Thanks. The criteria for passing sidings was mininum length of 50" to accomodate a pair of F40s, a baggage car and six or seven Amtrak superliners. The first passing siding right after the first horse shoe is a little longer than that and station, staging, and second passing siding all beat that length by about a foot average. It should make for some fun helper runs / disconnects, Amtrak meets and passes, and I hoped to allow some staging so many different trains (UP, DRGW, SP, Amtrak) could run up and down the pass without the need for making them up in a yard, which would not happen anywhere near the real Cuesta pass anyhow. The top level yard after the summit of the pass (symbolized by the hidden layover track in the last pic) could be some interesting SP trackage or interchange, or perhaps a small yard that is in the vicinity of the summit that I could find on Terraserver to model. The track radius around the first and second horse shoes is 18", and the minimum radius (always hidden) is 11". The minimum visible radius would be around 15", but only used in brief duration with eased entries and exits. This layout could be connected to a future layout (which could model something North or South of SLO and the pass) for later expansion, so I wouldn't need to tear down this one in order to keep building and enjoying the hobby. Imagine . . one layout of the Cuesta Pass leading to another layout featuring the Cajon pass . . it could be possible by staying true to the full scale schematic. Yard operations would be lacking in this plan, but it would be only myself and a friend operating it at most, and the aisle is only 18", but with a lot of room under the lower level. One or both operators could sit on office chairs while being at eye level with each vignette, using the chair air lift for height adjustments. And of course, there would be walk around cab control.
The plan looks great. Cal Poly is best known for its college of engineering and is always ranked as one of the top undergraduate engineering universites in the country. I considered mechanical but the civil engineers get to build the railroads... Didn't you say you were from SLO? Figure you'd've heard of Poly. Here's a pic at the very bottom of the grade just as it leaves SLO. Cal Poly is to the right and most of Cuesta Grade is in the mountains to the right. It'd difficult to tell from the pic but the grade begins just a little ways in the distance in that picture, there is a noticeable beginning of the steep incline. Northbound Coast Startlight just went by w/a private car on the end.
I'm from Corvallis, Oregon but have seen the pass many times from Amtrak rides when I was visiting relatives in LA. If I could get residency status down there I would consider moving and going to school there. It took me a year of working a bad job to get residency for OSU, so I'm probably going to stick around for my ME degree. I grew up here, moved to Phoenix for ~5 years, moved back, worked, and am now a student. And I am going to have to buy some of those MDC cars while they are still avail. There are a few roads that would fit this layout, and they are cheap. [ 29. January 2004, 01:16: Message edited by: Fluid Dynamics ]
