SP & ATSF along the North Bay

N Scale - 1980's
Owner: Jerry DeBene
Layout Location: Alabama
I am modeling in N Scale, and the SP Line at Pinole (along the Bay in the Contra Costa County) ,CA, is represented on my layout.
It will also have the ATSF Line from Richmond to Stockton.
I mainly stick with the 1980's but have models from all eras that I love to run, including Big SP power like 4-10-2's and AC-9's.
Maximum train length is about 80 cars, but I tend to keep it more around 40 normally.
The Pinole section of the layout, which will fill a 30X35ft garage is 24ft by 3ft. It is about 90% sceniced.
Progress on this layout can be found at Trainboard in the N Scale forum under ATSF Line started.
http://www.trainboard.com/grapevine/showthread.php?t=87641
http://www.trainboard.com/grapevine/showthread.php?t=87641&page=163
You can also check out several videos as the layout progresses on Youtube....

Great Basin Lines

O scale - transition era
Owner: Rod Miller
Layout Location: Palo Alto.
Great Basin Lines is a 15’ X 48’ Southern Pacific transition era layout.
Designed for operation using stacked staging loops.
Most of the mainline is double decked with some scenery and tunnels.
Extensive model machining capability.
No parking in driveway.

"Donner pass" and more...

N Scale
Owner: Ken Harstine
Layout Location: Holyoke, Massachusetts
I have essentially two N Scale SP layouts:
1. Donner pass
4'x9' Modeling the pass, Truckee and Donner Lake.


2. Sugar Bowl at Norden on Donner Pass
2.5'x4' NTRAK Module. This module is featured in my May 2009 Faller Car Systems article in N Scale Magazine.


Currently working on a smaller Truckee module for the NMRA convention in Hartford and the N Scale convention Portland, Oregon.

San Joaquin Central

HO Scale – spring 1949
Owner: Chuck Harmon
Layout Location: Fresno
Modeling the Southern Pacific’s Sacramento Division from Roseville to Truckee (Donner Pass) in the spring of 1949, plus a fictional branchline located on the west slope of the Sierra Nevada.
The HO mainline is 200’ long, with another 100’ on the branchline.
Most of the trackage is handlaid on milled pine roadbed.
Especially nice is gauntlet trackage across Long Ravine Trestle.

Truckee to Donner climb over the Sierra

S scale ( + Sn3) – 1950-55
Owner: Bob Hogan
Layout Location: Madison, GA
Here's my Sierra Northern Railroad.
Modeled in S scale, the SN represents a generic Truckee to Donner climb over the Sierra.
I model the 1950-1955 era.
The layout is 22 X 23 foot with full scenery (see the photos section of the S scale list or the S Gaugan for pics) and features steam AC-12's, GS-4's, Decs, Mikes, P10 Pacifics as well as the smaller 2-8-0's and 2-6-0's. Diesels range from PA's, F-7's, Geeps, RSD-5's, plus Baldwin S-12's, and Alco S-2's as switchers.
All locos and cars are modeled after specific SP equipment.
Many are NMRA or NASG contest winners. Heck, there is even a 12 car Shasta Daylight and 16 car Lark consist that I built. Yeh, they are not appropriate to the route, but it is my railroad and I like to see the consists run.
There's also a Sn3 logging line for the Sierra Nevada Lumber Co. mill at Truckee. This line runs from a mountain reload to the mill using West Side Shays and equipment.
The layout is in a dedicated building at my house (full HVAC) in Madison, GA.
I grew up in the Bay Area during the '50's and lived there thru the 1980's, hence the interest. Gotta be the only SP layout in the south east!

Southern Pacific’s Donner Pass

HO Scale – 1940 to 1955
Owner: Jim Sinclair
Layout Location: Bixby, OK
“I’m modeling the Southern Pacific over Donner Pass from Roseville California to Truckee with West and East staging yards. The predominant motive power are Cab Forwards and F7’s, ABA’s and ABBA’s in the 1940’s to 1955.
Helper service is required going both east and west over the hill. Southern Pacific began replacing the steam in 1956 with the more efficient diesels.
About 90% of the track is down, some terrain is in.
The Roseville yard is basically complete except for the icing facility.
Four industrial areas are about 98% complete. When completed the RR will support fourteen to eighteen operators and a dispatcher.
The dispatcher will control the double mainline traffic utilizing a computer program.
Eventually a detection system will support the dispatcher in controlling the heavy traffic.”