Track Plan. Essex Montana


AndrewC

AndrewC

Mostly Harmless
I've been hunting high and low with no success. Can someone suggest where I can get a track plan of the area around Essex Montana please. I have lots of photos but all to the south of the 'shed'. I can get a good idea of what it looks like on that side, but the north side is a mystery. I've tried using google Earth but the resolution isn't good enought to catch all the tracks as many are pretty much buried in ballast.
 
If I was going to be in that part of the state anytime soon, I'd shoot you some pics (I'm always looking for an excuse). I'm trying to wrangle some picks of the yard in Great Falls. Going through channels is certainly a test of patience.
 
Here's a picture of part of the Essex Yard:
jilson3.jpg


There's also a live webcam at the Issac Walton Inn website that shows part of the yard. Don't know if any of thesse help
 
Thanks all. I've looked at both maps.live and Google Earth. Sadly the resolution doesn't help all that much. I've got tracks showing in some of my photos that can't be seen in either Google or maps.

Jim, that pic does answer a question though. The track showing on the far right looks to terminate and not run through. One of the pics I took from the foot bridge shows this track making a sharp bend and then joining back up to the tracks coming through the 'shed'. This leads me to think there has been changes to the track layout on the north side of the shed since 2003. In my pic from Oct 2003, it looks like at least one track runs through the shed. Can't really tell what else is going on on that side. Then again it may be the shadow in your pic is hiding the bend.

edit: followed the source of Jim's pic and its dated 2000 so older than the one I have. This is getting confusing.
 
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Andrew, I've looked all over for pictures of the Essex yard trackage without much more luck. It's such a small yard that there probably wouldn't be any reference to it if it wasn't for the Issac Walton Inn being nearby. It almost looks to me that the picture you have and the one I posted are at oppositie ends of the yard since I see no auxiliary trackage to the right of the freight train. Unfortunately, there are so many shadows, it's hard to tell. I suspect your best bet is going to be to build it with the flavor of the Essex yard and not worry too much about how the indivudual tracks are placed.

One other thought. You can try e-mailing the BNSF public relations department and see if they have a track plan they can share. Railroads have been a little wonky about this type of request since 9/11 but, if you explain why you want it, you may get a sympathetic modeler on the other end who'll help you out.
 
Thanks again Jim. I do appreciate the time and effort in hunting down pics. Both my pic, and the one you found appear to have been taken from opposite ends of the same footbridge. Yours pointing more north-west, and mine more due north. I did find another few pics I took the previous summer taken from the end of the wye. It does show a bit more track, but still I can't determine if neither, one, or both tracks go through the shed.

I've taken your suggestion and fired off a note to BNSF's PR dept. I've also sent a note to the Trainz simulator people as they claim their version 2 of Marias Pass is totally accurate. (The MS Trainsim trackage isn't complete, as it misses the wye completly, and only shows 2 sidings.)

edit: added a second pic. Shows why its so hard to see the track from Google Earth.
 
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A bit more info has emerged and I've managed to get this far.

The track in red is my best guess but still awaiting confirmation. At the moment its been drawn to fit within 2'6" width boards with a total length of 20'. I may be able to stretch this by another 4' but that depends on the other module makers and their restrictions.
 
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Andrew, it certainly has the feel of the Essex yard from the pictures I've seen. Hopefully the BNSF PR folks might come through with some help but I'll bet both tracks ran through the engine shed since that would have been the most logical way to access the wye when the engines had been serviced. My only question on your plan in the length of the tail track on the wye. It looks too small to handle anything but one engine. The BNSF turned multiple unit lash ups as helpers up the Alta-Mont pass and lengthening that tail track so it could hold three units would make operations more realistic.
 
Jim, again thanks. I do have room to lengthen by another foot, so with the curve that should give me another 15" or so of length. This would make the tail 35" long or just enough for 3 SD40s.
 
UP2CSX said:
Andrew, it certainly has the feel of the Essex yard from the pictures I've seen. Hopefully the BNSF PR folks might come through with some help but I'll bet both tracks ran through the engine shed since that would have been the most logical way to access the wye when the engines had been serviced. My only question on your plan in the length of the tail track on the wye. It looks too small to handle anything but one engine. The BNSF turned multiple unit lash ups as helpers up the Alta-Mont pass and lengthening that tail track so it could hold three units would make operations more realistic.
Click to expand...
Finally managed to get my grubby little hands on a proper track plan. Looks like all my guess work was right, with one exception. The second track through the shed actually joins up with wye and doesn't link back to the other shed line.

I did manage to get an extra 14" for the wye so it will now take 3 SD40s or a pair of 4400s. All I need to do now is finish rebuilding my office/workbench so I can start to clear out the garage, so I can tear it down, before removing the concrete, to be replaced by a dedicated railway shed. Phew! Most likely I will start module by module in the office. Maybe have something worth looking at by Christmas.

Thanks again for all the assistance and suggestions.
 
Good job, Andrew. You did some very logical trackwork from a few pictures and guessing. That second track through the shed joining up with thwye makes pefect sense when you think about since, having it rejoin with the same track would block access to the shed if there was another car waiting to get in.

Sounds like you have lots of work ahead of you. Most guys don't actually demolish thier garage for a dedicated layout building so take some pictures of your demolition and construction work as you go along.
 
Cheers Jim. I'll eventually start a thread in a more appropriate forum. Ripping down a garage hardly belongs in the prototype area. The reasoning though is pretty straightforward. Its too small for my Landrover. I can drive in, but can't open the doors. :( Its a 70's vintage concrete sectional thing so it comes apart like Lego. When the dust clears I'll have a 24' by 12' layout shed, and still be able to keep a workbench and micro-layout space in my office room. If I can convince SWMBO I may even manage a 50' outdoor run along the fence to the patio and back. :D
 
Ah, Andrew, I was thinking what we Americans call a garage. We'd call that a tool shed. :) Having a garage that you can drive in but not open doors of the vehicle sounds like kind of a waste of space anyway, although it looks like it would have been the perfect size for my MGB. I'll be interested to see what you come up with.
 
I guess that's as good a definition for the difference between a garage and a tool shed - "Can I open the doors inside?"
 
Well the garage is no more. Gave it away on the 'net. Chap came, dismantled it and took it away where it will be used as a storage lockup. The new shed is being pre-fab'd as I type this and will be delivered and erected in 2 weeks. A TRAIN ROOM finally!!!! Still microscopic compared to what I had in Canada but.........

There are a couple of before-during-after pics on my house renovation blog: http://thedungheapchronicles.blogspot.com/
 
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Looks like lots of work, Andrew, but at least you've got clear space instead of the garden shed now. :)
 
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