2015.

2.     Held my first operating session on the completed mainline with a local crew in June, 2015.

3.     Opened my doors for layout tours and an OpSIG (Operations Special Interest Group) operating session as part of the NMRA PDX2015 national convention in Portland, Oregon.  That OpSIG session was only the fourth operating session on the full mainline.  From my owner-builder perspective the layout was very raw (lots of switches needed fine-tuning).  My guest operators were happy to be part of bringing my vision into reality.  Several of those folk were here for WOOPS in June of this year, so my memories of 2015 have been refreshed.  

The railroad has come a long way since that initial “Plywood Pacific” as will be seen in this annual photo survey of the railroad.  Last year’s survey may be found at:

https://espeecascades.blogspot.com/2024/08/the-railroad-at-year-twelve.html

 

Befitting a railroad built for operations, I chose to use photos taken during the regular August 2nd, operating session.  This was the 86^th operating session on the full mainline.  We had a modest-sized crew, but got all required railroad work done with the exception of servicing the Eugene city industries.  Along the way we introduced a new crewmember to the railroad by pairing him with one of the experienced operators.  Follow along as the photos document this regular operating session as well as highlighting progress of the past year.

 

The Eugene Yard crew is busy as a RR-East freight rolls into the Eugene terminal on the mainline.  Mike L. (foreground) works as the East Yard Switcher.  Further back, Craig P. works as both Yardmaster and switcher, classifying cars at the RR-West end of the classification yard.  Jim L. (black shirt) watches his arriving road freight on the mainline.  Across the aisle, Mike B. works the first Springfield switching job.

 

Eugene Arrival-Departure Yardmaster Vic N. (wearing a hat) looks out upon his yard near the start of the session.  Eugene Classification Yardmaster Craig P. (green shirt) has come over to the A-D yard to confer on transfers between the two yards.

 

The busy space between the two Eugene Yard complexes.  A transfer cut of cars is being moved from the A-D Yard to the left over to the Classification Yard to the right.  Those green BN covered hoppers will end up in the Albers feed complex at the far (RR-West) end of the Eugene yard.  Against the wall are a number of industries normally serviced by the Eugene City Switcher.  Each represents an industry served by the SP in Eugene that appeared on a 1970s SPINS diagram (Southern Pacific Industry Numbering System).  Track revisions and industry models in this area were all part of my “Covid Project” of 2020.

Orchestrating train movements as Dispatcher was John B.  John is one of two regular Dispatchers.  We are working on training additional Dispatchers.

 

Mike B. works the first Springfield Switch Job (Turn).  This job services Springfield industry on the backdrop side of the mainline.  All of the industries modeled have been in Springfield, from Borden Chemical in the background, alongside the Willamette River, to Tillbury Cement (green silo), Clear Fir moldings (low gray building plus the transfer crane and chip bin in the middle-right), to Rosboro Lumber in the foreground.

 

 

Around the corner at the end of the Springfield peninsula is the Marcola branch area of Springfield.  This area is served by the third Springfield area local switch job.  Mike B. is guiding his train on the mainline between Westfir in the background and Springfield.  The major elements of the Neste Resins plant are in place along the Marcola Branch.  The cut of freight cars in the foreground is on the interchange track for Weyerhauser—unmodeled except by the interchange tracks.

 

Mike B. (green shirt with back to camera at left) is guiding his RR-East train through Springfield on the mainline.  Jim L. (black shirt, right) has come off road freight duty to work the second Springfield local switch job, working the industry on the aisle side of the mainline.  His local power can be seen beside the orange cars of the road freight and behind the rock bunker in the foreground.

 

Westfir hosts one of two large forest products mills that bracket Oakridge.  This one began as Western Lumber and had the distinction of having the contract to mill all of the timber cut as the Cascade Line was built up out of Oakridge in 1926.

 

Just beyond Westfir, the railroad plunges through Tunnel 22 into Oakridge.  New-to-the-layout Engineer Doug C. (blue shirt, middle) moves the front part of his train forward to make way for inserting the mid-train helpers.  His Conductor, Rodger C. (gray shirt, right) is listening for Dispatcher instructions.  In the background, Jim L. (black shirt) also listens to the Dispatcher for instructions moving his train from McCredie Springs.

 

Engineer Jim L. got permission to move out of McCredie Springs down toward Oakridge.  This took him through Tunnel 21 and then past Rooster Rock (Montieth Rock).  A lot of this past year’s effort has gone into this scene.  I applied an external layer to the base of pink insulation foam and Scultamold that had been the rock for the past several years.  I worked from pictures of both sides of the rock to guide my sculpting efforts with Paperclay.  I then applied color to the rock, trying to match the photos.  Other efforts in this area included a revision of the backdrop painting, ground cover and then trees.  I have more trees to build and install in this scene, but Jim is taking note of changes since he helped out with WOOPS operations in June.

 

In an opposite direction view of Rooster Rock, Doug C. and Rodger C. plus Helper Engineer Pete H. (rear, dark green shirt) begin their long climb up out of Oakridge toward Cascade Summit.  The new scenery catches the attention of old and new crew.

 

Back at Oakridge, Joe B. brings the Oakridge Turn into town.  He will service industry and company spurs in town before returning to Eugene via Westfir.

 

Later on, Joe B. (center) has nearly finished his work in Oakridge, but needs to get out onto the mainline to switch Standard Oil, set against the backdrop.  Jim L. (rear) guides his train on the Oakridge Main as he moves RR-East toward Eugene.  Meanwhile, another RR-West train has arrived in Oakridge and needs a helper.  Craig. L. (light blue shirt, right) is awaiting further movement of the train he will help after it just made the cut between cars for the helper.

 

Early in the session, Mike L. (foreground) controlled his RR-West train at McCredie Springs with Craig L. (light blue shirt, rear) controlling the mid-train helpers.

 

A meet at Wicopee.  Wicopee is the mid-point siding on the climb between Oakridge and Cascade Summit—both in the full-sized world and on my scale model recreation. Doug C. (right), Rodger C. (gray shirt, left) and Pete H. (green shirt, front) have moved their train into the siding with a RR-East (downhill) train piloted by Pat LT. (gray shirt and green apron, center), holding the main.  Downhill trains generally stay on the mainline and take precedence over the uphill trains.  It is safer to keep a train rolling downhill rather than have to apply air brakes and then hope for a brake system re-charge before needing them again as a train starts rolling downhill again.  I applied a few rock molds to the terrain seen on the left side of the picture.

 

Doug C, Rodger C, and Pete H. watch their train as it leaves Wicopee and begins crossing Salt Creek Trestle.  Salt Creek Trestle is the longest of three steel viaducts on the Cascade Line.

 

Pat LT. and Pete H. work a train uphill (RR-West) over Noisy Creek Trestle, the second of the steel viaducts on the line.  130 feet of this trestle was washed out during a December 1964 storm, cutting the Cascade Line for weeks.

 

Pat and Pete continue to monitor their train as it climbs through Cruzatte.  A few more trees were added to the Cruzatte scene this year, but they disappear among the roughly 300 other trees already planted in this scene.

 

Mike L. and Craig L. bring their train into Cascade Summit, where Craig’s helpers will be removed from the train.  Those helpers can be seen in the background, about to enter the summit tunnel.

 

Later in the session, Pete H. (right) is removing his helpers from the train crewed by Pat LT. (left) at Cascade Summit.  Craig L. and Jim M. are down below in Oakridge.

 

Completing his run over the railroad, Pat LT. guides his train into Crescent Lake.  This is the upper staging yard for my railroad.  The lower staging yard, the Eugene Arrival-Departure Yard, can be seen below with an actual height change of over three feet.

 

This past year has seen development and refinement of mountain scenery and a lot of operation!

WOOPS 2025 Session 2

As noted in the previous post, the 2025 edition of WOOPS (Western Oregon OPerationS) was held at the beginning of June.   https://espeecascades.blogspot.com/2025/06/woops-2025-session-1.html  After a concentrated re-staging effort Friday evening and Saturday, I held my second WOOPS2025 operating session on Sunday, June 8.  This was the 85^th session on my full mainline.

 

Once again, I had seventeen guest operators plus six of my regular local crew to help and mentor the guests.  With seventeen guest operators, all regular crew positions were filled by guests.  Most of the guest operators for this session operated on my layout at least once.  Several were considered “plank-holders” (in the Navy sense) as they were part of the operating crew for my ops session for the PDX2015 NMRA National Convention.  That session was only the fourth session using my full mainline.  

 

Follow along in photos showing the engaged crew of “Boomer” (travelling) operators put my railroad and its operating scheme through its paces.

 

As usual, a session begins with an in-briefing and then crew job selection.

 

As he has done before, Seth N. dispatched.

 

Brian F. served as the Eugene Arrival-Departure Yardmaster.

 

The Eugene Classification Yard crew consisted of West Switcher Dick Z, Yardmaster Mark S, and East Switcher Tony T.  In the background, local helper Loren M. served as Santa Clara Tower Operator, working the three switch panels controlling the complex trackage between the Eugene Depot and Classification Yard and the Arrival-Departure Yard in the “back” room.

 

Steve M. (gray shirt, left) and Jim R. (blue shirt) worked as the crew for the Springfield-B Turn.  This job switches Springfield industries on the aisle side of the mainline.  Here they are switching the rock spur on the RR-West end of Springfield.

 

Ed S. (tan shirt, left) and Don T. (blue shirt, right) work the Oakridge Turn.  In the background, Jim B. and Sam R. prepare to depart from the Oakridge Siding with a RR-West freight with its helpers already cut into the train.

 

Bob F. and Helper Engineer Steve H. work their train upgrade through Wicopee.  They will soon cross Salt Creek Trestle in the foreground.

 

Mike R. guides Amtrak Number 14 downgrade through Cruzatte and over Noisy Creek Trestle.

 

The happy operating crew on June 8.  We were glad to have shade on the patio on what proved a scorching hot day!

 

It was great to host both old friends and new friends for another WOOPS operating session!

WOOPS 2025 Session 1

 At the beginning of June, we held the 2025 edition of our regional operating event, WOOPS (Western Oregon OPerationS).  This was a three-day event with guest operators operating on at least one area layout a day.  We had several bonus sessions during a couple of evenings plus before the main event.  We also arranged layout tours on the Friday evening.  A banquet was held Saturday evening for our guest operators and hosting crew.  We had sixty operating slots each of the three days and were blessed with rapid response to our initial invitation message, filling those sixty slots in less than a week.

 

My SP Cascade Line held operating sessions on Friday, June 6, and Sunday, June 8.  Friday evening and Saturday were filled for me with re-staging for the Sunday operation, completing a task in 24 hours that I normally take four or so days to accomplish for normal operations.  The first session, reported herein, was the tenth anniversary of the first operating session held on the full mainline as I built my railroad toward display and operations for the PDX2015 NMRA National Convention in Portland.  I have come far since then!

 

I hosted seventeen guest operators for both of my WOOPS sessions.  I was supported by five of my regular operators for the first session.  Herewith some images from the June 6, session.

 

Operators gather for the session.  The social aspect is an important part of operating sessions!

 

Guest Bruce M. bravely took on the role of Dispatcher for the session.

 

Guests Scott B. and Michael B. worked the Eugene Arrival-Departure Yard.

 

Guest Al D. (gray shirt, center) served as Eugene Yardmaster.  Norm B. (blue shirt, right) served as the Eugene East Switcher.  Scott W. (plaid shirt, center) served as the Eugene West Switcher and also worked as the Eugene City Switcher.  In the background, Clint E. rolls a mainline freight Eastbound into Eugene past the depot.

 

I caught local mentor John B. in the act of photography at Springfield.  Mark G. (dark gray shirt) and George F. worked the Springfield-A Turn.  This job switches industry on the backdrop side of the mainline at Springfield.  Clint E. remains in the background with his EB freight rolling into Eugene.

 

Clint E. brings another freight into Oakridge where it will pick up helpers for the mountain climb.  Local mentor crewman Jim L. (left) served as Assistant Chief Dispatcher and Crew Caller, helping keep the crews working—an important task with the large crew we had for the session.  In the background, Phil K. works with an EB train working downhill through Cruzatte.

 

Group photo for the June 6, operating session.

 

I was overwhelmed by the enthusiastic, experienced, happy groups for both of my WOOPS sessions.  I will report on the June 8, session in a separate posting.

DEVELOPING THE FOREST – PRYOR

 I have spent much of this year developing the scene and forest around “Pryor.”  Pryor actually is a siding (unmodeled on my railroad) between Oakridge and McCredie Springs.  I use the name here as a shorthand for that location on my railroad.  The scene begins with the climb out of Oakridge and the bridge over Salmon Creek.  It curves around and then has a long climb along a wall beneath Cascade Summit, which extends overhead in this area.  The track passes Montieth Rock and then curves through Tunnel 21 on its way into McCredie Springs.  Regular readers will recognize I spent a fair amount of time this past winter finishing Montieth Rock.  Now it was time to develop the forest.

 

Forest development in the “Pryor” area before Montieth Rock (seen in the distance).

 

Forest development began with the backdrop.  My original backdrop treatment featured mountainsides above the three-dimensional terrain painted in three shades of green, with the most distant one being more blue.  Based on my experience with the Cruzatte scene, I needed to add more distinct trees to the immediate foreground of the backdrop.  I added a couple of rows of trees, largely matching up to the eleven- and nine-inch trees I have been using for such scenes

 

Foreground trees being added to the backdrop.

 

The stretch of forest from the break after the corner scene to Montieth Rock is about twelve feet long.  Add to that another couple of feet between Montieth Rock and Tunnel 21 that has at least some forest, albeit it younger forest (smaller trees) as occurs after a mud or rock slide in the Cascades.  My typical tree spacing places four or five tree per foot, so this scene requires a LOT of trees!  I finally made and installed all of the half trees needed over this stretch and have begun the next row down and forward of those backdrop-hugging trees.  

 

 

Closeup of the tree additions.  I used two different shades of green, with one more olive, with the intent of showing some color variation within the trees.

 

After the backdrop was modified, I began adding trees, beginning with half trees.  These are trees with their “foliage” cut at the trunk allowing the trunks to stand next to the backdrop.  

 

Final gap of backdrop-hugging half trees closing the gap toward Montieth Rock.  The tree trunks on the mountainside are of different lengths and mark sections for my estimate of how many half trees to build for the scene.

 

I used smaller trees immediately around Montieth Rock to suggest recent second growth following a slide.  Photos of the Montieth Rock area show it nearly bare when the railroad was built in 1926, but now show plenty of forest.  I use tree materials from Coastman’s Scenic Products:  https://www.coastmans.com/  Coastmans supplies both trunks and “green branches.”  The “green branches” are coconut coil that has been painted and a layer of ground foam dusted on.  Once I trim the “foliage,” I apply spray adhesive and a fresh dusting of coarse Woodland Scenics conifer green “turf.”  

 

Montieth Rock and Tunnel 21 with the developed forest surrounding the rock.

 

Opposite view of Montieth Rock.

 

I still have a lot of forest to build and plant for this scene, but it now has enough definition to show where I am headed with it.

WEATHERING BOXCARS

Over the past couple of months, I have attacked a long-deferred modeling task: weathering the boxcar fleet.  In the rush to get the railroad equipped with freight cars for initial operations, I used a mix of era-appropriate cars with concentration on the home road—the SP.  I had over a hundred appropriate cars that moved back to Oregon with me that had been weathered for routine service with the club I belonged to in California.  Adding to that foundation was an amazing array of new models appropriate for my new model railroad that were produced during the time I designed and built my railroad.  This was a factor in my selection of 1984 as the equipment focus for initial operations.  Unfortunately, that meant most of these cars needed to be placed in service directly from their shipping boxes, with only a quick change of couplers if needed and a check of running gear.

 

As my railroad and its operations matured, I knew I needed to address rolling stock weathering.  That time arrived this Spring.  Each month, I have pulled clean cars off the layout from easily reached places, usually from the Eugene classification yard or from the Springfield area.  Flat finish was followed by a quick overspray of grime or dirt.  During April, I addressed three trains left on the layout after the last operating session, catching fifteen or more cars per train in the process.

 

Experienced modelers will recognize this likely produces too much of a uniform look to the weathering, but at least the cars now sport appropriate levels of grime.  I used Bragdon powders on some of the cars.  I attempted using PanPastels on others.  I had more success with the Bragdon powders, but either is more laborious than I was willing to do for the full fleet at this time.  Note that “full fleet” approaches six hundred cars on the railroad.

 

Former Railbox car returned to financial backer Southern Railway.  This car has one of my lighter weathering jobs using Bragdon powders and a little bit of overspray.

 

An SP and an SSW plug door box cars (RBLs) using my more typical overspray weathering.

 

Another pair of boxcars weathered using Bragdon powders between the external posts and then overspray.  Their bright colors when clean “demanded” a weathering treatment.

 

I now have addressed a quarter to a third of the boxcars and a few refrigerator cars that are in service.  I may take a break to see how these mix with the rest of the fleet.  I definitely went overboard on a couple of the mechanical reefers, but they used to be seen in blocks of such cars in trains labeled “Smokeys” for good reason.  Time to sit back, observe and assess.

PAINTING MONTIETH ROCK

Once I completed the rock surface encasing Montieth Rock, I still needed to provide color.  Two previous posts describe my rock surface molding for the Rock.  

https://espeecascades.blogspot.com/2025/01/sculpting-montieth-rock.html

https://espeecascades.blogspot.com/2025/02/sculpting-montieth-rocksecond-section.html

Paperclay provided a smooth surface, unlike plaster rock castings, but that provided the surface needed to model the volcanic plug that is Montieth Rock.  

 

The paperclay needed to be sealed, which I did with a coat of polyurethane.  In contrast to my Sculptamold work that had paint included in the mix, the paperclay was an off-white.  I began coloring with a coat of gray paint.  I briefly experimented with a black wash over this uniform gray, but that quickly ran off the smooth surface.  I next turned to a base paint coat using a mix of raw umber and Payne’s Gray artist’s acrylics.  This provided a deep dark grayish brown which needed lighter paint streaks as highlights.

 

Montieth Rock paint.  A mix of raw umber and Payne’s gray has been applied over a base coat of medium gray.

 

I added streaks of lighter mixes that began with the raw umber and gray base.  I added more gray. The next mix added a bit of burnt sienna.  Another mix added ochre to the mix.  All of these additions were seen in color photos I have of Montieth Rock.  I just needed to lighten the original dark mix of raw umber and Payne’s Gray.  

 

Others have written about coloring rocks where they begin with raw plaster and then add washes that stain the plaster rock casting.  That was not an option here, as the paperclay dried/set to a hard ceramic-like surface that then needed to be sealed.  Instead, I chose to start with the darkest coloring and then gradually lighten it with streaks using ever-lighter colors.  

 

Montieth Rock with streaks of lighter and redder overcoats.

 

Completed Montieth Rock coloring with more gray added and a hint of ochre (yellow).

 

While I was working with the color of Montieth Rock, I refreshed the ground cover of the eroded area next to the rock.  This can be seen in the “completed” photo above.  I also applied the rock coloring to the adjacent Tunnel 21 rock faces.

 

Montieth Rock and the adjacent Tunnel 21 rock face.