Page 25 - NMRA Roundhouse September October 2020

Probably like the majority of North American model railroaders, I started out with an interest in British railways and in my case the Southern Railway. I was a teenage member of a club in west London where there was a wide variety of interests: British and continental but
a small number of members modelled North American.The locomotives could haul long freight trains or passenger cars and I was captivated by the ‘American Scene’.What finally clinched the move from British to North American was ‘Railway of the Month’ in Railway Model- ler, October 1966, Denver & Rio Grande Western by Cliff Young. I was fascinated by the description of his railroad, the photographs, and what he achieved
in the space available. He referred to
a book, Rio Grande Mainline of the Rockies by Lucius Beebe and Charles Clegg which I purchased from Victors in Pentonville Road and this set me on the road for my interest in the Rio Grande and in particular the Denver and Salt Lake Railroad.
With limited space for an HO layout, I decided to design a layout to display and run my stock rather than try to replicate a small portion of the railroad. My rail- road room is approximately 14’ X 7’ 6” and the plan gives me sufficient scope to run a variety of stock which I can rotate from time to time.What the plan doesn’t show is that underneath each yard are two hidden storage tracks.
I have built both the west and east portals of the Moffat tunnel.The east portal is 2’ wide and I have been unable to incorporate it on the layout but
the west portal is much smaller. I have recently incorporated it on the layout as a self contained scene so as to establish in model form my interest in the Moffat Railroad.The scenery needs working up which I am presently doing.The layout
is fully DCC using the Digitrax control system and I am installing Tortoise slow motion switch machines and station- ary decoders which will be operated through the Zephyr system or a hand held DT400.
Charles Hendy
Denver Craig and Pacific track plan
Mallet No 216 hauling a train of box cars
The California Zephyr hauled by Precision Craft Models Alco PA, A-B-A. Passenger cars by Broadway Limited
ROUNDHOUSE - September/October 2020 - 75thAnniversary Issue
CHARLES HENDY REGION PRESIDENT 2019-2021
A United model of a Denver and Salt Lake mallet No 216 2-6-6-0 heading west having travelled through the 6.2 mile Moffat Tunnel
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