New Layout Plan for the New Space! | Thunder Mesa Reimagined

Howdy folks, Dave here at Thunder Mesa Studio with a major update on the ongoing reimagining and rebuilding of the ON30 Thunder Mesa Mining Company layout. Finishing up the move of my studio really got my wheels turning with ideas for how the old layout could best fit into the new space. Now the most recent plan that I had created for the Thunder Mesa layout would fit just fine in this space as is. But the shape of this room is a little bit different. The old studio space was a big square. This is a long rectangle. So some adjustments are in order. I've got a lot more space along this back wall. I've got some space here at the end, and I've got some space along this wall that I didn't have before. So, you know, it would be a real shame not to take advantage of that. You see, I now have about 19 linear feet that I can use along this back wall, plus about 5 feet along this wall between the corner and the roll-up door, and a total of 11 usable feet along this wall between the corner and the door to the front room. Now remember back at the beginning of all this, I said that plans can and would change. So now with this blessing of a little bit more usable space, the plan is going to change once again, hopefully for the better. So I've spent the last week or so drawing up an entirely new track plan. One that makes the best use, I think, of the new space, while keeping all of my favorite features from the earlier iterations. I also went back and looked at my redesign goals from the very start of this process. And this new plan still ticks all of those boxes, with the exception of the 0 and 18 stuff, which I repurposed for the Goldfield at Calico and the Bandit Canyon Railway mini-layout. And then there's those blank spaces I left open for future expansion. This time out, I've filled those blank spaces in, because hey, the future is here. Back at the old drawing board, I used my preferred method for creating the new plan, hand-drawing everything on blue-line grid paper at a scale of 1 eighth of an inch equals 1 inch. This process usually takes 3 or 4 days, depending on how complex the plan is. The first day is just, you know, lightly sketching things out and getting ideas down on paper. And this is where you find out if those ideas you have are actually going to work in the space you have available. Sometimes they don't. Day 2 is locking down the track plan. Firmly establishing things like curve radii, grades, turnouts, and clearances. I did a whole Workbench Wednesday video on how I draw my track plans, and you can check it out at the link if you're interested. Day 3, and sometimes 4, is when I detail the plan, drawing in all of the structures and scenic elements that I want to include. Then the entire thing is scanned in the computer so I can open it up in a program like Photoshop or Affinity Photo 2 and, you know, fix little things, add color, graphics, and basically make it a nice-looking finished plan. I went into a lot more depth on that process in the first video in the series, and you can check that out at the link. Now, let's take a look at the updated plan and see how it will work in the new space. At this point, I think we're on Thunder Mesa 2.2 for those who are keeping track. As you can see, the layout has grown a little, and will now occupy a footprint of about 19 by 11 feet. Right off the bat, the most obvious change is that the towns of Thunder Mesa and Rainbow Ridge have swapped locations. This makes sense, since now there is more space available for the larger town of Thunder Mesa along the back wall. Just as it should be, Thunder Mesa Town is now the center of operations for the railroad. Most trains start and end their runs here with a reverse loop, engine service area, and small yard doing double duty, serving as both ends of this short-line railroad. Now, this concept should become a little clearer in a few minutes when we take an imaginary run along the line. Spooky Ravenswood Manor from Disneyland Paris makes an appearance once again, appropriately next to Boot Hill, while Walt Disney's Carolwood Barn returns to the plan, anchoring the Circle D Stock Company on the other side of town. Not much has changed on the original section of the layout, except for a new open-air engine shed to be built at Saguaro Siding. This has been a very underused part of the layout, and now the little shack there will be replaced with a small facility to service chaise and other locomotives assigned to the mine run up to Rainbow Ridge and Big Thunder Camp. The canyon section will see a lot of changes, with a more wild and remote feel featuring many high bridges and towering rock formations. The animated balancing rocks will be here, along with a sleepy village called Santa Poco, an area with a strong New Mexico influence, making use of Vern Niner's Mission San Lorenzo and other structures. High above on the mesa will be a Native American pueblo, where ceremonies are underway to bring rain for the corn crops. Rainbow Ridge is up in the high country, amidst a forest of ponderosa pine. Switchbacks still bring trains up to the town level and miles beyond, but now the ruling grade has been eased from 4% down to 3% for more reliable operations. Now, let's take an imaginary run over the line to see how it all comes together. Before we board our train, let's take a moment to set the scene. The era is somewhere around 1890 to 1910, and the locale is the spectacular canyon country of the American Southwest, the heart of the Four Corners, where Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico meet up. The Thunder Mesa Mining Company operates a narrow-gauge railroad, with small and colorful equipment tackling the sharp curves and respectable grades needed to reach the far-flung settlements and mining claims. Built in the 1870s after gold was discovered in the region, the railroad also began running excursion trains in the early 1900s after President Theodore Roosevelt established Nature's Wonderland National Monument to conserve the scenic beauty of the area. Now, with all of that in mind, let's head on over to the Thunder Mesa Depot to begin our journey. Let's hitch a ride on the Combine at the tail end of the Daly Mixed. Our imaginary train will be departing southbound from the track closest to the station platform. Pulling out of the station right on time, we steam past Boot Hill and dilapidated Ravenswood Manor, a place some folks say is haunted by restless spirits. Then, we cross a short bridge and plunge right into canyon country, where ancient Native American ruins cling to shallow alcoves high above the river. Our train passes below a natural bridge before entering Long Tunnel, so named because it's the longest tunnel on the line. And here we begin to climb a 2% grade as we round the sharp curve in the darkness. Emerging back into the light of day, we pull into the little New Mexican village of Santa Poco, a quick mail and water stop with a plethora of pinatas. This is also where passengers bound for Rainbow Ridge can deboard and wait for the next northbound train that will be heading up the branch line. High above the village, drums can be heard from the Indian pueblos atop the mesa, where a rain ceremony is underway. It must work, too, since a thunderstorm begins to rumble and flash above the canyons. Departing Santa Poco, we pass through Balancing Rock Canyon, where the desert hoodoos seem to sway and rock in a most alarming fashion as our train rolls by. And then it's out across Coyote Canyon on a spindly old trestle before entering a second tunnel through Thunderbird Butte. Back into the daylight once again, we immediately come to the longest and highest bridge on the line, Coyote Canyon High Bridge, an iron-plated marvel of 19th century engineering, terrifying and spectacular, with a dizzying plunge to the river far below. Safely across the bridge, we arrive at the mining camp of Big Thunder. There's a water tank and a flag stop platform here, as well as the Thunder Mesa Mill, where ore from all of the mines in the area is processed and shipped from. The mill is located here due to the presence of Big Thunder Creek, which we now cross on a low trestle before heading into the Cactus Forest and passing through McKinnon Arch. High above is the Never Mine and Baxter's Butte, named for old Badwater Baxter himself, who first discovered gold in these parts back in the 1860s. Another trestle takes us out across the blue-green waters of Geyser Gulch, where, if we're lucky, we just might catch Old Unfaithful blowing off a little steam. Rounding the bend on one of the sharpest curves on the railroad, we come across the sun-bleached bones of an ancient creature. This is Dinosaur Gap, home to one of the best-preserved T. rex fossils ever found. Huh, he's even still got all his teeth. Then it's down deep below the earth into Rainbow Caverns, where colorful formations, waterfalls, and fountains appear on every side. Officially known as Coates Caverns, these ethereal underground chambers were discovered when the Big Thunder Mine tunneled down from above. To this day, the main shaft still passes right through the Crystal Grotto. Emerging from the caverns, we cross another trestle over the canyon before arriving right back where we started in Thunder Mesa. But our journey isn't quite over yet. Just past the depot is Fowler's Landing, representing operationally the far end of the railroad. This is where the Thunder Mesa line connects to the outside world, both at the riverboat dock where the Canyon Queen is standing ready, and with an imagined interchange with the Santa Fe, Denver, and Carolwood Railroad. After a stop at the landing, our train will reverse back onto the main line before continuing forward around the yard loop and arriving right back at the depot, ready for the next trip. Alternatively, the train could be broken up at the yard, and the engine serviced and then turned on the turntable. Then a new train could be put together for the next run, north or southbound. Having Thunder Mesa stand in operationally for both ends of the railroad is an eat-your-cake and have-it-too arrangement, allowing for both point-to-point and continuous run operation with just the application of a little imagination. All right, well that should give you a good idea of Thunder Mesa's main line, but what about that branch line? Tell you what, let's take another imaginary trip up those switchbacks to Rainbow Ridge and the mines beyond. This time we'll start our journey at the new engine shed at Big Thunder. Firing up our trusty Che, we creep forward to pick up a string of empty orc cars from the mill. Then we can back down onto the main line, and with the all-clear coming in over the telegraph, we can proceed northbound toward Santa Poco and the branch line junction. We rumble across the Coyote Canyon High Bridge and begin climbing the 2% grade toward Santa Poco, just past the tunnel portal. At Santa Poco, we take the diverging route on the switch to enter the branch line, and almost immediately start up the 3% grade of the first switchback. Coming to the end of the switchback tail, we then reverse direction and back up the next leg, continuing until the locomotive clears the switch. Then it's forward again, up the next leg, arriving now 4 inches higher than where we started at Big Thunder. Here, we can back into Rainbow Ridge proper, and do a little switching at the mine there. Continuing on from Rainbow Ridge toward the Big Thunder mine, we once again begin to climb a 2% grade as we tunnel below the Indian Pueblos, emerging to cross both the lower main line and Coyote Canyon itself on a double natural bridge. In a cut between Moy Bridge and Thunderbird Buttes, we arrive at the highest elevation on the railroad, 6 inches above the main. Just beyond is the Big Thunder mine, and Nevermind Tunnel, where we'll load up our empty ore cars before returning back down to the mill the way we came. So, in this way, raw ore is moved from the mines to the mill. There, bagged ore concentrates are loaded into boxcars. Those cars are picked up by regular mainline trains like the Daily Mixed, and then transported to the interchange and a smelter that's beyond the modeled world of the layout. As I've mentioned once or twice before, operations are not the most important part of the hobby for me. I'm primarily a model maker and a train runner. Scenery and structures are my main thing. However, if I can design a plan like this one, which also allows for some varied and interesting operations, that's a big plus in my book. Now, I know that I change my mind a lot, and I'm sure it probably drives some people crazy, but at least this time I have a whole new space to work with. And you've got to admit, that's a pretty good excuse. And this is a layout that is designed to be built. Of course, you know, changes may occur. That is the nature of the process. Creation is iteration, and nothing is really set in stone. However, I do really like this plan a lot, and think it works great for this space. What do you guys think? Let me know in the comments down below. I'll be happy to answer any questions and hear your ideas. I hope you enjoyed this little planning session for Thunder Mesa Reimagined. If you did, like, subscribe, share, hit that notification bell, do all of those YouTube things we ask you to do. You can also follow Thunder Mesa over on Instagram at Thunder.Mesa, and check out the resources available on the Thunder Mesa Studio website at ThunderMesa.Studio. As always, a huge shout-out and thank you to our Patreon members, who help to make these videos possible. Until next time, keep moving forward, my friends. Adios for now.