UPRR Rochelle Subdivision Blog

Final Decision - New layout construction begins Summer 2010

Well, I’ve finally come to a decision on the future of the UPRR Rochelle Subdivision. I will be tearing down the existing layout to make way for a completely new Union Pacific Railroad. Below is the initial basic track plan for the new layout. The new layout will run from the Proviso Yard in the Chicago area all the way across the Mississippi River to Clinton, IA. Of, course not all 150 miles will be modeled, but Rochelle, the Global III Intermodal Yard, Ashton, East Clinton, the Mississippi River with rotating bridge, and the Clinton/Proviso yards will be on the layout. There will be a very large yard that will double for Clinton, IA and Proviso. One side of the yard will be Clinton while the other will be Proviso. I will not be modeling the hump yard in Proviso. The large yard will also serve as a visible staging yard. The layout will be built in sections so that it can be moved if necessary in the future. The layout will feature a complete loop for BNSF so that trains from both the UP and BNSF will bang through the diamonds in Rochelle. Minimum mainline radius will be 36 inches. Number 8 turnouts will be used in yards and sidings while #12 or larger will be used on the mainline. As with the prototype, the UP mainline will be double track throughout. Over the next two years, until actual construction begins, I will be doing research, taking photos, refining the trackplan, expanding my N scale roster, and finishing out the bathroom. Initial construction will focus on East Clinton, the Mississippi River, Clinton and Proviso. Once I get to the point where the mainline track is laid and wired in these areas, I will tear out the existing layout so that I can complete the rest of the mainline. Any feedback is welcomed.

Download of clinic presentation now available

Just posted an ISO file which contains the powerpoint presentation of the clinic presented at the Derby City Express N scale convention.  To grab use the following URL… www.stpaulrochelle.org/PCD/clinic.iso  once you have the file, you can burn burn it to a CD or use a virtual drive to access the files in the iso.  Run the PPTVIEW file and the presentation should display on your screen.  Enjoy

National N Scale Convention in Louisville

   Got back yesterday from the N scale convention in Louisville.  Had a great time and was happy to be able to see some old freinds again.  The convention was well run and had a lot of things and activities to keep my interest.  I was a little disappointed in the Ntrak layout though.  They spent Wed-Saturday morning setting the layout up and did not run trains until I had already left Saturday morning.  Some of the modules were extremely well done, but the majority were mediocre to bad in my opinion.  I’m really glad I have my own layout because spending three days setting up to run trains for a few hours is not my idea of fun. It was huge, though!! Supposedly over 800 modules and the biggest ever.

I did two clinics on the Rochelle Sub Thursday and Friday mornings.  The Friday clinic went better in my opinion as I ran short on time Thursday and had to rush through the last few slides.  I was able to time things better on Friday and even had a few minutes left over for questions.  If I had to do things over I think I would had spent more time on operations.  There was tons of interest and huge attendance in any clinic having to do with operations.  I plan to post the power point presentation so those not at the convention can view it.

I was really impressed with Louisville, I would not mind living there.  Lots of nice neighborhoods around the downtown area which is unusual for an American city.

I did not purchase much at the convention.  Bought nothing at the room sales or swap meet and only purchased a decoder I needed at the WGH show on Saturday.  I was going to purchased a number of items at Wig-Wag, but the checkout line was so long I decided not to.

Over all I am glad I went.  Now back to running trains on the Rochelle Sub!

Upgraded Crossing Grades

I’ve said before that the layout is pretty much complete at this point.  Doesn’t mean the layout can’t still be imporved.  I upgraded two grade crossing.  One with wood ties, the other with BLMA concrete crossing kit.  Both were very simple to do and turned out pretty good. I also replaced the old crossbucks with NJ International crossing gated as both roads would likely require gates in the real world.  Below are before and after pictures.

The decision is…. No decision

After giving the future of the layout a lot of thought, I have been unable to come to a definitive decision.  So, I’ve decided that, for the time being, I will not be making a decision.  I will not however let things go on undecided forever.  I have set August 1, 2008 as the the deadline for making a decision.  The choices right now are as follows,

1. Tear down and rebuid the Freemont through Mitford areas.

2. Tear down the staging yard through Mitford, raise Buhl through Rochelle 7 inches, rebuild the staging yard in the family room of the basement and rebuid Freemont through Mitford.

3.  Same as #2 except extend the layout through the entire basement family room as shown in the layout plan previously posted.

4.  Tear everhthing down and start from scratch.

 Right now I am leaning toward #4, but I am not sure enough about it to actually start the demolition.  So, I plan to spend the next seven month detailing rolling stock and working on a new DVD of the layout.

Rochelle Sub lives to see another day

As I have alredy posted, I been having second thoughts about totally dismantling the Rochelle Sub and starting over from scratch. First though, my reasons for tearing it all down were as follows;

1. I’ve worked on the Rochelle Sub for 18.5 years and needed something new to work on.
2. I do not like the “blobs” or u-turns the two pennisulas created. Too many curves back and forth and not enough straight track which is prevelent here in Northern Illinois.
3. I am growing frustrated with and tired of Nelson yard. The west turnouts are not working to my satisfaction and are in a location that is difficult is not impossible to work on. I also do not like the curves at each end of the yard. I want to build a new yard with more room and proper mainline/yard track alignment.
4. I do not like the many curves involved with the staging yard. Long cars are a consistent problem that I am tired of dealing with.
5. I want the layout height to be 55 inches instead of 48. More to eye level always looks best.
6. My wife and I are newly empty nesters which frees up the rest of the basement for train expantion.

After thinking about it for quite some time I realized that none of my reasons, except for the height, involved the Buhl to Rochelle area of the layout. So, my plan now is to keep the Buhl to Rochelle part of the existing layout, redo the rest of the existing layout and expand into the rest of the baement. Below is a proposed trackplan. Go to http://www.rochellesub.com to view the existing track plan.

One of the more difficult aspects of the plan will be to raise the existing Buhl to Rochelle section the 7 inches from 48 to 55. I plan to build the benchwork and lay track in the new area before even touching to existing layout. Once the new area is up and running, I will tear out the parts of the layout I will not be keeping, including the staging yard. I will then unscrew the Buhl to Rochelle area from the wall and try to raise it the 7 inches. I will probably have to build some kind of support framework and utilize a couple of car jacks. Once it’s raised the 7 inches, I will build the new benchwork in the exisiting area and connect the existing area with the new area. Hopefully this plan will minimize the downtime train running wise.

Any input would be welcome.

Second thoughts on dismantling the Rochelle Sub

I am having some second thoughts about completely dismantling the Rochelle Subdivision.   I am now considering keeping the Buhl through Rochelle area intact. I would raise the sections 7 inches, from 48 to 55, and then redo the rest of the layout in a different configuration. I plan to eliminate the existing staging yard and incorporate a new one as I expand the layout into the entire basement.  I will post a basic trackplan for consideration later this weekend.

Daryl

Webpage Completely Updated

The Rochelle Sub webpage has been completely updated.  I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time and finally got around to doing it.  The webpage continues some of the features of the old page, but with a few new features.  The coolest are the layout tours.  The tours contain pictures take from a cab point of view.  Check it out @ www.rochellesub.com