Name: Santa Fe
Scale: HO
Size: 30 x 48 feet
Prototype: freelanced, inspired by Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe
Locale: Southern California
Era: early 1950s
Style: walk-in
Mainline run: 360 feet
Minimum radius: 34″ (main), 26″ (branch)
Minimum turnout: no. 6 (main), no. 5 (secondary), no. 4 (branch)
Maximum grade: 4 percent
Benchwork: open frame and L girder
Height: 42″ to 60″
Roadbed: mostly Homasote
Track: code 70 and code 83 flextrack, with some handlaid turnouts
Scenery: zip-textured hardshell, plus other materials
Backdrop: painted on tempered hardboard
Control: Digitrax Digital Command Control
This track plan originally appeared in the December 2015 Model Railroader. Click on the link to download a PDF copy of this track plan.
I was a member of a round robin group in 1986-89 that worked on this layout. Rick is a really great guy, and this is one of the best-designed home layouts I have ever had the privilege of working and operating on. It has a really solid sense of time and place.
I was under the impression one wanted to avoid designing grades greater than 3%. Thoughts?