Current Layout by Craig Wright
Layout Status:
active
Track Type:
Sn3
Layout Space:
18' x 30'
Layout Style:
Around-the-room, with peninsulas
Rail Size:
code 70, 55
Min. Turnout Frog:
#6
Min. Radius:
36"
Ruling Grade:
4%
Era:
Fall of 1950
Setting:
Chama, New Mexico; Alamosa, Colorado
Railroad(s) Modeled:
D&RGW, RGS
Control System:
DC migrating to DCC
Featured In:
The S Scale Resource, Feb 2017, pg 29
NASG Dispatch, Apr 2003, pg 17 (photos) & pg 18
Notes:
Craig has two layouts. This one is the Sn3 one (the other is standard-gauge).
Videos:
This is the scene out of Cumbres looking west on Craig's S/Sn3 layout.
(copyright © Craig Wright; used by permission)
A freight meeting the San Juan at Cumbres. The K-28 #476 was imported by P-B-L, and the K-36 #484 by Overland Models. The passenger car was by Precision Scale, and the freight cars were by P-B-L.
(copyright © Craig Wright; used by permission)
The Rio Grande Southern "Work Goose" #6 idles next to the San Miguel river while the crew has gone for beans at Placerville, Colorado. It is a beautiful fall day in 1950 as abandonment looms for the Rio Grande Southern. The Rio Grande Southern was a 3-foot narrow-gauge railroad that converted a total of seven Pierce-Arrow cars into 3-foot narrow-gauge vehicles to cut down on the expense of operating a steam train. Goose #6 was used by the maintenance-of-way department and is basically a pickup truck. Other RGS Geese hauled the mail, LCL freight, and passengers in southwest Colorado. RGS Goose #6 is a P-B-L foreground model that comes from P-B-L painted and weathered with lights and sound installed. The D&RGW 5500 series narrow-gauge stock car was built from a P-B-L kit. Notice the "bullboard" across the open door of the stock car and the bale of hay. P-B-L makes some of the finest brass models and kits available in any scale. Their specialty is Sn3 but they carry numerous other S scale items. Craig uses code 70 and code 55 rail. Layout grades are as steep as 4%. Dramatic scenery extends well below track level and photo-realistic backdrops capture the vastness of the mountainous terrain and create breath-taking scenes. The layout features hundreds of trees in autumn colors. This photo appeared in the-inside-cover NASG promotional ad of the September 2024 issue of the Railroad Model Craftsman magazine.
(copyright © Craig Wright; used by permission)