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| Owner / Location / Website | Crew | Operating System | Car Forwarding | Layout Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sammy Carlile Skiatook, OK |
6 | Digitrax | Switch Lists and ATSF CLIC System | Attached climate controlled garage. |
Move cursor over pictures to magnify. Click here to play slideshow.
I model the Santa Fe's Hereford Subdivision from Amarillo, TX west to Clovis, NM during Sept of 1995. My layout is a double deck design with an around the room helix with approx. 230' of mostly single track main line with passing sidings. There are staging yards with return loops on each end of the layout so once a train reaches the end of it's run, it's re-staged and ready to go again if needed during the session which can typically last from 3 to 4 hours.
The Hereford Sub was on the Santa Fe's busy Chicago to LA main so there's plenty of mainline traffic including intermodal,
coal, grain, vehicle and mixed freight trains. This is an agricultural area with many grain elevators along the line to
provide cars to so there's also plenty of switching to do. The terminal at Clovis is a busy point with the junctions of the
Slaton Sub from south Texas and the line to Carlsbad, NM - both of these lines have semi hidden staging yards that allow
traffic to flow on and off the the Hereford Sub as needed. Traffic wise, some of the intermodal and mixed freight trains
can swap blocks of cars in the yard at Clovis. 2 road switcher turns, 1 based from Clovis and 1 from Amarillo handle the
pickups and drop offs at on line industries and that traffic is routed by using computer generated switch lists and cars are
routed using the ATSF CLIC system. Communication with the dispatcher and yardmasters is aided by 2 way radios which are
provided and the train control is via Digitrax radio throttles. A yardmaster and a dispatcher are also provided for the
session. The 6 person group will be split into three 2 person crews with one person acting as an engineer and the other
as a conductor. The crews will start the session by running a through train that makes a trip around the layout to help
everyone familiarize themselves with the controls and the layout. Local trains and road switchers will then begin to run so
everyone will also get to do some switching along the mainline also.
There are also 2 separate grain trains that provide customer service moves and switch the various grain elevators along the line.
All trains are powered by multiple unit locomotive ATSF consists that were modeled from the prototype consists that typically
ran on this line during the time frame modeled. There is also a loaded coal train from Wyoming's Powder River Basin with run
through BN power that runs from Amarillo to the Tolk Power plant located in the staging yard. Communication with the dispatcher
and yardmasters is aided by 2 way radios which are provided. Two 2 person crews are required to run the local trains and the
other through trains can be ran throughout the session using one or two additional crew members.
From Superfleet powered piggyback trains to time consuming local and road switcher trains that stop almost every where along
the line, there's no shortage of heavy traffic on this mainline. All track is complete and all rough scenery is basically complete also.
Additional pictures of the layout can be found here:
http://www.pbase.com/sammy1974/santa_fe_hereford_sub