Scale: O scale
Layout Location: San Ramon CA
Southern Pacific Roseville-Truckee District-"The Hill" Roseville Subdivision
The SP line from Oakland, CA to Ogden, Utah provides for many exciting
modeling possibilities. There are several major yards and terminals, a wide
variety of terrain from flat lands, hills and the towering Sierra mountain range.
The line from Sacramento to Sparks, Nevada (AKA “the hill” or Roseville
Subdivision) is the section I chose to model. It has steep grades, tunnels, snow
sheds, and heavy traffic. To get trains over Donner Pass, SP employed several
different engine types over the years from 4-10-2, the famous 4-8-8-2 cab
forwards, Alco PS’s, and SD-40/45 T-2’s. Motive power from the Rio Grande and
UP were also frequently used. Most consists were freight and produce from CA to
the east coast. But passenger trains such as the San Francisco Limited, the Gold
Coast, the Overland Limited, City of San Francisco, plus locals and mail trains
also provide plenty of modeling opportunities.
Obviously, it would require an enormous facility to model the full scope of the
line from Roseville to Sparks. In the limited space I have available, the
compromise was to concentrate on the Roseville and Truckee section known as
the Hill or Mountain district. The Colfax to Norden section are in the planning
stages. The time frame is the early to mid 1950’s when SP began phasing out
steam and switching to diesel. Some contemporary operation with newer SD-
40/45 and T-2’s is also enjoyed.
The layout occupies a 20’ x 23’ garage in my San Ramon CA home
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