So it starts.........

I am new to BlipFoto, having been introduced by my Sister-in-law NannK. What a great site!

My wife and I recently moved to a new house - smaller - and this has allowed me to build a new model railroad. I hope to document my progress through BlipFoto for my own record - but perhaps there are folks out there that like model trains as well. We will see!

I model in the Sn3 scale. This is 3/16 inch equals 1 foot scale - basically 1/64th real size. I model the Rio Grande Southern Railroad. It was a narrow gauge railroad running on rails 3 feet apart rather than the 4 foot 8 inch standard. This size was easier to build in the mountains. Thus the n3 part of the scale. My model will exist in a small alcove in our house about 9 by 10 feet. Small perhaps but hopefully large enough to make substantial progress and finish the layout to a high degree of detail. The layout will concentrate on the center of Dolores Colorado, USA in the fall of 1950. The RGS railroad ran from Durango CO (my home town) to Mancos CO, then Dolores and Telluride, ending at Ridgeway CO. About 160 miles. A very short railroad but one that ran through the mountains of western Colorado.

I did not start BlipFoto early enough to document my framework - basic 1 by 4 wood frame attached to the walls. On top is three layers of expanded polystyrene insulation. This material will not be blue forever - but will get covered with track, turnouts (switches), buildings, roads, trees, bushes, and grass. The locomotives are all steam and they have a full digital sound system that accurately recreates the many sounds they made. I hope my neighbor likes train whistles and the great chuf-chuf sounds they make. Out dog seems to like them - often howling at the whistle.

The bridge in the photo is where a small stream will cross under the tracks - once I carve out the valley. The rectangle cut out is where a switch will go. I cut out the base so that I can build the switch on my workbench - easier on the back.

As I go along I will add details and a little history of Dolores and the RGS. I appreciate the discipline that a blog gives me - maybe I will make faster progress. I am dying to get a train running!