Current Layout by Vic Cherven

Layout Name:

"Western Division"

Layout Status:

active

Track Type:

Layout Space:

40' x 65'

Layout Style:

Around-the-room, with peninsulas, double-deck, point-to-point

Track Manufacturer:

handlaid

Rail Size:

code 125 (main), 100 (yards)

Min. Radius:

42"

Ruling Grade:

1.8%

Track Height(s):

36" to 44"; 60" to 62"

Mainline Track Length:

765'

Era:

Autumn 1954

Setting:

San Francisco East Bay and Central Valley

Control System:

DC (Aristocraft/Crest)

Notes:

There are two helixes, one has 100' of track and the other has 75'.

The late Lee Johnson working hard on the Chervens' layout.

Helix construction is serious business.

And must be very accurate.

The basic construction and track is done on the helix. This photo was taken before the helix was wrapped with a facia board.

The construction crew of the helix. From left to right are, Sam Rapp, Vic Cherven Jr, Doug Sassman, Todd Verhei (Jesse Bennett's grandson), and Ron Tilton. They are all members of the local S club. The second helix was completed in 2017.

Many people continue to help with the construction of this layout.

A freight train moving through Martinez Cut. These are S-Helper Service F3 engines in a cut on the West Valley line between Davis and the Portland return loop. The California-Pacific mainline between Oakland and Sacramento is visible in the background.

There's the westbound mail train, pulled by a River Raisin 4-8-2, in the background. In the foreground is an American Models SP Baldwin switcher doing work at the industries along 12th Street in east Sacramento.

It is rare that modelers "sacrifice" so much real estate for non-train items such as farm and grazing land, but it sure sets the scene! In the background, a reefer block pulled by a River Raisin 2-10-2 exits the Mococo Line from the San Joaquin Valley onto the California-Pacific main line at Martinez, with the Shell refinery on the right.

Taken back in 2008, this is a group photo of the crew who participated in the layout's first official operating session. From left to right are, Vic Cherven Jr, Jesse Bennett, Ron Tilton, Vir Cherven Sr, and Bill Winans.

Father (left) and son, proud owners of the layout. Vic, Sr. is no longer with us.

The next collection of photos are from late 2023 and show that much progress has been made on the layout. This view is of the Berkeley industrial area. The SP ran through Berkeley along the edge of San Francisco Bay. The buildings are a mix of HO-scale kits, modular walls, and scratch-built buildings.

The C&H sugar plant at Crockett looks very much like the real one and was made from Design Preservation Models HO-scale modular walls.

This view looks east along the main line east of Crockett. The station and Shell refinery are at Martinez. The tunnel at left leads to the Mococo line, which went southeast into the San Joaquin Valley. When it enters the tunnel, it spirals upward in a helix leading to the upper deck of the layout.

The Sacramento freight yard.

This is the Sacramento passenger yard. The train shed was made from Walthers HO-scale kits. The Railway Express building at right is made from DPM HO-scale modular walls. The train is #54, the Sacramento Daylight. The locomotive is a Southwind Models Atlantic (the "Long-legged Lady from Sacramento") and the cars are from American Models and American Flyer.

This view shows part of the R Street industrial line in Sacramento. Like the prototype, the line is within R Street. The Stroh's Beer car (bottom, right) is parked on the Buffalo Brewing Co. spur.

This is the junction at Elvas wye, viewed from the south. Sacramento is to the left and Roseville is to the right. Building and wiring a double-track wye is quite a challenge on a DC-powered layout.

This view shows part of the upper deck, with the main line between Lodi and Stockton at left. The Kentucky House branch line in the Sierra foothills to the Calaveras Cement Co. plant is to the right of that. The cement plant is a Lehigh Valley Models S-scale kit and is visible in the distance. That plant supplied much of the concrete that was used to build San Francisco and several of the dams on California rivers. The building toward the left in the photo is a meat packing plant at the town of Victor. This plant was an important industry. The real one was built by late S-scale modeler Arden Goehring's grandfather in the early 1900s. Vic used a Walthers HO-scale kit for that industry. The sawmill at Toyon is an A.C. Gilbert accessory that Vic's father bought in the 1950s.

This is the Roseville yard as viewed from the east. The bridge in the foreground came from Jesse Bennett's layout. Operationally, Vic uses the bridge as the dividing line between the east (Roseville yard) and west (Oakland yard) ends of the layout. The total length of the yard is 25 feet. In the middle distance is Elvas wye and in the far distance is the Sacramento station, about 50 feet away.

This view shows the West Valley line and the switching area at Davis. This line branches off the main line at the Davis wye and runs north up the west side of the Sacramento Valley to Portland. The east and west legs of the wye are visible in the foreground. The line enters the tunnels that lead to the hidden return loop representing Portland. The grain elevator is an S-scale kit by the Building and Structure company, and the produce shed in the distance at right is the Showcase Miniatures S-scale kit that was one of the NASG-sponsored projects (2006).

Tuesday's lineup at the Oakland Mole on Vic Cherven Jr's layout. This view of the Oakland passenger yard looks west from the signal bridge at the yard throat and shows the trains ready for departure during a Tuesday operating session. From left to right are #224 Senator, scheduled to depart at 7:15am, #58 Owl (8:35pm), #12 Cascade (5:35pm), #52 San Joaquin Daylight (7:50am), #24 Gold Coast (7:00pm), and #102 City of San Francisco (5:30pm). Times are set according to the September 28, 1952 SP timetable. The empty track is the main line to the Oakland freight yard. Motive power for the trains includes a trio of Alcos, a pair of FP7 engines, and a Pacific, all from American Models, two Northerns from Overland Models, and a Mountain from River Raisin. Cars are a mix of American Models, S-Helper Service, Southwind Models, and converted American Flyer.