50. MRH14-04-Apr2014 - page 59

Bear Creek&South Jackson - 2
I ’mheadingdownstairs to the train roomagain. It’sbeen
10years since January2004when construction started
and though I’vemade lotsof progress, tasksneedingmy
attention lurkeverywhere. Sometimes Iwonder: If I knewhow
muchworkandtimean1100 square-foot layout could soakup,
would I havegonewitha smaller one?Maybe, but the lureof a
large layout is strong.
Deadlineshelpprogress.
I tookanopsbreak in
December (for political
reasons) and that gave
me twomonthsbefore
Reader
Feedback
(click here)
1: ASouthernPacific
AC-4crosses the
Upper BearCreek
bridge in2011.
1
10yearsand it
ain’t doneyet ...
thenext op session. I used thetime to remove the temporary
Salem stagingyardat thewest endof the layout, extend the
two-milemainline to threemiles (with twomoreyet to come),
add theSiskiyoubranch line, and start themainyardat Bear
Creek–amassiveamount ofwork toaccomplish. Imade it,
though Iwas just finishingwhen the crewbeganarriving to run
trains. That deadlinewastight!
Thenextmajor deadline isbigger. TheNMRA2015National
Convention nmra2015portland.org is coming toPortland in
August 2015.
What is theBC&SJ?
What is theBC&SJ andwhydo I spend somuchtime inwhatmy
wifecalls the traindungeon?Letmedescribewhat I’mbuilding.
TheBC&SJ is aproto-lanced (more lance thanproto!)HO
model of a class 1 railroad. It features a5-mile, single track
mainline. Threebranch lines addoperational complex-
ityand twoyards (onlyonebuilt so far)makeupandbreak
down trains. Lotsof staging represents the rest of theNorth
American rail network. It’s amountain railroad set in the
OregonCascades and theWillametteValley in1952 (I expect
tobemakingDouglasfirs for the rest ofmy life). Apair of long
steepgradesoften forceheavy trains tousehelpers. Trains are
amixtureof bridge traffic and cars from local industries. The
GreatNorthernandSPhave trackage rights. SomeSpokane,
Portland&Seattlemotivepower is alsopresent.
The layout isdark. Thereareno signalsother than trainorder
semaphores. TheBC&SJ hosts regular op sessionswhich I (try
to) runusingprototypical principles. In thepast, TWC (track
warrants) controlled trainmovement, but recently I’ve started
usingTT&TO (time table/trainorder) control anda1952SP
rulebook. 4x fast clocks let everyoneknowwhat time it is.
Leadphoto: Apair
ofBC&SJRS-2s
pass the6thStreet
warehouse inMill
Bendearly in the
morning.Mill Bend
wassaved from the
previousBearCreek
and isusuallyabusy
place.
index contents
MRH-Apr2014