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Simpsons Peak |
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History The
San Juan extension of the Denver and Rio Grande (D & RGW) reached
Durango in 1881. Two
lines were built north from Durango, one to Silverton, which still
exists today and forms the World famous Durango & Silverton, the
other to Simpson’s Peak. The period for the layout is the 1930’s. The
line to Simpson’s Peak diverges from the mainline just north of
Durango and follows the course of the river Rio Florida to just below
the foothills of Simpson’s Peak. Here the Rio Florida Lumber Company
connected with the mainline. The
line was in decline, until coal was discovered in the hills around
Simpson’s Peak, this enabled the owners to expand the line and tap
into large resources of coal and wood, however money was never readily
available for minor work and the line was in generally poor condition.
The
small Depot at Simpson’s Peak is right on the edge of town and the
town’s people are trying to get the Logging Company to build a tram
system. The Company has laid an extension at the Depot, but is
awaiting the purchase of a second hand tram before going any further
with this work. The
Local logging company, the Rio Florida Logging Company or RFLC runs a
large network of lines around Simpson’s Peak with their only
interchange being at the Simpson’s Peak Depot. It
should be noted that the RFLC has running rights on the D & RGW,
to its own sawmill down the valley. They are served by a short spur,
which means all loaded wagons have to come into Simpson’s Peak to be
added to trains for departure to the rest of the system. The
RFLC and the D & RGW Share the yard with and facilities at the
depot, but it should be noted that the workshops belong to the RFLC.
The RFLC also has its Permanent way base at Simpson’s Peak and some
unusual vehicles can be seen from time to time. Trains
for the RFLC depart the yard with the locomotive pushing, this is
because of the steep grades and the number of switch backs the line
uses to gain height. This also limits the number of wagons which can
be pulled / pushed up the grades. Unusually for a logging line, the
RFLC uses cabooses on all its trains. Including some small four wheel,
shed type vehicles. The line to Simpson’s Peak was never built, but the place is real, as is the river, I have just used modeller’s license. The
L The
layout is 16 feet long and 2 feet wide made of conventional 2” x
1” framing with 9mm MDF tops. Some boards have two sheets of MDF to
aid with the different heights on the layout. The
scenery is made up of polystyrene, cut to size, covered in filler with
rock moulds added and the areas blended together to form the contours
for the railway. Woodland scenic and Set Scenes scatter materials are
used and varies colours are mixed together. Loads of trees are
required and will be added as the layout develops. The
track is all Peco O 16.5mm and is wired for cab control. At the
present time DCC control is under review, this will only be added if
sound chips can be fitted in all locomotives. Other sound systems are
currently under review. Stock
used on the layout is mainly Bachmann ready to run, but kits from
Backwoods Models, Smoky Bottom Lumber Co., EDM and Chivers Finescale
are all currently under construction or built and on use. A Ford based
pick up from a Wright Lines kit is the first of a few unusual vehicles
that will be used on the line. Digitrax Digital Command Control is now installed on the layout together with a number of sound units in the locos. Eventually all locos will have sound decoders. |
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