Current Layout by Bob Hogan

Layout Name:

"Sierra Northern"

Layout Status:

active

Track Type:

S/Sn3

Layout Space:

19' x 21'

Layout Style:

Around-the-room, with peninsula

Track Manufacturer:

Tomalco Track flextrack; White Oak (S turnouts), P-B-L (Sn3 turnouts)

Rail Size:

code 100 (S), 70 (Sn3)

Min. Turnout Frog:

#8 (main), #6 (yards)

Min. Radius:

48"

Track Height(s):

48" to 60"

Mainline Track Length:

120'+

Era:

1950-1956

Setting:

Donner Pass route

Railroad(s) Modeled:

Control System:

P-B-L Foreground System

Featured In:

Railroad Model Craftsman, Jun 2013, pg 40

NASG Dispatch, Jun 2012, pg 16 (photo essay)

S Gaugian, Jul 2007, pg 26

S Gaugian, Sep 2007, pg 24 (photo)

Notes:

The layout also includes the Sierra Nevada Lumber Co. narrow-gauge branch line (Bob was an Sn3 modeler for over 30 years, so he had to have some narrow-gauge in this one!). This is Bob's fifth layout, and it is housed in a dedicated building.

Truckee is a joint yard facility servicing both Southern Pacific and Western Pacific Railroad locomotives after their runs over the Sierra. In this photo we see a modified and detailed Overland brass Southern Pacific F7A/B set in the foreground and a River Raisin brass SP SD9 emerging from the roundhouse lead. At the sanding facility is a brass Overland Western Pacific A/B set of FT locomotives, an American Models GP9 and a brass Overland Alco S-4 switcher. Each locomotive has been detailed for specific WP locomotives. On the far sanding track are four additional American Models GP9 engines. All are detailed and modified for specific Southern Pacific prototypes. The first two are SP passenger Geeps. Bob's photo appeared on the inside cover of the August 2022 issue of Railroad Model Craftsman in the NASG promotional ad campaign.

The Southern Pacific's 4-4-2 #3003 sure is giving its passengers a great view of the scenery on Bob's layout.

Bob Hogan had been thinking of doing this project for several years and finally got around to it. He used an old issue of the Narrow Gauge And Short Line Gazette magazine which had drawings for these cars. In 1902 the Sierra Railway built its 19.3-mile Angles Camp branch from Jamestown north to Angles Camp, California. This line contained 4% grades, very sharp 28-degree curves, and a switchback. San Francisco's Holman & Company built two unique "shorty" 32-foot (end-sill-to-end-sill) passenger cars for service over this rugged line. Both the combine #5 and coach #6 have survived these many years and can still be seen at the Jamestown Railtown State Park headquarters (prototype photos can be seen on this page). Both cars have been used in many movies over the years and even on a few railfan trips. The combine #5 served as the Sierra's primary caboose during the early 1950s until the arrival of new Baldwin diesels and a newer used caboose #7. Because of their heavy use in Hollywood movies during the 1940s and 1950s, these cars were painted a variety of colors. Bob chose to use a Floquil "coach green" as this is how he saw them most often during the 1960s and 1970s. His guess is that they were painted the standard "Pullman" green when built. Bob built his models by creating a wooden base. The sides and ends are styrene. The roofs are resin from old V&T Shops Sn3 kits that he both widened and cut to length, which required a lot of sanding. The windows are by the former Grandt Line Products company, and the trucks are old brass Kemtron On3 ones, re-gauged for S. He used brass and white metal parts from his parts box to complete the detailing.

The SP cab-forward #4294 is a Southwind Models AC-12. It pulls a long string of Pacific Rail Shops R-40-24 PFE reefer kits which Bob assembled and weathered. The Truckee local on the siding is a Smoky Mountain Model Works resin kit for a GE 70-tonner that Bob modified, detailed, painted, and lettered per Southern Pacific's actual #5119. The caboose behind it is a Gold Coast Railway brass C-30-1 model that he also painted and lettered. This photo appeared on the inside cover of the May 2024 issue of Railroad Model Craftsman magazine in the NASG promotional ad campaign.

Southern Pacific P10 #2490 heads an extra section of the Sacramento Daylight on the Sierra Northern Railroad. The 4-6-2 #2490 began as a stock American Models Pacific but Bob replaced the domes, pilot, cab, and added brass details by River Raisin Models to craft a Southern Pacific P-10 class Pacific. The combine behind the locomotive is a modified American Models 73' coach. Bob added baggage doors and a Pre-Size Model Specialties resin arch roof to create a Southern Pacific's arch roof combine as used on the Sacramento Daylight which is why it is painted in Daylight colors. The lumber mill complex in the background was built from B.T.S. kits. This photo appeared on the inside cover of the October 2024 issue of the Railroad Model Craftsman magazine in the NASG promotional ad campaign.