SD&AE: My SDAE Layout Journal

Scenery test area near New River

I am still working how I will place US Gypsum into my portion of Plaster City on The El Centro Branch of The Southern Pacific's Yuma Division or the old SD&AE. This plant is so huge, I have to decide if some of it will go on the backdrop, all of it or model portions of it. The San Diego Model Railroad Club on their SD&AE layout have a few small buildings as Plaster City. Some of the tower building and tanks can be scratch built and I know I can incorporate some of the structures I have. I know my Walthers N ADM Grain Elevator will end up as part of US Gypsum. The fine part is getting it all together and then dusting it white.

Plaster City and US Gypsum

There are so many buildings, tanks and manufacturing units, I have no idea how I can model these? In the plan from Tom, that David refined, I have a three track arrangement coming into the plant from the mainline. I would love to have the center beams loading and shipping and the incoming covered hoppers and ACF Center Flows.

Think I'm just gonna jump in and go through my structures and she what I can do to kit bash and mash this all together.

New River cut out of foam PT. 2

So a fellow modeler onRAILWIRE offered me the parts to a Heljan trestle set. It has a curved deck and the tall bents can be bashed into smaller ones. So Tom on Trainboard sends me the picture last month and the picture is actually The Holtville Interurban (Holtville Branch) bridge coming into Holtville. Are they the same bridge? Like it matters I'm building it on a curve.

This is so cool, modeling on a shoe string budget. The kit has a ton of stuff:

If I can make this work, it will be grand.

This is the cutaway for the New River bridge and SD&AE crossing. I will need to scratch build the trestle or use Central Gems trestle bents. More shaping of the sides is in store too. The difference from the protoype: It's not a curve, it's a straight sections just before Seeley.

Working with Burnt Umber and Gray acrylic paints. I have the flatness with no roadbed in this section started.

Here we go - Pandora is on...Some Memphis Blues and putting the HCD up....Built a frame with 1x3's and secured the frame to the door from below and above. Legs are from 2x3's and at 48" height, they need some support. Going with leg and frame supports. Want to get foam down tonight.

Houston we have wood - Or at least a hollow core door and foam - Let the building begin. Home Depot had no folding table legs you attach to the bottom of the door on 1x4's - So I will build a 1x4 frame to sit the door into and 2x3 legs at 55" height. The foam HD had where 1' 2x8 interlocking sections, which will work fine. Liquid Nails for foam and I'm a happy camper and ready to take on El Centro in the heat of the Summer.

These are the Osborn Models N scale laser wood telephone poles. They are going in El Centro. Nice kit and 12 for 2.99 is great for all of us modeling on a shoestring budget. They need an India ink wash and some grey-brown weathering powders and they will be good to go. Add some gloss green to the insulators and they will rock

I just finished the Osborn Models N scale laser wood loading dock kit for El Centro. The dock there is a concrete one, but this will suffice. It's at the end of the long spur behind the depot.

After it's weathered it will most likely go on the layout this weekend or next week. I bought a few of these Osborn Models detail parts. Switch stands, whistle posts, derail and posts, telephone poles and skids. They are modeled after CP and CN, but with the right colors and modifications can become SP pretty quick.

Here's the real concrete loading dock behind the lead to Holtville and post. I know yesterday, I said I was taking very little creative freedom and sticking to the LDE plan. This is a bend in the rules. The loading dock serves two tracks and is massive on Google Earth.

Bruce Petty has a plan for building one in HO. If this doesn't look right, I will go to the concrete. Concrete loading dock

Going to be a big weekend....

Palms, poles and sand

Home Depot time for a 36"x80" Masonite hollow core door. Price looks around 24.00, whether I like it or not and then 1-2" of extruded foam board. The we begin the wonderment of the Impossible Railroadchallenge to build this layout on-line and document the daily progress on the proceedings. I intend to take very little creative freedom with the LDE concept of the track plan. No additional freelance adjustments or fantasy industries and sidings.

No structures will be used that aren't part of LDE planning and what exists on the site now.

Arid, desert scenery with stray palms and power poles.
Representation of Plaster City will be on a backdrop.
Only prototype track plan will be used.
El Centro interchange and yard highlighted.

In the change from SD&AE to SP to UP, most of the lay of the land is intact. Will not model SD&AE depot next to SP depot is one change at this point. S curve spur will serve packing and loading ramp at the end of the siding.

While visions of the new SD&AE layout danced in his head....

Like Ralphie on Christmas Story wanted the Red Ryder BB Gun, I have fixated on building my new compact model railroad layout of The SD&AE in El Centro-Plaster City. If Santa is who I think he is, he will bringing me a hollow core luan door and foam. The rest is up to me. I am working the basic design on the LAYOUT DESIGN CONCEPT or LDE. Working from photos and articles of the area and only bringing to life the structures and scenery which will truly be representative of the area. This will be the forum I will be documenting the building process from purchase/construction to completion.