Description of Completed Railroad

The AT&SG Railroad mainline is a big loop on two levels.  Eastbound trains leave the staging yard to the helix and exit the helix via the West Whetstone Tunnel portal at Sulphur Gulch, the lowest elevation on the railroad loop. They return to the helix and staging yard via Echo Canyon, the highest elevation on the railroad loop, to the East Whetstone Tunnel at Professor Plunge.  Westbound trains leave the staging yard to the helix and exit the helix via the East Whetstone Tunnel portal at Professor Plunge to Echo Canyon and return to the helix and staging via the West Whetstone Tunnel portal across the trestle at Sulphur Gulch.  There are three branch lines:  The Spring Canyon Coal branch begins at the Spring Canyon junction on the main line just in front-of and below Tennsion; the Tennsion branch loop begins at the west end of the Sage Junction siding and returns to the main just west of the Sage siding; the Park City branch begins at the east end of the Echo siding.

East bound trains enter the loop as they leave the West Whetstone tunnel on to the trestle at Sulphur Gulch in Whetstone Ridge (1). The helix and trestle are a 3 % grade.  The track levels out past the Ascape Engine Terminal (2), Ascape yard (3), Burgess Beef (4) and Farmer’s Grain (5).  It remains level across the truss bridge at Left-Hand Fork (6) and the Hidden Meadow (6) passing siding past the mining town of Clear Lake (7) but then begins a climb in Shaw’s canyon (8) below Roger’s Meadow and the Clear Lake Mine (9) around the end of the peninsula in front of and just below the industrial area on the Tennsion branch (9).  The track passes through the backdrop at the Spring Canyon (10) coal tipple and then levels out again at the Sage (11) passing siding, which is above the mining town of Clear Lake.  As it leaves the Sage siding it climbs again across the trestle above Hidden Meadow and the steel bridge over Left Hand Fork and climbs up past Craig’s logging camp (12) to the Echo Canyon (13) siding above Ascape.  As it leaves the Echo Canyon siding it descends through the East Whetstone Tunnel back to the 3 % down grade of the helix back to the staging yard.  The Park City branch line leaves Echo Canyon via the Park City Tunnel and proceeds past Whetstone Ridge to Park City (14).

The scenery of the Ascape Tennsion & Sulphur Gulch Railroad consists of a series of integrated scenes which will be described and illustrated below.  The Staging Yard is under Ascape and Echo Canyon and does not include scenery.  The numbers in the previous paragraphs identify each of the scenes that will be described in subsequent posts:  Whetstone Ridge (1), Ascape Engine Terminal (2), Ascape Yard (3),  Burgess Beef (4), Farmer’s Grain (5), Left Hand Fork (6), Clear Lake (7), Shaw’s Canyon (8), Clear lake Mine (9), Spring Canyon (10), Sage (11), Craig’s Logging Camp (12), Echo Canyon (13), Park City (14).