As I move into the next stages of construction, I also am
planning for the eventual signal and switch control system. Supporting that effort has been the creation
of track plan schematic drawings for each of the stations on the layout. Previous efforts documented Oakridge,
Springfield and the Eugene Depot and Classification Yard. Those schematics have been posted on
the Track Schematics tab for this blog.
Schematics for the rest of the railroad have now been created and posted
on that same page tab. The new
station schematics also are presented and discussed below.
Crescent Lake
Crescent Lake is the upper level staging for the layout with
a twelve-track reverse loop yard planned.
The schematic shown below shows the yard ladders at both ends of the
reverse loop. The basic formulation
is two six-track ladders at each end.
A “switcher spur” will be included within the loop to store a switcher
that will assist layout restaging between operating sessions. This might also be used to store snow
removal equipment (plow, spreader, flanger) during operating sessions. Crescent Lake is the RR-West end of the
layout.
Cascade Summit
Cascade Summit will be at the same level as Crescent Lake
and, as the name implies, will be the summit of the mountain climb that begins
at Oakridge. Cascade Summit has a
mainline straddled by two sidings: the “Mountain Siding” for RR-Westbound
trains and the “Lake” siding, closest to the aisle and the imagined Odell Lake,
for RR-Eastbound trains. Cascade
Summit also includes a wye for turning helpers and snow equipment. A set of crossovers provide access for
the turned helpers to the “Lake” siding and a small extra siding (the “Beattie
Spur”) used to hold helpers for their opportunity to return downhill to
Oakridge. A railroad maintenance
spur should be located at the RR-West end of the complex, but may end up at the
other end due to space considerations.
Cruzatte
During layout design, I chose mountain sidings to model
based on operational significance.
I ended up selecting about every other actual siding, but the ones
selected had some significance. In
all cases, my sidings had train order offices before the installation of
Centralized Traffic Control (CTC) in 1955. With all the structures needed for one of these full
“railroad villages” available as kits from AL&W Lines, I could not resist
this choice. http://alwlines.com/
Cruzatte was a required wheel cooling stop for descending
(RR-Eastbound) trains in the days before dynamic brakes. Water was available at both ends of the
siding to handle both the road (lead) locomotive and helpers. Beyond that, Cruzatte was a “basic
mountain siding” with main, siding and a company spur (house track or M.O.W.
spur). I skipped Abernethy between
Cascade Summit and Cruzatte.
Wicopee
Skipping Frazier and Fields, the next siding or station will
be Wicopee. Wicopee also was a
train order station. In the days
of steam, it was the habitual up-hill watering stop. One of the steam era water plugs still exists at Wicopee today, used for fire
fighting and other maintenance tasks.
Wicopee is another “basic mountain siding.”
McCredie Springs
McCredie Springs will be the lowest of my mountain sidings,
skipping Heather (RR-West) and Pryor (RR-East). A resort once stood near this siding. I will add a rock quarry and bunker for
“operational interest.” There were
a number of quarries in the area, but none were rail served. Consider this a modeler’s choice.
Oakridge is the next station RR-East on my layout. Oakridge was the helper station at the
base of the mountain climb. It had
engine facilities and a turning wye.
Oakridge has been discussed in several prior blog posts:
The schematic is shown here
again, just for completeness.
The schematic shows the yet-to-be-built Pope and Talbot mill
spurs at the RR-West end of town.
Travelling through a short tunnel at the RR-East end of Oakridge brings
us to Westfir. Westfir is
represented by another pair of mill spurs for Western Lumber Company. No schematic is provided for
Westfir at this time.
Springfield
Springfield is the next station on the layout. It was the first track laid on the
layout. Springfield includes
tracks and spurs along the mainline and a bit of a branch, my “Marcola Branch”
off the RR-West end of the siding complex. Sufficient railroad business exists in both areas to require
two separate local switching jobs.
http://espeecascades.blogspot.com/2012/11/springfield-track-layout.html
Eugene Depot and Classification
Yard
Just across the Willamette River from Springfield is the
Eugene Depot complex. This
includes the depot mainline, “WP Siding,” a pair of “City Yard” tracks, and
industry spurs. Parallel to the
depot complex is my eight-track classification yard. The classification yard is placed here simply because there
was space for it—space that did not exist in the “back room” where the
Arrival/Departure Yard (staging tracks) are located. Industry spurs at the RR-East end of the depot complex are
still under development.
http://espeecascades.blogspot.com
/2013/07/track-laid-in-eugene.htm
Eugene Arrival/Departure Yard
The RR-East end of the layout is in the Eugene
Arrival/Departure Yard, another twelve-track reverse loop yard. Contained within the reverse loop will
be engine service facilities for both steam and diesel. Outside of the reverse loop will be an
industry spur/branch that will terminate at a paper mill. (I moved Millersburg from north of
Albany to north of Eugene.) The
other side of the reverse loop will have the caboose track and the Oregon
Electric (SP&S, BN) Interchange.
The track throat complex between the depot and
classification yard and the reverse loop yard is sufficiently complex that a
tower operator position will be developed. The complex is somewhat like Santa Clara, California, where
I used to take railfan pictures.
Once again, AL&W Lines has produced a wonderful structure kit for
that tower. Since Santa Clara,
Oregon, is on the north side of
Eugene (very near the SP yard), I will call this tower Santa Clara, as
well!
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