Model Railroader – September 2019

September 2019 55

the reply came. “You must be

Kim. I was told you were

coming.” Kim spent the rest

of the evening in the cab until

that night’s job was done.

Kim was hooked and

decided to model Chama

Yard in HOn3 (1:87.1 propor-

tion, 3-foot narrow gauge).

Back in Switzerland, he

looked for help. I gave him

roughly 1,000 detailed photos

of the yard I took in late 2013.

The completion of the project

was slated for a year later.

Planning

Although Chama Yard is

relatively well known, Kim

found it difficult to get accu-

rate plans of it. Satellite pho-

tos viewed in Google Earth

yielded basic dimensions. In

HOn3, the yard would be

almost 34^1 ⁄ 2 feet long!

The drawings that are

available depicted the yard

and its structures in different

eras. Mike Blazek’s Chama

Set (www.blazeksplan.com)

turned out to be the most

valuable source. Kim built the

yard as it looks today. This

made it easier to answer ques-

tions like the color of the

depot, the arrangements of

tracks and switches, and

whether a full roundhouse

should be modeled.

As Kim’s Chama Yard is

portable, the benchwork had

to be of a light construction.

Also, some track arrange-

ments were shifted so no turn-

outs fell at the breaks between

the five planned sections.

Three of the sections mea-

sure 2.5m long (8'-2") and two

are 1.5m (4'-3"). One of the

sections on the south end of

the yard has just five parallel

tracks, so it can be omitted

without significantly affecting

yard operations. Depending

on whether this section is

included, the yard can be put

together in 8 meter (26'-3") or

10.5 meter (34'-5") versions.

The sections cover the area

from the first turnout on the

south end to its counterpart

on the north end. The stock

pens and the wye on the

south end had to be omitted.

However, choosing

“today” as the model’s time

frame caused a lettering

problem for its engines and

rolling stock, as Kim planned

to operate it with Blackstone’s

line of Denver & Rio Grande

Western models. Blackstone

doesn’t offer its models in

Cumbres & Toltec’s paint

scheme, so Kim settled for

models anachronistically

lettered for D&RGW.

6

5

4

3

2

1

Water

Oil loading dock

Section
houses

Coal

Sand

Freight

house

Enginehouse

Engine shops

Oil house

Station

Restrooms

Track scale

2.5m module

(optional)

1.5m module

Chama

❸ The Silverton, behind D&RGW no. 346, a class C-19 2-8-0 Consolidation, pulls into Chama.

The oil loading track is in the foreground.

Chama Yard

HOn3 scale (1:87.1 proportion, 3-foot track gauge)

Layout size: 1m x 10.5m (40" x 34'-5")

Scale of plan:^9 ⁄ 32 " = 1'-0", 24" grid

Numbered arrows indicate photo locations

Illustration by Rick Johnson

Find more plans online in the

ModelRailroader.com Track Plan Database.

The layout at a glance

Name: Chama Yard

Scale: HOn3 (1:87.1, 30" gauge)

Size: 1m x 10.5m (40" x 34'-5")

Prototype: Cumbres & Toltec Scenic RR

Locale: Chama, N.M.

Era: present day

Style: modular

Mainline run: no main line

Minimum radius: 55mm (21.6")

Minimum turnout: Peco medium radius

(approximately no. 5)

Maximum grade: none

Benchwork: tabletop

Height: 132cm (52")

Roadbed: cork

Track: Peco code 70

Scenery: plywood

Backdrop: none

Control: Lenz DCC