Introducing: Mount Wilson

So after deciding not to build a layout just yet, this weekend I started building my next layout. The confluence of 4 days off, pay day, the completion of a plan I was happy with, the offer of the use of my brother's arsenal of power tools, and as my brother put it, my "incessant whinging about building a layout" (paraphrased) combined to make quite a productive weekend.

The Plan

Before I get to the description, let's get down to what it looks like.

Concept

In real life, an alternate crossing of the mountains by rail was surveyed in the 19th century, however the grades and earthworks required to build a line from Richmond through to roughly Bell/Clarence were considered prohibitively expensive, and thus the current main western line won out. The real Mount Wilson area is a sleepy hollow dotted with European-looking trees which hide much of the natural Australian bush, much like the rest of the upper Blue Mountains in the more built-up areas. 

In my layout scenario, both the Kurrajong line and the Mt Wilson branch were built simultaneously in the 1920s. Accordingly, the layout will have a pre-cast concrete Pc2 station as was common of lines constructed at that time. Initially, the railway hauled fruit and various produce from the busy Co-op siding to Bell, where it was attached to eastbound goods trains heading to Sydney. The coming of the railway turned the village into a tourist destination, increasing passenger traffic on the line as the road traffic of the day struggled with the grades of Bells Line of Road.

Post-war, the discovery of coal nearby and a surplus of ex-military vehicles made a mine served by road haulage from the valley floor to the railhead at Mount Wilson viable, and a siding was laid for the purpose of loading coal trains in the yard. The grades on the fictitious branch line are still quite steep, which reduced the length of trains which could be hauled up the line by steam. The NSWGR took the opportunity to extend the overheads for the Great Western Line down to Mount Wilson during the 1950s to cope with coal traffic. The whole yard was intended to be expanded to facilitate longer trains, however, well, local hoteliers, a wealthy land-holding family, and state politics. Apart from an upgrade to the frequency of the passenger service, nothing changed.

Fast forward to the era represented: the late 1970s.

The passenger service lives on with mining families sending their kids to school further down the mountains, plus the comings and goings of tourists and bushwalkers. The coal trains are now hauled by electric locos and use modern, pneumatic-unloading wagons of the CH and CTS type. Demands of road and mine traffic in the area is sufficient to require a dedicated fuel siding, and it's still more convenient for the local growers to cart their produce by rail, for now, which they do courtesy of the Co-op siding. As well as fruit, machinery, mine supplies, farming equipment, tar for the local roads, and general goods is deposited and dispatched at the siding. 

Traffic

I plan on having four main types of train on the layout, with each move taking around 10-40 minutes, depending on what I have time for. These are:

General goods - diesel-hauled, with assorted wagons for the Co-op and fuel siding

Coal - electric loco-hauled, 4-car trains of either CH or CTS hoppers plus guard's van. 

Passenger - loco-hauled, 2-car supplementary interurban cars or a railmotor at a later date.
Pay bus - because why not?

This roster maintains the 'instant-on' concept I've enjoyed through Rozelle Street, and it's compatible with an unpredictable work and family schedule.

Here's a teaser of what will hopefully turn out as quite a pleasant scene when complete:

Next time I'll add some construction photos of where we got to this weekend and the overall impressions as I map the track plan to the baseboard.

In the meantime, release the navvies!

Cheers,

Ben