Mojave Desert-Looking for ideas


C

concretepumper

New Member
Has anybody here Modeled their layout after the Mojave Desert in California? I am seriously thinking of moving the layout to the garage to have more space. Like 20x15 footprint. As per a good friends (Sean) advice I am wiling to rip apart the existing layout and use as much as possible. I suppose I should have a track plan instead of just trying to fit as much track on the board as I can. Like I did on this current layout. No plan. It doesn't make sense anymore.

I know nothing about the track designing programs nor do I feel like learning it right now. I am a builder that need's to build or break something almost daily or I will go completely nuts! :lol_hitting: I am wanting to do benchwork type building on tables that could be moved if necessary. I am thinking BIG and want something that will take a year or two at least.


So basically I am looking for maybe some track plans that would fit my area and be Modeled after the Barstow or Victorville area of the Mojave desert. I suppose any plan could be landscaped to be the Mojave. Anybody familiar with the MCLB base in Barstow? Rails running through the whole place. It is a Marine Vehicles rebuilding base. I used to go there a lot to pour concrete. They had a really cool switcher I saw running there often. Might make a cool yard on the side of my layout if the Mainline was Victorville to Barstow, or maybe a section of the Cajon Pass would be sweet to try and model.

Another cool thing out there was a Quarry that made Ballast and had a Conveyor belt a few miles long to bring it near the railway to load. Kinda cool. I wasn't even into trains at the time and I was always amazed to watch all the different operations. Now where I live there is no trains coming through town. :thumbsdown:

I am wanting to use mostly Flex track and wide turns so I can run anything big. Also I would like to build a real helix at one end or both maybe. 1'x4' framing and no OSB top this time. :rolleyes: I have learned a lot from you guys here building my first layout and thank all of you! :cool: :thumbsup:

We will be having a garage sale in a few weeks to make room and round up a few bucks to begin construction. And if I can sell some of these dang HotWheels I could really get busy! Thousands! I don't know what I was thinking! Me> :smilie_auslachen: < Wife and kids!

Thanks in advance for any advice, tips, trackplans, laughs, etc..
Here is what I have now. This is the East end.

Here is what I made at first. Then needed to build more. Now I don't know whats going on??

Mockuplayout005.jpg



Wierdpeopleacrossthestreet020.jpg


Here is the West end.



chocolateMountains008.jpg
 
In that last pic, just add some sand! You've got some rocky terrain there already that could easily be part of the desert as some sort of pass!
 
We model the Santa Fe (late 1950s) and have a Mojave desert section. I even installed a small military base...sort of like MCLB. Although I named it after the nearby Camp Irwin (present day Fort Irwin). These video clips inspired me to name it after Camp Irwin:

1950s Camp Irwin Videos

Still working on the base section so I need to get some more updated photos, but these might help you out:


militarytrain3.jpg


militarytrain1.jpg


layoutballast3.jpg


militarytrain7.jpg


backdrop.jpg


Unfortunately those great Joshua trees are no longer available. A guy who lived in Riverside, CA used to make these as well as some nice palm trees. I would often see him at train shows. But the phone number and email address I have on record no longer work and I haven't seen him at any show for 10 years now.
 
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Thanks Matt! Wow. You nailed it buddy! Your Layout is awesome! Were you Army? Funny how talk of MCLB Yermo brought us to Ft. Irwin. Another area I would love to model Ft.Irwin. I used to work there just 2 miles south of the Main Gate. I was a Plant Manager for a Ready Mix Concrete Co. that supplied Concrete to the Ft.. We also had a location just across the freeway from MCLB Yermo poured a lot there too. I have scratchbuilt my Batchplant that I ran out there just need proper landscape to show it off!

Man those videos are awesome. I swear I recognize a few places but that base is huge and it all looks the same out there on the live fire range. Man I feel for those guys in the tanks. I know how hot it can get there.

In the last pic you posted where is the background photo taken? Do you know which highway that is going up? Is that a real photo used as a backdrop?
Thanks, Rick

There is a kid making Joshuas now but I think they were like $50 for 3 of them. I will figure out something.
 
I spent 10 days on a Railload Team offloading a Brigade of Army equipment at Yermo back in the late 80's (1989 I think) .. then after two weeks at Irwin playing in the desert with Abrams tanks .. another 10 days re-loading the equipment. That was some of the hardest work I have ever done. Long long line of flatcars with these heavy aluminum plates that spanned each flatcar. You would pull a truck or tank onto one flatcar off the loading dock .. then would drive down the entire length of flatcars over these spanners. Those suckers were heavy!
 
eTraxx said:
I spent 10 days on a Railload Team offloading a Brigade of Army equipment at Yermo back in the late 80's (1989 I think) .. then after two weeks at Irwin playing in the desert with Abrams tanks .. another 10 days re-loading the equipment. That was some of the hardest work I have ever done. Long long line of flatcars with these heavy aluminum plates that spanned each flatcar. You would pull a truck or tank onto one flatcar off the loading dock .. then would drive down the entire length of flatcars over these spanners. Those suckers were heavy!
Click to expand...


Yes! I have seen that done there a few years back. Very cool to watch. Hard work I bet! :cool:
 
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