34 Ascape

When Echo Canyon was mostly complete the folks in Ascape turned their attention to finishing the yard and some industries in Ascape.  Other posts will feature individual structures and their construction.  The purpose of this post is to provide an overall view of Ascape, particularly the Engine Terminal, Yard and associated industries.  

Figure 1 View of Ascape Engine Terminal.

Figure 1 shows the Ascape Engine Terminal (center), Ascape Station (left), and Ascape Power Plant (right).  The main line and Ascape siding are along the back of the terminal.  The caboose track is seen at the end of the Ascape siding.  There is another passing siding in front of the station next to the main platform. The other tracks from left to right include the engine ready track serviced by the coal tipple, the sand house, and the oil terminal.  This track connects to the turntable in the background.  The roundhouse is under construction and is not present in this photograph.  The track to the right of the engine ready track also leads to the turntable and is track for locomotives entering the terminal.  The track to the right is the lead track for the Ascape yard.  The yard ladder is switched from this track.  The gondolas sit on the Power House stub.  

The station is a Fine Scale Miniatures kit, the coal tipple is a Campbell kit, the turn table is a Diamond turntable kit. The water tower is Walthers.  The power house is scratch built from card stock with hand carved brick detail.  The sand house (hidden by the oil depot) and the oil depot are Campbell kits.  There is a old box car shed under the water tower.  Saulina's Tavern and Harley's Cycle Shop are hidden behind the trees behind the station.

Figure 2 View of Ascape Yard

 Figure 2 is a view of the Ascape yard. The yard lead shown in Figure 1 feeds the ladder to these tracks.  The track to the right is the main line with the turnout to the Ascape siding shown.  Burgess Beef packing plant and Mauzy Ice are at the end of the yard tracks.  Farmer's Cooperative elevator and feedstore are to the right of the main line in the upper right of the photograph.  Craig's Camp is in the far background.

Burgess Beef is a Fine Scale Miniatures kit, Mauzy Ice is scratch built, the grain elevator and feed store are Walthers structures.  The turnouts in the yard are powered by Tortoise machines from switches and indicator lights on the fascia.

Figure 3 View of Ascape Station, Water Tower, and Power Plant

Figure 3 is a view of the station, water tower, and power plant. Echo Canyon tunnels 2 and 3 are in the background.  This photograph was an earlier photograph that did not use Helicon Focus or the settings indicated below.

Figure 4 Ascape Coal Tipple from between Harley's Cycle Shop and Saulena's Tavern

Figure 4 was the photographer's first attempt to use Helicon focus with multiple exposures using manual focus (see photographic details below).  Note that the cliffs are about 30 inches from the camera. The coal tipple is about 20 inches from the camera.  The figures and gas pumps are about 8 inches from the camera. Enlarge the photograph by clicking on it to see the clear detail at every distance. 

Figure 5 Burgess Beef and Cattle Yard

Figure 5 is Burgess Beef packing plant.  Bruce Burgess is a cattle man and close friend of the president.  This structure and corral are a Fine Scale Miniatures Kit. The Cattle yard is small and can handle only one or two cattle cars in any one shipment.  Reefers call at the platform to ship processed beef and pork to the market. 

Figure 6 Mauzy Ice and Burgess Beef

Figure 6 is Mauzy Ice.  This small structure is perfect for the very small operation of Burgess Beef packing plant.  Reefers are iced one at a time and it is rare for more than two reefers to visit the plant on any given day. The ice house was named for Chris Mauzy, who is a frequent operator on the ATSG.  This structure is scratch built from polystyrene siding and strip wood.  The builder drew plans from photographs of an On3 model of this ice house designed and constructed by Troels Kirk of Sweden.

Figure 7  Farmer's Cooperative 

Farmer's Cooperative and Feedstore are Walthers kits weathered by the author.   Craig's Camp is on the hill behind this scene. The main line is behind these structures and again behind Craig's Camp on the upper level.

All of the photographs except Figure 3 were processed via Helicon Software and involve multiple exposures focused at different distances. The focus was set manually.  The photographer measures the distance from the furthest object and closest object in the picture using a metric measuring tape.  This distance is then divided into 5 or 6 equal lengths and an exposure taken at each distance. The camera indicates the distance when using manual focus:   Sony 35 mm 8 mp digital camera, F8.0, color real, no zoom.  Lighting is from overhead compact florescent spot lights enhanced by two photo lamps also with compact florescent bulbs.  Exposure time is automatically determined by the camera.  All photographs were taken on a tripod via the camera timer to avoid any camera shake.  You should be able to enlarge the photographs by clicking on them.

33 Echo Canyon

Perhaps the biggest challenge for the ATSG Railroad was how to provide creditable scenery when there is a high line behind and above the main line?  Figures 1 and 2 show the problem.  

Figure 1 High Line above Ascape Yard

Figure 2 High Line above Ascape 

Several solutions were tried. The first was to try to hide the high line with buildings but this required either hiding the high line completely or trying to provide a rational why the high line was above the buildings.  Not an acceptable solution.  A second solution was to hide the high line completely as it returned to the helix.  But this eliminated more than 20 feet of railroad that could provide additional running and scenery.  A ride through Echo Canyon Utah provided a possible solution.  See Figures 3 and 4.  Why not a series of tunnels through the cliffs forming a backdrop for Ascape Engine Terminal and Yard?

Figure 3 Echo Canyon Utah  the Prototype

Figure 4  Echo Canyon Utah the Prototype

Figures 5 and 6 show the construction of  Echo Canyon.  The high line is partially hidden by the eventual cliffs and a series of tunnels carries this main line through the cliffs.

Figure 5 Armature and Cheese Cloth Echo Canyon

Figure 6  Plaster covering Echo Canyon

Figures 7 - 13 show the details of the resulting canyon with carved rocks, sprayed paint with chalk weathering with foliage proved by Woodland Scenics.  Portals were modified to appear to be partially built into the cliffs, the roadbed was hidden by a rock wall support between tunnels 2 and 3 and a bridge between Tunnels 1 and 2.  Rock was hand carved, spray painted with diluted house paint, and weathered by raw pigments and colored chalk.  The scenery was sealed with dull coat.  The plan is to place photograph backdrops between the cliffs in Echo Canyon.  There is lots of red rock to choose from in St. George and Snow Canyon.  We will illustrate these photograph backdrops in a future post to this blog.  The cliffs of Echo Canyon make a very nice backdrop for Ascape.  A future blog will illustrate Ascape with these cliffs in the background.  The illusion of height used forced perspective by using small shrubs and trees high on the cliffs and larger shrubs and trees in the foreground at the base of the cliffs.  Interest was created at the base of the cliffs by including a retaining wall in some placed, a rock fall in other places. 

Figure 7 West Portals Tunnels,  No. 1,  No. 2 and No. 3.

Figure 8 East Portal Tunnel No. 1

Figure 9  West Portal Tunnel No. 1

Figure 10 East Portal Tunnel No. 3

Figure 11 West Portal Tunnel No. 3

Figure 12  East Portal Tunnel No. 1 Echo Canyon

Figure  13 West Portal Tunnel No. 2 Echo Canyon

32 Craig's Camp

The high line curves around the back corner of the layout above Burgess Beef and Farmers Cooperative.  A short stub was installed here to serve a small logging camp.  The challenge was how to fill in the corner and create a plausible scene.

Figure 1  Future Site of Craig's Camp

Small mountains were created to fill in the corner.  Even though they are 3-dimensional the attempt was to make them appear to be further away than they are. We are still debating how to make them appear pine covered without causing them to appear closer.  The scenery in front of the camp is behind Farmer's Cooperative and Burgess Beef.  A freight train is passing on the upper main line behind the camp.

Figure 2  Craig's Camp with upper main behind.

Craig Harding, a model railroad club member spent many hours helping construct the return loop in the staging yard under the location of the logging camp.  In honor of this arduous task the lumber camp was named in his honor.  The camp consists of a small shed, a logging crane, and a log pond.  Figure 3 shows a set of scratch built log buggies behind a Bachmann three truck Shay locomotive.  To the far left is a Barnhart log loader that rides on the top of rails on the log buggies.  This small crane can then crawl from car to car as it loads the logs.  How can you have a log camp without any trees in the vicinity.  Hopefully some trees will spring up in this location in the near future.  

Figure 3  Craig's Camp 

Figure 3 is a Helicon photograph of Craig's Camp as described in other posts (See Post 30).

31 Professor Plunge and Hardly Falls

I'm finally back to posting to this neglected blog about the Ascape Tennsion & Sulphur Gulch Railroad.  I will not try to include these posts in order but will merely date them as I post them rather than when they were constructed.  I will try to give some details about the back story.

In 2009, installment #23, this blog described the construction of Whetstone Ridge, Sulphur Gulch, and the trestle at Sulphur Gulch.  This bit of scenery served as the focal point for the railroad since that time and is sure to get a “Wow!” from visitors as they enter the railroad room.  However the back side of Whetstone Ridge maintained its “under construction” status for the next several years.  As the president was about to undertake a whole new construction project on the peninsula of the railroad the Chairperson of The Board subtly made the following observation: “Don’t you think it might be well to finish a bit more of the railroad before you undertake a whole new construction project?”  Good observation.  A wise president always listens to the Board Chairperson and thus construction on the back side of Whetstone Ridge was begun.  This installment will describe the construction of Professor’s Plunge, Hardly Falls, the East Tunnel Portal, and the Park City East Tunnel Portal. This section featured in this post was finished for the 2012 November Open House.

Figure 1 Helix

 Figure 1 shows the helix with its cardboard safety wrap prior to the construction of Whetstone Ridge.  The backside of Whetstone Ridge including Professor’s Plunge with Hardly Falls will hide the helix in this area.   The track at the lower left is the mainline as it comes from the trestle at Sulphur Gulch and enters Ascape.  The roadbed at the upper right is the mainline as it enters the helix at what will become East Portal and the branch line as it crosses through Whetstone Ridge through       what will become the East Portal of the Park City Tunnel.

 

Figure 2 Armature, cheese cloth, and plaster

Figure 2 shows the initial construction of the side and back of Whetstone Ridge.  The cardboard armature in in place over this section of the helix and the cheese cloth has been glued to the armature.

Figure 3  Scenery Demonstration

Figure 3 shows this same view of Whetstone Ridge.  This section was the first scenery on the ATSGRR.  It was deliberately left in this partially finished state to show the construction technique used on the ATSTRR.  The near section shows the cardboard armature and cheese cloth prior to the application of a plaster coating.  The next section shows the cheese cloth coated with a thin plaster shell and some rock castings have been placed over the shell.  The third section is the first part of Whetstone Ridge that was completed to show the scenery technique.  The Sulphur Gulch section of Whetstone Ridge was then completed as shown in an earlier post (#23).  This section of the railroad stayed in this condition from 2009 until the construction described in this post was completed in early 2013.

Figure 4 Armature for Professor Plunge and Hardly Falls

Figure 4 shows the area that is to become Professor Plunge and Hardly Falls with the cardboard armature constructed but not yet covered with cheese cloth.     The armature has indentations where the canyon will be and a notch in the summit of Whetstone Ridge which is the head of Hardly Falls.  The roadbed leading into the helix can be seen cutting across the front of the scene. East Portal will be constructed where this track enters the cliff to join the helix.  The roadbed leading to Park City can be seen in to the right of the picture.   The Park City Tunnel East Portal will be constructed where this track enters the cliff to cross to the rear of the helix.

Figure 5 Main Line around Whetstone Ridge

 Figure 5 shows the aisle side of Whetstone Ridge after the scenery has been completed over the armature and cheese cloth that had occupied this location for several years.  After experimenting with rock molds it was finally decided that hand carved cliffs were not only more efficient but could include a far greater variation of rock formations than is easily accomplished with rock molds.

Figure 6 East Portal of  Main Line Tunnel and West Portal of Park City Tunnel with Professor Plunge and Hardly Falls

Figure 6 shows the East Portal of the Park City tunnel and the bridge leading to the East Portal of the Main Line Tunnel.

Figure 7  Ascape Engine Terminal with Professor Plunge in the background.

Figure 7 is a view of the Ascape Engine Terminal with Professor Plunge and Hardly Falls in the background.  The train is entering The westbound  main line from the East tunnel.  The caboose is entering the East Portal of the Park City Tunnel. Saulena's Tavern and Harley's Cycle Shop are in the foreground.  The Ascape Engine Terminal Coal tipple and Sand House are to the left behind Saulena's Tavern.

You will observe that the edge of the railroad has been protected with Plexiglas to prevent accidents during open houses.  Ironically the only serious accidents so far on the railroad have been caused by the president when on one else was in the room :-(