Providence River

[john flann]

 

 

Why do I model' American' , well above and below are two answers.

 

 

But in the 1980's I became totally disillusioned with the offerings from the UK manufacturers with their indifferent performance, appearance and the totally different couplings. So I turned to Athearn and Kadees and immediately got good running, appearance and standard couplings. That is maintained to this day. In other words I got value for money. And I avidly read Model Railroader.

 

 

There I was attracted to the Timesaver concept but I was not impressed for it seemed to me too elaborate and contrived. However I did like the concept so developed my own version-Timesaver+. This was featured in SMT, June 1988 and more recently in MRP 2004. It was a good learning experience.

 

 

By this time my wife and I were visiting the USA annualy to see our two sons who were both PhD students, first on the east and then the west coasts. These occasions gave me the opportunity to visit hobby shops and to see some real American railroading. Most impressive.

 

In 1990 I retired and we immigrated to the USA first living in Missoula, Montana and through which passed the ex  NP mainline onward westward (as had the Milwaukee). On it BNSF and MRL held sway and our home next the Clark Fork River had an excellent view of the regular procession of trains that passed through. Every freight exceed 100 cars as were the unit trains of coal, grain and containers.

 

 

We too bought a house with a basement and in that I built my JFRR, CM June 2000 and that became Clark Fork, GMR 2000, later we moved to Utah and here I re-built Clark Fork into the Bear River Branch, CM  November 2005, and later into its present form as The UP's Providence River Branch, MRP, 2009 and CM, June 2011.

 

This account will be about the PRB, (and maybe other posts will cover the layouts along the way.)

 

This is the opening post. The next will have the track plan and a commentary on it.

 

The two images show the flavour of it. I hope you enjoy it.

 

 

[David C]

Looking forward to seeing more posts after admiring "Hintock". I must confess to wishing I had paid more attention to the main line railroads on my sole trip to the USA many years ago.

 

Best wishes

 

David C

[CourthsVeil]

...The two images show the flavour of it. I hope you enjoy it.

 

 

 

 

Hello John,

this little teaser already exhibits wonderful flavour, very enjoyable. I'm sure we will get a lot more fine pictures from you^*).

Thanks for sharing!

Regards

 Armin

 

^*)…soon please

[Ralph]

looks great, on par with your Hintock layout, will be worth watching for updates.

[john flann]

Yes David C, Armin and Ralph, I appreciate the enthusiastic response to date and I've got many, many more images that I shall work through.

 

First things first, however, I need to lay the groundwork. I'll get on with that next.

[john flann]

 

 

Welcome to Proivdence River Branch-Part One

 

After we moved to Utah I found that about a block away ran the UP's Cache Valley Branch. It was so very different to the Class 1 ex NP main line near our previous home in Montana, there it was heavy main line running with the latest of BNSF's and MRL's high- tech power on the head end, here a rural brach line that featured trains twice a week of eight cars or so behind a pair of older UP diesels.

 

The Cache Valley Branch was built in 1888 as a narrow-gauge line by the Utah Northern RR on its way north to Montana. After being absorbed by the Oregon Short Line, a UP subsidiary, the UNRR was standard gauged . The UP cut the line  at Preston, Idaho, about 20 miles north, when a more direct route was built to the west. That is a main UP n-s route that links Ogden with Pocatello and major e-w transcontinental lines.

 

This CV branch line is the inspiration for the PRB, I set it in the 1980's, re-located the actual small town of Providence and borrowed.its name. Its history is this: settled in the 1800's the town (as does Smithfield where I live) lie in a broad valley-Cache Valley, elevation around 4,500' with hot summers and cold winters- surrounded by ranges of the Rocky Mountains. From its junction with the main line at Brigham City the branch follows easy grades along the Providence River

 

 

 

 

Well served  by these excellent rail connections, customers in Providence make use of the railroad, so the branch is busy and profitable. The main industry in the CV is agriculture, but the valley also supports food-processing plants, distribution centres, hightech-industries, engineering, manufacturing and mining.

 

I can therefore move grain, feed and seed, minerals,dairy and frozen foods, raw materials and finished products and goods. Inbound traffic also includes LPG gas and other petroleum products and anything else the town's business base requires. Several of these concerns operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, while others are seasonal. Quite a mix.

[Ralph]

a wide selection of freight on this line, mixed or dedicated trains & lots of shunting moves.

[john flann]

Ralph, exactly-more will be written about that. Continue to watch this space!

[Ralph]

added to my follow list along with Hintock

[john flann]

Welcome- Part Two

 

 

 

The home for the PRB is a large walk-in cupboard 6-0x18,0 in the lower ground floor of our Utah home. Off it too was an area about 8-0x3'0 that serves as a workshop. To make both more comfortable I put in carpet and florescent lighting. And with this I could build a layout 6-0 wide and 15'0 and 16'0 long in the form of a 'U' . There was a temptation to make a continuous run but as that meant duck unders or lift out bridges I resisted it.  

 

Here I erected an open frame and on which conventional baseboards can rest These are out of 2"x1", covered with 1/4" ply and on which I have stuck cork ceiling tiles. These are supported by closet rods and thus below is a convenient storage space. The height of the finished surface is 4'0, at its widest the aisle is 30" and narrowest 17"-enough for me as I am slim. To the baseboards is a curved fascia and that prevents my being painfully stuck in the ribs by sharp ends. It is painted green. The baseboards too are of a convenient width and so reaching in is not difficult. To reach comfortably into the Staging Yard, and behind a large building I stand on a raised platform. It's plain DC, track is Peco/Atlas code 100, Peco points and I use a MRC transformer with a Gaugemaster hand held throttle that enables me to follow the loco and alter the switches. All very handy.

 

As to the design, this again was my back of an envelope method, but I did want to incorporate as much as I could of the JFRR/Clark Fork i had dismantled and brought with me from Montana , I also wanted switching on straight spurs and a staging yard to hold 8 car trains and two locomotives. (In effect the scale length trains of those customarily running on the CV.) That I eventually achieved.

 

Many of the structure are scratchbuilt, others kit bashed and to which American kits readily lend themselves. They also come with plenty of spare parts. Some of these structures were originally on my Timesaver+ layout of 1967/8. they have worn well.

 

 

 

 

This is the final plan and after about 8 years work, JFRR/Clark Fork was the nucleus for the RH side, Bear River was first on the left, and now it is all complete and very satisfying to operate in a fairly prototypical manner. It really is in three parts: west or Depot yard to the right, south or Top and to the left east S&H. How I operate I shall write about in Part Three. As will have been gathered my interests lie in switching and this more than satisfies that. 

 

It will be seen what a variety of rail customers are present requiring a whole range of different cars, in all I run around  66,  and these comprise flat cars, gondolas, grain hoppers, dedicated covered hoppers, LPG and tank cars, everyday box cars, insulated box cars and reefers. All from different roads, shapes and sizes, weathered to  a greater or lesser extent and in variegated colours. All part and parcel of the attraction of modelling "American' .

 

 

[rodshaw]

A very nice layout - it appeared in CM just at the time I was thinking of starting off with American HO. It was one of the reasons I took the plunge.

[john flann]

Thanks Rod, by taking the 'plunge' I assume you went modelling American and I'm sure you haven't regretted it. I thoroughly enjoy it and after looking at yours I can see you do also. Very neat, practical and interesting to operate. There's a lot to be said for it.

 

But it does seem very much a minority interest.

 

I find that a little strange given the amount of attention paid to UK 'modern image' layouts.

 

Regards,

[john flann]

 

 

Enough of words: two GP9's, these are standard Walther's products to which I added crews, plows, sunshades, painted the hand rails.and lightly weathered around exhaust grills and the like also the trucks. They are very reliable and run well. Coupled by a drawbar they work in pairs and with 16 wheel pick up so they should.

 

The four houses at the rear are from two kits (Rix, IHC) cut in half and re-assembled.

 

Below is some detail of scratch built Butler Frozen Foods. The green reefer has been re-painted and lettered.

 

 

[Simon Moore]

Very nice layout John,

 

Your right about all the us outline models being superior in running qualities, i have a Athearn SW1500 which is silky smooth probably the best running model i have. I really like the layout. It looks like you've a lot of switching potential.

 

Very nice

 

Simon

[john flann]

81c and Simon your kind and generous comments are appreciated. Not all American railroads are mainlines busy with 100+ car trains for there are many rural branch lines operating today equal in charm to many an English branch of yore. And as typified by Hintock.

 

True there are these gigantic triple decked model railroads occupying whole basements and more generally run by groups of friends (a small club in effect), but the enormity of the task in building, maintaining it, keeping it running, operating and all else, besides finding the cash to pay for it looks to me like very hard work. I have no doubt I get as much pleasure from the PRB with a fraction of the effort.

 

And Simon, I came to modelling American as much as anything to get decent running (eg, dead frogs and pre-Bachmann) and that I certainly got, as have you. It dos add so much to the fun, the exasperation factor became nil.

 

And please keep looking, I do aim to post regularly.

[john flann]

I get a great deal of pleasure from scratch building and kit bashing and the Consolidated Elevator 14 complex is a good example of my results. This is about 4'6 long.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The tractor moves cars about the spurs.

 

There are more and those I shall post on another occasion.

[CourthsVeil]

Hi John,

this is truly a wonderful layout. American, but not HUGE, rather human in proportions and atmosphere – really rare this combination.

I have added it to my follow-list – of course!

Thanks for sharing

 regards

  Armin

[Gene]

Hi John.....I know I've seen some pics and articles over the years about this layout in Model Trains International.....but I'm confused because for some reason I had thought that Hintock had replaced this layout. Or do I have my timeframes wrong???

Whatever the case, this is a lovely layout.....and so much fine scratchbuilding!!!

 

Cheers

Gene

[john flann]

Armin, it's a pleasure. As you remark not HUGE and I like your comment about it being human in scale. And that it is.

 

Not every American has, of course, the space or wealth to be able to have one of those basement empires that get so much publicity, but after it had been in MRP I had several inquiries whether I had any objection to the track plan being copied. When it is considered it is really just a collection of Inglenooks. Whatever, it's fun to operate.

 

And Gene, good to back in touch and I trust things are going well for you. And I appreciate your complimentary remarks.

 

Quite right, this has been in MTI and the PRB is still very much in existence. It's just taken a back seat whilst I was building and introducing Hintock.

 

I thought it about time the PRB had some exposure on RM web, and who knows it might get some others interested in the joys and delights of modelling American.

 

Regards to you both,

[Gene]

Thanks John.....yes all is well with me.....keeping to the regime so to speak. Obviously you are is good form! which I'm glad about.

I look forward to following this topic.

 

Cheers

Gene

[john flann]

Here are more images of Consolidated Elevator 14, as I remarked previously this measures some 54" in length and is, of course, but a representation of an elevator complex, however it captures the essence of such facilities. It is both kit bashed and scratch built and gave me great pleasure in creating it.

 

My accompanying remarks might seem a little perfunctory but to experienced viewers much will be obvious. If not please ask.

 

 

 

The central section from the L, loaded trucks pass over the scales and then move on to bottom discharge their loads into a pit, from there the grain is then blown into the elevator itself.

 

The tractor unit is from Athearn the trailer I scratch built. All the covered grain hoppers from different roads I have weathered.

 

 

 

 

Another shot. Green's to the R are distributors of food products from the mid-West, beer and liquor from  Colorado. This arrives in insulated box cars.

 

 

 

 

A view of the RH end, to the left is an overhead crane I made from an Atlas signal bridge, the tractor again is from Athearn and the flatbed trailer I scratch built. To the R is a rather heavily weathered and grungy box car.

 

 

 

 

More of the same. It makes a nice little cameo.

 

 

 

A view from the doorway across the bottom of the RH end of the layout showing various parts in context. Beyond and across the aisle can be seen the Smiith and Hawken mineral processing  plant.

[shortliner]

Very nice John - but I think photos 1 & 2 are the same

[Ralph]

thanks for the new pics, god to see things from different angles.

[Hugh Flynn]

Hi

some great shots well done

Hugh

[john flann]

Ralph and Hugh i appreciate you kind comments, and Jack for yours but not strictly true. They are very similar I agree but examine the 'E' in Green's.

 

However, to make up for that lapse how about the attached?

 

 

 

and this,