diesel

Great article, thank you.

I'm new into  Hon3 and I like thos SP's "Little Giant".

Wolfgang

"Little Giant" in HOn3

Wolfgang,

I'm glad you enjoyed the article. Joe and the editors at MRH were gracious in allowing it to run longer than typical for a track plan piece.

It's a shame that there are no readily-available models of SP narrow gauge #1 in HOn3 -- I think it would be a boost for the scale/gauge. As mentioned in one of the photo captions in the article, Rich Yoder is importing On3 and On30 models of the diesel.

NWSL

I've heard NorthWest Short Line has made this SP #1 years ago in H0n3.

I wonder if it's available.

Wolfgang

I've enjoy the "Slim

I've enjoy the "Slim Princess" exactly 'cause was "longer than typical"! Well done, Byron.

I've one of the Gold Rush Models white metal kit in Nn3 that fits over a Marklin chassis sitting on the shelf waiting me. ( https://www.republiclocomotiveworks.com/show_item.php?ID=187), but find some proper rolling stock in the same scale is a different question. Well "maybe" I can put thogheter a diorama in the future?

Cheers

MicroTrains Nn3

A few of the MicroTrains Nn3 products have been lettered for the SP, and most of them could be used as stand-ins after beign re-lettered. They don't release many of these each year, but they are still producing some -- and of course many previous runs are available from auction sites.

The lettering was very simple in the later years, so it wouldn't take much work to re-letter. And MicroTrains has released SPC-lettered cars, some of which were transferred and ran on the SP narrow guage without re-lettering for quite a while.

Boxcars and gondolas were most of the real-life roster in later years. (of course, many of the gondolas were a-frames with side doors).

The cabooses are a little trickier, but folks have narrowed the Roundhouse Overton N scale passenger cars. The Overton combine would be a good stand-in. You could probably re-truck one and then run it without narrowing, depending on your willingness to live with the slightly wider body.

I've two

Yep, Byron, I've two Nn3 SPC Microtrain boxcar:

https://www.republiclocomotiveworks.com/show_item.php?ID=986

https://www.republiclocomotiveworks.com/show_item.php?ID=259

and one of the out of production Nn3 gondolas:

https://www.republiclocomotiveworks.com/show_item.php?ID=271

'bout caboose ... guess you've read this post on GHQ forum ? Have a look here :

http://www.ghqmodels.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3354

The "only" problem is to find time to do what I've in mind!

Ciao

Question use of #4 n.g. turnouts

Nice plan.  I especially like the practice of using the prototype track arrangements.

I question the choice, however, of no. 4 turnouts for the narrow gauge.  While the closure radius is short, the radius is just 9 inches for a  no. 4.  No. 5s would be more appropriate, having a 16-inch radius curve.  Based on John Armstrong's recommendation, I used nothing less than no. 6s for my HOn3 track.  SP #1 2-8-0 and its trains tracked easily through the turnouts, but I'm not sure it or a 4-6-0 would do well on no. 4s, particularly if cars are coupled to the front end of the locomotive.

#4s work for the client's equipment

Mark, the client has tested the #4s on both the narrow and the standard gauge equipment he wants to run and finds that they work well. I might have suggested broader on the narrow gauge if he did not have the empirical data. Now grades are another matter ... the old brass narrow gauge engines he has don't pull worth a darn.

Jonan sold Little Giant models

Jonan offered painted brass models of the GE-50 tonner Little Giant in HOn3.  I bought one new in the 1980s.  In the 1970s, I had a brass Hallmark GE 70-tonner converted to HOn3, resulting in a Giant.  Giant pulled real good.

Nice article. The best thing

Nice article. The best thing was the active graphic showing how the layout can evolve stage by stage.

Just recently ran across a mention of a kit to narrow-gauge the Bachmann 70-tonner, which would be a decent stand-in model.  If I can find the reference again, I'll add it here.

active graphic

Yes, this active graphic is good. But I'm a bit slowly.  Therefore I would prefer a dia show.Where I can give the steps.

Wolfgang

one at a time

Wenn Ich auf Deutsch lesen mußen, werde ich auch ganz langsam verstehen. (Ich muß mich selbst entshuldigen, mein Deutsch ist jetz ganz shrecklich.)

Here are the graphics individually:

Thank you, Byron. Your German

Thank you, Byron. Your German is good! And I'm not the language teacher.

It was not the language. I was "playing" with the different phases. At least, I printed the article. Joe, thank you for the printer edition! This way I can read it even in bed.  And dreaming.

Wolfgang

Really enjoyed the article. 

Really enjoyed the article.  The Flash program at the end was very interesting.  Really gives one a feeling for the various stages of developement.  Much as we love our kids, I bet he can't wait for the youngster to head for college.  VBG

Mike

Slim Princess

This is a very good article and track plan, one of the better I've seen. 

I wasn't able to get the animation to play (graphic on the last page). 

Slim Rails in Stages

I'd like to thank Byron Henderson for his article on the Southern Pacific narrow gauge C&C line.  I grew up in the Antelope Valley and we made frequent trips to Bishop, Lone Pine, Big Pine, and other destinations in the Owens Valley on camping trips.  I didn't think I would be interested in narrow gauge modeling but this article hit me between the eyes!  I am a Southern Pacific fan since boyhood in Mojave, CA.  A northbound freight to Tehachapi would pass right behind our grade school each morning at 10:00am and a southbound each afternoon at 2:30pm.  You can just bet that I was there with a few of my friends as our recess times corresponded with the train schedule.  Boy were we estatic when the engineer blew his horn for us!  Now I have a narrow gauge SP layout that is not only buildable but finishable. Thanks again for this excellent article.

The Little Giant is available in Sn3

Check out this website:

http://www.railmasterhobbies.com/loco.htm

Slim Princess follow-up

Thanks everyone for the kind comments. The layout design itself was a bit of a struggle, but I very much enjoyed writing the article.

Glenn, I grew up in the area also (outside of Palmdale), but I was a little too young to see the Keeler Branch in operation. It certainly was an interesting little line.

A couple of follow-up notes to the article. A member of the the Laws Railroad Museum and Historic Site team noted my conjecture about gasoline tank cars and confirmed that this apparently never took place, although the oil distributor in Laws did receive gas, kerosene, and other petroleum products in barrels by narrow gauge boxcar. This is according to an ol-timer who worked at the oil jobber. And fuel oil was shipped to Laws in tank cars for the narrow gauge itself. (My client has lots of HOn3 tank cars, so he says he'll be keeping the freelanced traffic).

Now that i have had a chance ot read Joe Dale Morris' excellent new book ( Southern Pacific's Slim Princess in the Sunset: 1940-1960) on the Keeler Branch, there are a few other minor areas that could use comments and follow-up. I don't have time to cover all of that now, but I will post some notes to this thread in a few weeks when I have a chance. Mr. Morris indicates that the SP Historical and Technical Society is planning a reprint of the title, so if you can't find the first printing at a dealer, there will eventually be more.

He also mentions that although there have been multiple models of the line's Ten Wheelers inported in HOn3 in brass over the years, none has the correct extended wagon-top boilers that they all had. A small detail, but I thought I would share it. He indicates that the P-B-L Sn3 steam models are correct.

With any luck, the popularity of Mr. Morris' book, my humble article in MRH, and Rich Yoder's On3 and On30 models of the Little Giant will spur some interest in the Carson & Colorado/SP Keeler Branch among manufacturers in HOn3.

SP Narrow Gauge in Nn3

Great article, and a great track plan. I note your discussion of modeling this line in Nn3. Most of the modules in our northern California Nn3 modular group (part of The Nn3 Alliance) model the C&C/SP through the Mojave. This layout was part of the National Narrow Gauge Convention in Santa Clara a few years back. We use Marklin-based conversions for motive power, and a lot of the MT freight cars. Republic Locomotive Works makes a kit for the unique combine-caboose used by the SP on this line, and also has a computerized model of the Laws turntable.

Imagine what you could do in that same room in Nn3!

Tom

Nn3 through the sand

Tom,

Thanks for your comments. I didn't remember to mention soem of the modeling you've been invovled with, but those who are even slightly interested in N narrow gauge should look into the YahooGroup:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nn3

There's been some incredible modeling in Nn3 and Tom Knapp's been at the forefront. Check out his Stovepipe Wells sectional/modular Nn3 layout in Model Railroader December 2006.

If MicroTrains would just offer an Nn3 "Little Giant" based on a Z mechanism, I think it would give the scale/gauge combination a real boost. The rolling stock is out there ... RTR oil-fired steam or NG diesels are the missing piece. I think we'd see a lot of Nn3 modeling of western and Hawaiian prototypes with just a little help from the manufacturers.

... and it occurred to me several times during the design process how sweet it would be to use that room for Nn3!

With sound even

I saw some NN3 locos with sound at a local train show recently. Amazing.

Chris

I would love to get a hold of

I would love to get a hold of an Nn3 sound chip and speaker and attach it to a cricket. you could have some real fun with that HE! HE! HE!

Dan

Joe Dale Morris' book back in print

For those who might have missed out on the first printing of Joe Dale Morris' terrific book on the Southern Pacific narrow gauge Keeler Branch, it is back in print.

Southern Pacific's Slim Princess In The Sunset - 1940-1960

Available directly from the Southern Pacific Historical & Technical Society at the link above, also at retailers.

More brilliant ideas and plans

Great - first class article expounding on how to build in stages - I have found that trying to do everything in one go resulkts in nothing getting finished - very demotivating after a few years of work and no play - 2 years and still not able to run any trains.  Lesson learned for next layout.