Wolf Run

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CEO Alden West
City, Country Tracy
State/Prov CA
Scale
N  
Name of Layout Wolf Run

Wolf Run is a freelance model loosely based on the Alaska Railroad. Many, many years ago I had an HO layout that my dad and I built in our basement. Through the years I remained fascinated by model railroading but other interests occupied my time. Several years ago I began collecting N scale rolling stock. At the time I was a dog musher living outside of Fairbanks, Alaska. I wanted to be able to actually RUN the locos I had collected. I had a shed that I used for cooking fish for the dogs during winter, but it was unused in the summer. So each summer I would set up a sheet of plywood and play with my trains through the long summer nights. Lacking space for a permanent layout, I decided that some sort of snap track was the ticket. I chose Kato track for several reasons - it has integrated roadbed, there is no visible switch motor for the turnouts and there is a wide assortment of different radii and other track pieces available. A couple of years ago I sold my kennel, retired from mushing and moved to California and began fantasizing about my Dream Layout.
This layout is the fruition of my New Year’s resolution - I decided that the time had come to build a permanent layout. I had been designing layouts – various shapes and sizes – on my computer using XTrk CAD (downloadable for free off the internet) and this past year I decided to build my layout in a spare bedroom. The drawback is that the bedroom is small. I designed a layout to fit the room (11x10) and began construction New Year’s weekend. I built the benchwork, risers & installed most of the track. (Another advantage of using snap track is that it goes together much, much faster than using flex track.) By the end of the weekend as I sat back to admire my progress I realized that access was horrid. It was 4 feet wide and pressed up against the walls on 3 sides. I was forced to climb up on the table in order to reach the far sides. What on earth would I do once some scenery was in place? The more I reflected on my predicament the more I realized it was impractical. Impossible, in fact. So I spent the next few days at my computer – playing around with track plan ideas for a different space – my garage. At first the notion was to simply relocate the 11 x 10 trackplan in the garage. But, if there is ‘extra space’ why not fill it with track & trains? The result of this was a layout that extends 16 feet on the long side (the initial 8 feet is 5 feet wide) and 10 feet across the “L” which is 4 feet wide. Freestanding on all four sides so I have full walkaround access. Construction began on January 6th when I knocked down the track and benchwork in the bedroom and invaded the garage.

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Layout Size 16 x 10 overall / 100 sq ft
Feet of track 209  feet
Era & Place Present Day
Control type NCE DCC
Prototype Alaska RR
Miles Track (perceived) 6.34  miles
Motive Power - Diesel 9
Rolling Stock 64
Trestles & Tunnels 13/7
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The layout is a single mainline which, conceptually, has reversing loops at both ends, 3 long passing sidings and a large yard. There is a lot of track in a relatively small space and to look at the trackplan, it appears to have a high ‘spaghetti factor.’ By concealing some track in tunnels, and changing elevations I was able to integrate enough diversity that it doesn’t look like a bowl of wet noodles. The mainline is 92.8 ft. long (2.81 scale miles) and there is a total of 209 feet of track (6.34 scale miles.) The minimum radius is 13.75” but that actually occurs very infrequently. The vast majority of the track is either 19” or 28” radius, with some 15.” I tried to use longer radius track as transitions so that the curves are gentle and gradual. I don’t like the appearance of trains when they enter a sharp turn – looks like a spinning barbell. The maximum grade is about 2.5% and the total elevation change is about 7 inches. I designed the main yard to be in a ‘bowl’ so that I could maximize elevation differential. The bowl is 3” lower than the mainline at it’s lowest point. This enabled me to create an 8” deep canyon while the trains only have to climb 5” on the mainline. The layout features 13 bridges (I LIKE bridges!) and 7 tunnels. It incorporates 28 turnouts, including 2 double crossovers. Several of the turnouts are wired to operate in pairs. For example: if a short section of track is intended to be used to cross from one segment of the mainline to another the turnouts are operated simultaneously using one switch. The idea is to minimize opportunities for ‘engineer error.’
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I am using a 5 amp DCC system from NCE to operate the trains. My system has a plug-in throttle which, with a layout of this size is probably not the way to go. I am realizing that I would appreciate the freedom to be able to walk around the layout with throttle in hand without the need to uplug/plug in … unplug/plug in each time I want to observe the trains from a different location. The layout is evolving rapidly at this point. No structures are in place as yet - the principal industries will be coal and oil (this IS supposed to be Alaska!) I'm working on a refinery and coal mine and they ought to be in place soon. Next up I think will be to ballast the track and plant some trees. LOTS of trees!
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