Wisconsin Central Railway: Amherst Subdivision
Sudro Brown, General Manager
Layout models a portion of the Soo Line / Wisconsin Central mainline between Stevens Point on the West and Fond du Lac on the east. There is one branch going north to Shawano / Argonne / Sault Saint Marie and another going compass east to Manitowoc where it meets the Lake Michigan car ferries of the Ann Arbor and Pere Marquette. The yard at Neenah supports a large local paper industry as well as originating and terminating the branch trains.
Layout at a glance
Name: Wisconsin Central Railway: Amherst division
Scale: HO
Size: 21' x 34'
Prototype: SOO Line / Wisconsin Central
Locale: Central Wisconsin
Era: 1960 or so
Style: Point to point walk around
Mainline run: 170'
Minimum radius: 30"
Minimum turnout: #6 main, #4 industrial
Maximum grade: 2%
Benchwork: Storage shelves L-girders, joists and risers.
Height: 54" and 64" with 1½ turn helix
Roadbed: ½" plywood with ½" homosote
Track: Atlas Code 83 viable, code 100 staging
Scenery: Virtually none
Backdrop: Painted wallboard
Control: DCC/NCE
Operating positions:
- Neenah East End and West Yard Crew
- Through Freights East and West
- Way Freights East and West
- Lake Street Mill Job
- Winnebago Local
- Utility crews
- Dispatcher
Comments:
Layout operates with a time table adapted from a set of 1960 / 61 Soo Line employee time tables. It operates a 4 AM to Noon session and a Noon to 8 PM session using a 3 to 1 fast clock. Each session is about 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Car movement is controlled by car envelopes, waybills and spotting orders. Mainline turnouts to sidings are under the control of the dispatcher in a quasi CTC mode. All other turnouts are hand thrown by the operating crews. Each crew receives a "work order" when coming "on duty".
This layout is NOT handicap accessible.
Most recent update: 2008 December 21
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