Northern Division Trackplan(s)

Kalmbach Publishing released a book in the 1950s called HO Railroad That Grows.  Reprinted and revised over many years, the premise of this book was that one could get started with a simple oval of track and expand it to a much larger model railroad as they had time and resources.  This is the basic premise of the Monon Northern Division layouts presented here.  In 2008, after our son Killian graduates from high school, my wife and I plan to relocate from our present home in Dallas to the picturesque mountains of Western North Carolina, midway between Asheville, North Carolina  and Greenville, South Carolina.  We have planned a 28' x 48' metal barn/garage building, the upper level of which will be dedicated to - you guessed it - the Monon Northern Division between Hammond and Lowell.

But that's 2008.  For today, I have a home in a state where basements are as rare as cool breezes in August.  So about a year ago, I began building a home for a model railroad in our attic.  Today, we have an 8' x 33' room, almost finished and ready for a layout.  What I have designed is a layout which can be removed from its Dallas space and rebuilt in North Carolina.  Both plans are included here in Cadrail format:  you might say call it the HO Railroad On Steroids .  (If you who don't have Cadrail, which I highly recommend for trackplanning, the free viewer is here ).
 
Monon Dyer and Lowell (Dallas) layout.

 

Monon Northern Division (North Carolina) layout.

Both plans are relatively true to the prototype, with track arrangements very similar to actual track maps.  Operations on the smaller Dallas layout are obviously focused on the wayside locations of Dyer, with its busy EJ&E interchange, and Lowell, with its interesting local switching.  

On the larger North Carolina plan, there's more trackage to watch trains run through the cornfields, and plenty of operating possibilities.  After the morning arrival of No. 70, the southbound local departs South Hammond and heads for Dyer, where it drills cars at the EJ&E interchange.  As it finishes its work at Dyer, it moves south to St. John, where it sets and pulls Schilling Brothers Lumber and the St. John Elevator, provided that it doesn't get "stuck" at the New York Central crossing.  Continuing south, the local crew will spend considerable time switching Globe Industries in Lowell, where they will also have an occasional empty for the grain elevator or load for Hardings Caterpillar or Weaver Sinclair.

These track plans are made to take maximum advantage of commercially available products.  Mainline trackage is Code 83 flex track with Code 70 and some Code 55 on sidings, spurs and yard trackage.  Central Valley's excellent curvable turnouts are used exclusively.  DCC will eventually be utilized, allowing for prototypical timetable and train order and Automatic Block Signal (ABS) operation.
At this point, the benchwork is complete and the backdrops are being installed, after which it will be time to begin building the individual modules and laying track.  The goal is to have the trackwork completed by the end of this summer This photo shows the layout room just before the lighting valance was completed and the backdrop was installed.

Part of the fun of a layout like this is the sheer enjoyment of watching unique models operate in prototypical fashion.  Let's look at the equipment roster in more detail.

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