In the February 2025 issue of Model Railroader, readers got to learn more about Ted Van Pelt’s Sn3 Rio Grande Southern. The 22 x 22-foot layout, set in Colorado in 1930, features narrow gauge freight and passenger action, many scratchbuilt structures, and photo backdrops of prototype locations in the Centennial State.
The walk-in layout has a mainline run of 154 feet. The minimum radius is 36”, and the minimum turnout is No. 6. Layout height ranges from 34” to 56”, and the maximum grade is 4%. Additional layout features include open-grid benchwork, plywood and Homasote roadbed, and code 70 flextrack with scratchbuilt turnouts. An NCE Digital Command Control system is used to run trains.
Ted scratchbuilt many of the structures for his Sn3 Rio Grande Southern. “The depot at Vance Junction was one of my first scratchbuilt depots,” Ted wrote in the article. “The prototype was designed but never built because of the 1893 silver panic. The building was perfect for the space I had.
“I used cedar cigar wrappers, cut to the appropriate size, for shingles,” Ted continued. “I normally don’t keep track of time when working on models, but this time I did. Even with a jig, it took 8 hours to cut the shingles. I glued them on the roof while watching television with Joyce. That took another 60 hours. She suggested that I use laser-cut shingle strips for future projects.”
In addition to scratchbuilt structures and prototype-specific narrow gauge models, the layout features carefully researched scenery. “Modeling the Rio Grande Southern meant I needed mountain scenery and lots of trees,” Ted wrote. “I shaped the mountains with small chicken wire forms. Then I covered the forms with paper bags soaked in Hydrocal. The outcroppings were made using molding plaster and latex molds. I made some of the molds; others were commercial offerings.”
