Freelance Colorado narrow-gauge branch line

The author blended two distinct qualities in his Moss Rock Depot. The architecture is similar to the Rio Grande Southern’s, but with cut red sandstone, which resembles the Denver & Rio Grande Western depot at Glenwood Springs, Colorado. This mature garden displays varying levels of growth, from lichen on the rocks and fully covered ground to trees with stout trunks. Photo by Bruce Longwell

Peggy Sue approaches bridge No. 2 in Miller Creek Canyon. The old mill and water wheel are in the foreground. The handcrafted brass water wheel turned freely under water power for three years. This year, however, it groaned, in need of a tune-up. Lower left, the yellow, five-petaled flowers amid the five-leaflet leaves are creeping cinquefoil. Photo by Bruce Longwell

Engine No. 39 is a battery-powered Delton C-16 Consolidation with SoundTraxx Sierra sound. The NiMH batteries, installed by Battery Back-Shop [this company is since gone out of business —Ed.], will pull a short freight around the line for up to two hours before recharging. Photo by Bruce Longwell

An overview of the MC&MRRy. The line takes up approximately one third of the author’s relatively small backyard. Because of this, extra attention was put into plantings and rock lines so the finished product would enhance the overall landscape and not overpower it. Repetition of groundcover and boulders into the full-scale section ties the yard together, while the pond (upper right) is shared as a natural transition. Photo by Bruce Longwell

The Highline, just past Miller Creek. The author built the cribbing using Gorilla Glue to affix the logs and rubble to a piece of plywood that was heavily soaked in a water-based preservative. This enabled the glue to bond where an oil-based product would not have worked. Thyme flowers have been pruned to prevent obscuring the artistic structure. Photo by Bruce Longwell

Bridge No. 3 is an eight-foot curved trestle on the upper loop. Falling stones (left) call attention to the base of the structure while flowers (right) blend it into the hillside. Photo by Bruce Longwell

The little freight building was the last structure built for the MC&MRRy. The author finished this just before RailFest 2006 in order to conceal two garden spotlights that shine out the back of the building onto the depot and water tower. Bringing nightlights to the railroad for evening viewing was a last-minute idea that turned out quite well. Elfin thyme, one of the handiest micro groundcovers, must still be clipped, as shown (lower left), to prevent its climbing up walls, track and cribbing. Photo by Bruce Longwell

The mine complex is one of only two structures that age naturally with each Colorado winter—the other is the old mill. All other buildings are kept in the garage most of the time, but can be set up in a matter of minutes. The theme of aging is mirrored in nature by the weathered wood of a bygone bush to the right of the mill. Photo by Bruce Longwell