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Benchwork and track
There’s a group called
American Modular Rail-
roaders in Switzerland
(AMORS) with defined tech-
nical standards. That group’s
standard lightweight plywood
benchwork served as a base
for Kim’s Chama Yard.
Intensive testing of all
known and available track
brands uncovered some prob-
lems with older brass engines
on the relatively new HOn3
track by Peco. However,
Blackstone engines operated
smoothly on the Peco track,
so Kim chose Peco code 70
track and Unifrog turnouts.Buildings and
landscapingMost of the buildings were
scratchbuilt referring to the
many photos on hand. In
some cases, Mike Blazek’s
plans served as a reference.
Kim used the proportions of
things in the pictures like
barrels or ties to “measure”
the buildings to be built.
The depot has its own
story. I visited Crystal RiverProducts’ owner Tom
Fitzgerald twice in Conifer,
Colo., to pick up Kim’s
Chama depot kit with the
serial number one the second
time around. (Banta Model-
works also has an HO scale
laser-cut wood Chama Depot
kit on the market.)
The landscaping was no
problem for Kim. There were
no mountains, cliffs, gorges,
or valleys, just a flat yard.
Te c h n i q u e s h e l e a r n e d f r o m
Model Railroader contribut-
ing editor Pelle Søeborg made
it an easy task. He added a lot
of details based on the proto-
type photos.
Worth mentioning are the
trees at the north end of the
yard. They’re made from a
plant called sea foam, which
is marketed by Scenic Express
under the name SuperTrees.
The armatures are airbrushed
in a brownish color and green
foliage applied. This forest
looks just right.Finally in operation
Chama Yard is operated
with a Lenz Digital
Command Control (DCC)system and has three fascia
plugs for tethered cabs.
Close to two years after
building started, Kim had to
speed up final construction.
Chama Yard had to be ready
for the 5th U.S. Model
Railroad Convention in
Rodgau/Frankfurt, Germany,
in October 2015. He made the
deadline. The 26'-3" version
was presented there in cooper-
ation with the AMORS group.
A small transition section
was built to link Chama Yard
with the first AMORS mod-
ule. Kim’s layout served as a
fiddle yard for the modular
main line. Engines had to be
turned at the south end. A
simple turntable on an unsce-
nicked add-on section was
made for this purpose. The
Chama/AMORS combination
garnered much appreciation
from viewers at this show.
Less than a year later, in
the summer of 2016, Kim was
living his Chama dream as a
volunteer intern firing mighty
Mikados up Cumbres Pass
before starting his studies at
the Federal Institute of
Technology in Zurich that
autumn.❺ Wearing a freelanced
paint job, D&RGW no. 480
prepares to depart Chama
with a reefer train. The
station is a laser-cut wood kit
from Crystal River Products.Meet Kim Nipkow
Kim Nipkow lives in
Switzerland, where he
models American proto-
type railroads in HO
scale. He’s a member of
the American Modular
Railroaders in
Switzerland (AMORS)
modeling group. He has
written several articles
for Model Railroader, his
most recent being
“Weeds and Junk,”
about detailing Chama
Yard, in the January
2018 issue.❹ Consolidation no. 278
backs a string of loaded coal
gondolas up to the coaling
tower. Kim kitbashed the
tower to match prototype
plans, starting with a
Campbell Scale Models kit.