Donner Pass - UP era

[Boss1]

Great News! Looking forward to it.

[dtrainBNSF1]

Started work on the new Auburn station. I'll let the shots tell the story:

Screenshot_Donner Pass Union Pacific Era_38.90349--121.08311_12-00-09.jpg

Screenshot_Donner Pass Union Pacific Era_38.90281--121.08302_12-00-24.jpg

Screenshot_Donner Pass Union Pacific Era_38.90730--121.08511_12-00-35.jpg

Screenshot_Donner Pass Union Pacific Era_38.89641--121.08022_12-00-52.jpg

Now obviously more work needs to be done: the road needs to be replaces, a large car park for the station needs to be put down, the actual station building needs to be placed, the textures need reworking, a new signal needs to be installed...you get it.

[dtrainBNSF1]

I'm zeroing-in on Roseville - that will take a while. I'll report again when I've made some decent headway.

[dtrainBNSF1]

Progress so far...

Roseville, as far as remodeling the section originally included in TS, is almost done trackwise. The hump yard still has a ways to go, as well as the city itself. I've also updated the trackwork at Truckee, Colfax, and Gold Run. I'm putting in some industrial tracks near Rocklin in Main track 1 and also at Floriston.

I discovered that I won't need to tunnel that far under Reno, just the height of an autorack. I'll save Reno for last, however.

The signals have changed across the route according to images from Google Earth's streetview. They look like the signals on the NS Coal District now. I'll probably change those over. Devil's in the detail after all.

The yard at Colfax looks markedly different from its original TS form. The signal bridge is gone, and the switching arrangement is "cleaner", as per images on Google Earth. There's also an industrial spur at Colfax. The platform is now on the main, and to facilitate passenger stops on both sides of the track I'll set up an invisible platform on the other main line opposite the platform (in real life there is no platform there, but the California Zephyr still makes its Westward stop on the track opposite the platform - got video evidence).

[imnew]

Nice to see you are still working on this.

[dtrainBNSF1]

Nice to see you are still working on this.

Thanks It's been a crazy Summer, so I haven't been able to work on it as much as I would have liked to. The hard part so far is adding the industrial spurs where they weren't before. I also get the feeling that finishing off the other half of J R Davis yard will probably be a killer on frame rates. I know that selective compression could be an option, but IMO it needs to be full-sized to give it the right "feel".

Question about hump yards: How tall should I make the hump? I know that typically descending from the hump into the bowl there's a grade of about 2-4%.

[ZekTheKid]

Why did I miss this thread?!?!?!?!? The work is amazing!!

[dtrainBNSF1]

Thank you! Wait until I figure out how to work with Reno. Now that will be cool to both see and drive through.

[BKRR605]

Why did I miss this thread?!?!?!?!? The work is amazing!!

Maybe open your eyelids, you might see something!

[dtrainBNSF1]

Here's some pics of the work done so far:

Screenshot_Donner Pass Union Pacific Era_39.29255--120.67482_12-00-34.jpg

Screenshot_Donner Pass Union Pacific Era_39.28971--120.67621_12-00-45.jpg

Screenshot_Donner Pass Union Pacific Era_39.29861--120.67233_12-01-15.jpg

Screenshot_Donner Pass Union Pacific Era_39.28359--120.68334_12-00-55.jpg

Screenshot_Donner Pass Union Pacific Era_39.27998--120.68705_12-01-29.jpg

More coming...

[dtrainBNSF1]

More pics...

Screenshot_Donner Pass Union Pacific Era_39.17937--120.85832_12-03-01.jpg

Screenshot_Donner Pass Union Pacific Era_39.09520--120.95457_12-04-09.jpg

Screenshot_Donner Pass Union Pacific Era_39.10015--120.95299_12-04-34.jpg

Screenshot_Donner Pass Union Pacific Era_39.10044--120.95264_12-04-25.jpg

Screenshot_Donner Pass Union Pacific Era_38.79152--121.23746_12-06-57.jpg

Yet more. We've got some things to see at Roseville.

[dtrainBNSF1]

Here's Roseville so far...

Screenshot_Donner Pass Union Pacific Era_38.75735--121.27260_12-07-37.jpg

Screenshot_Donner Pass Union Pacific Era_38.75569--121.27619_12-07-46.jpg

Screenshot_Donner Pass Union Pacific Era_38.75233--121.28224_12-08-00.jpg

Screenshot_Donner Pass Union Pacific Era_38.74681--121.28825_12-08-25.jpg

Screenshot_Donner Pass Union Pacific Era_38.74686--121.28824_12-08-34.jpg

Still got a few more...

[dtrainBNSF1]

More Roseville...

Screenshot_Donner Pass Union Pacific Era_38.74685--121.29017_12-08-44.jpg

Screenshot_Donner Pass Union Pacific Era_38.74395--121.29429_12-08-58.jpg

Screenshot_Donner Pass Union Pacific Era_38.73753--121.29974_12-09-24.jpg

I'll get some shots from Truckee later.

[dtrainBNSF1]

Just this morning I converted several existing cross overs from automatic control to manual control as per the UP Roseville timetable:

Emigrant Gap, Eastward main track 1 to main track 2
Fulda (to balloon track off main track 1)
Midas, Eastward Main track to main track 2
Towle (I'm guessing this is the equivalent of Alta as the location and crossover seem to match up) eastward track 1 to track 2
Gold Run, universal (the full cross over is now manually operated)
Colfax, universal (the cross just to the west of the yard is now manually operated)

I also removed some crossovers from the original route as they don't appear in UP's schematic for the subdivision.

There are also crossovers at Lawton and Floriston that are supposed to be manually operated, but I have to check on their locations on google earth before implementing them.

I checked the dates of the Timetable I have with the date that UP finished updating the route. The timetable comes form August 2009; UP finished its updating process in November 2009, after the timetable I have was published. It turns out that those crossovers that were manual are now non-manual. The 30-mile section that was once TWC (Track warrant control) now is CTC. I'll do another flyover to double-check the crossovers to make sure the positions are correct. Very little communication between the dispatcher and the train crews are necessary now, as the signals take care of train movements now for a large part.

One thing to look forward to: with all the upgrades you can take 9,000-foot trains over the Pass! (If you've got a powerful enough computer for it ) In comparison at the time Donner Pass was upgraded UP took trains about 5700ft. in length over the Feather River Canyon.

[AmericanSteam]

I live 15 miles away from and work in Colfax. PM me to Let me know if you need pictures or other information.