Bonus - Best of the West

Despite the subtitle on this posting, I assume this is where comments for my "Best of the West" layout article from Issue #2 would end up (if anyone commented).

I hope folks enjoyed the article and the layout plan. I was grateful for the "enlarge/reduce" controls the editors added this time aorund. Especially for a large track plan like this, it makes it easier to zoom in on particular sections.

Sorry for the couple of grammar errors that crept into the article along the way. It might be helpful for authors to see a formatted copy of their full articles before publication-- I know that things are hectic near issue launch time, but an extra pair of eyes can't hurt.

The article looks great on the e-zine pages and I am happy to be published again in MRH.

Yes, the zoom feature on the track plan is great!

Another great article Byron.  I am still grappling with the intricacies of operation so I appreciate the "rail fan" layout more than some other might.  This one seems like it is going to have a lot of great scenes to run trains through.  Kudos on the design!

I'm looking forward to more of your articles as well.  That plan sounds eerily similar to the kind of concept I was thinking for my "big" layout that I hope to some day build.  I won't likely ever have that kind of space, though. 

Byron,

This is a great integration of some of my favorite rainfan locations.  It looks like a good exercise for CTC running.  You could even have a turf war between SP and SF dispatching centers (put the dispatchers in separate rooms with tin cans and waxed string for communication.

Thought #1:  My favorite spot in the Tehachapi's is not so much the loop, but the siding just south (SP direction) of Keene.  Just enough room for most trains, and not a tangent piece of track in the bunch; and all squeezed in with the creek and the town.  I wonder if you could adjust the run in the Tunnel #1 area to get that siding in.  That would allow operational relief for what caused the additional tracks at Caliente. 

Thought #2:  here's a wonderful plan for you V-scalers.

Thanks, Byron.  Keep it up.  I learn something every time I see your work.

It makes me want to cry.. all that space.. all that time.. all that money.. and nary a waybill in sight..

Truly this hobby encompasses multiple approaches to the enjoyment of it.

Chris

I am still grappling with the intricacies of operation so I appreciate the "rail fan" layout more than some other might.  This one seems like it is going to have a lot of great scenes to run trains through.

That's certainly the goal for this design. I would encourage you not to give up on understanding operation, though. Few of us will ever have this kind of space, and operation adds a lot of "play value" per square foot to our more-modest spaces.

I'm looking forward to more of your articles as well.  That plan sounds eerily similar to the kind of concept I was thinking for my "big" layout that I hope to some day build.  I won't likely ever have that kind of space, though.

No substitute for cubic feet (or meters, in this case). But it's interesting to note that even this space was not enough for everything the client would have liked to include. We model railroaders always seem to want 20% more than the space we have, no matter what that space may be.

The next layout article  for MRH (if the editorial team agrees) is a near polar opposite of this layout in size, locale, and focus.

This is a great integration of some of my favorite rainfan locations.  It looks like a good exercise for CTC running.  You could even have a turf war between SP and SF dispatching centers (put the dispatchers in separate rooms with tin cans and waxed string for communication.

Of course, in real life, the SP controlled all traffic from Kern Junction to Mojave, so battling dispatchers would not be protoypical over this stretch. CTC signals would be nice scenic element, but probably not high on the client's wish list for this casual "model railfan" approach.

Thought #1:  My favorite spot in the Tehachapi's is not so much the loop, but the siding just south (SP direction) of Keene. Just enough room for most trains, and not a tangent piece of track in the bunch; and all squeezed in with the creek and the town.  I wonder if you could adjust the run in the Tunnel #1 area to get that siding in.  That would allow operational relief for what caused the additional tracks at Caliente.

You're probably thinking of Marcel, just SP Timetable east (compass southeast) of the loop. It is a neat railfan spot. Marcel was originally in the plan when it was all-Tehachapi, but was lost when we added all the other locales. Because of the design length of the trains, the siding would be way too long (no pun intended) to squeeze in between The Loop and Caliente. Unlike the typical HO layout design that puts in a 5-foot-long siding and calls it "good", a layout like this demands some real thought in terms of balancing train lengths, staging capacities, and distances between towns.

It makes me want to cry.. all that space.. all that time.. all that money.. and nary a waybill in sight..

Truly this hobby encompasses multiple approaches to the enjoyment of it.

So true -- and that's one of the things that I enjoy about designing layouts for others: seeing layout spaces and concepts through others' eyes. I never would have devoted this much space (if I had it) to a railfan-only layout -- but it was fun to think about it.

Byron:

Regarding your idea for next issue - bring it on!

Any chance of seeing the original track plan without the added Cajon pass and the other " gotta haves" before the customer added his other list of wants/

Tom  Schilling

Any chance of seeing the original track plan without the added Cajon pass and the other " gotta haves" before the customer added his other list of wants/

Well, to be completely fair to the client, he had always been hopeful of adding some scenes beyond Tehachapi -- I was the one advocating most strongly for "all Tehachapi, all the time". This approach never got beyond a conceptual sketch (although I admit I did "spiff up" this sketch more then usual to help show this approach in the best possible light).

Since I have had a couple of similar requests on this, I've just added a larger labeled sketch of this Tehachapi Loop HO layout and a few details to my Layout Design Gallery page for the Best of the West layout.

Thanks for your interest in the article!