The Rio Como and The Denver North Park & Western


J

jon bentz

New Member
Hello - I've been lurking around this side of Railroad Forums for a while and enjoying all of the fine work seen here. I'm currently modeling in N scale but have plans to start an HOn3 layout within the next year. My current layout is the Denver North Park & Western. It shares trackage rights with the Rio Como. Both represent contemporary Colorado railroads. The DNP&W is a bridge carrier ( Like the Rio Grande was ) and the Rio Como is a coal hauler ( Like the Utah Railroad ).

1 - A DNP&W eastbound eases down the 4% through Elsie Creek.

2 - Another eastbound is stopped at the east siding signal at Elsie Creek.

3 - The westbound Ute passes under King Avenue in Evans Park. A pair of Rio Como SD35's sit in the helper pocket.

I'll be posting more shot of this and earlier moduls that I built in HOn3 and HO scale as well as updates on work on the DNP&W.
:D
 
Well it seems to me I'm looking at some pretty impressive scenery that looks realistic, nice nice trees, rockwork and coloring all around. A couple of questions, what is the load in the gondola, it looks like RR ties (what material and coloring didyou use)? North Park, did you have to make your own decals? I too am looking forward to seeing more.
Cheers Willis
 
Thanks! The ties are pre stained micro engineering N scale ties. I cut them in half with a pair of nippers and loaded them up. The decals are dry transfers that I had made from my own digital files locally in Seattle. :D
 
Hi Jon,
Thanks for posting the pictures. I agree with CBCNSfan, Awesome scenery, it looks very realistic. Keep posting those great pictures, and keep up the good work on the layout.
Chris Moore
 
jon bentz said:
Thanks! The ties are pre stained micro engineering N scale ties. I cut them in half with a pair of nippers and loaded them up. The decals are dry transfers that I had made from my own digital files locally in Seattle. :D
Click to expand...
Thanks Jon, really looks good, hurry and post some more photos. I just about to some scenery stage and I need ideas. :D
Cheers Willis
 
Here are a few more pix of the layout. Some of these show earlier progress on scenery but give an idea of where I'm headed. I'm currently working on the lower deck and should have the scenery complete there this Spring. The upper deck is currently just bare foam with only rough shaping completed. I'm currently battling wiring ( re-wiring) and the never ending contact problems inherent with N Scale. I've rewired most of the turnouts on the lower level so that the points are live and the frogs are isolated.
 
Jon that layout is fantastic, great photos. Really I'm blown away by your artistry, the scenery, structures and details it looks so real. I'll be doing some fast water on mine soon and as I look at the stream on yours I just drool. There'll be some questions coming your way about the realistic looking stream before I begin mine.
Cheers Willis
 
I don't know how you n scale guys do it. That stuff is so small, I think I would have a hard time getting my fat fingers to move properly. I already had to get glasses because of working on HO stuff, nothing to do with my age - yeah right ;). To me, that makes your photos all the more impressive.


Bill
 
Jon -

I'm surprised. I would not have guessed those were photo's of an N scale layout. I guess that just shows what fine modeling and good camera work can do.

Well done!

Kevin
 
Thanks Guys - Believe me, N scale can be a real pain though. I've stuck with this layout primarily because I'm stubborn. Also, I want to finish a layout for once. While detail and operation of locomotives has developed to a very high level in N scale there are still contact problems.

I converted to DCC about four years ago and am very pleased with it. Still, I have had to go back and add leads every three feet or so to the main in order even out power distribution. I've also had to rewire all of my main line turnouts in order to eliminate point contact problems and shorting. It has added up to a lot of work.

I'm even considering hard wiring my locomotive consists together in order to have more electrical contact and better operation. I spent a lot of time matching up locos into consists that run smoothly so I don't change engine consists much.

If I had it to do all over, I would have stuck with HO. Just before we moved to our current house, I had a 10'x25' HO layout in half of a two car garage. It ran beautifully and was ready for scenery. Unfortunately, our new house didn't have room for it.

Anyway - I've included the upper and lower level trackplans for the layout. All of this is stuffed into a 10'x12' storage room. Bill Kosana got a look at it last year and I'm sure he can attest to the "crowded" nature of the North Park.

I'm currently planning an HO/HOn3 layout that will occupy a 12'x16' area in our basement. But I'm going finish this N scale layout first - if it kills me. :p :D
 
Jon I've just had time to check out your plans with more than a glance. How long di it take you to build this layout, this is an RR Empire if I ever saw one. There is a lot of photo possibilities there (hint :D ), sure would like to see more.
Camerasmiley.png

Cheers Willis
 
Well, I guess I've been working on this in one form or another since 1992. The track plan took on its current form about 7 years ago after a major rebuild. Scenery started about 4 years ago. Needless to say - I work kind of slowly. I plan to get everything sceniced by this coming Fall. I'll post new photos as I take them. :D
 
Hi Jon,
I have a question for you. Are those your own decals on the locomotives? If so how did you do it?
Thanks,
Chris Moore
 
Thanks. Those are custom dry transfers. There is a shop in Seattle that still does them. I set up art in 8 1/2 x 11 format and had it printed out in three different colors. Dry transfers are tricky to apply, they don't snug down like thin film decals but I like the flexibility they offer. I really think that transfers work better in larger scales but thought I'd give them a try in N scale. So far so good. :D
 
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