I’m a big fan of Colorado’s railroads, having once modeled the Rio Grande Southern in HOn3 (though I never reached the layout stage). I did build a freelanced HO standard gauge layout, however, based in part on the Colorado Midland. I still enjoy reading the book Colorado Midland Railway: Daylight Through the Divide by Dan Abbott. What a railroad, crossing three lofty passes, topping the Continental Divide at 11,500 feet, treading where only narrow gauge railroads had gone before…
Now that I’m a dyed-in-the-wool N scaler, I’ve been wondering about the suitability of modeling the Midland in N. Athearn (after purchasing Roundhouse) has come to the rescue. Along with the 36’ truss-road boxcars, stock cars, and reefers and 50’ Overland coaches all similar to those in use by the CMRy around 1900, they offer 2-8-0s that could be decent stand-ins for the CMRy’s roster. Sure, there are differences, and this would need to be a “close is good enough” enterprise. The CMRy also used 4-6-0s, and I wonder if the Athearn 2-6-0 could be likewise converted. The main difference between the Athearn and CMRy engines is that the latter had wagon-top boilers and the former have straight boilers. I could live with that.
Fine N Scale Models also makes truss-rod boxcars, reefers, flats, gondolas, and tank cars.
The CMRy’s cabooses were unique, and while Roundhouse used to offer them in HO, no one does them in N. The curved cupola would be hard to scratchbuild. I would be OK with the Athearn 3-window caboose.
High mountain scenery would be ideal for N scale since it dwarfs the trains. Here’s a CMRy rotary clearing the track near Hagerman Pass:
The Hagerman trestle is a landmark of the railroad and could be built easily using the Heljan (plastic) wooden trestle kit. Some CMRy depots l
The Midland was a great railroad. I live just up the street from the roundhouse (now and art studio/pottery). I frequently hike the old ROW through Ute Pass. Here are some pics of my wife, a friend and myself on a hike up there…
Nice pictures, Smitty. I’ve hiked portions of this line and you can see it was quite an undertaking.
Dave, either the Colorado Midland or the Midland Terminal would be a real challenge to model with all the tunnels and trestles but it sure would be spectacular. As you wrote, there’s enough N scale equipment that’s close enough to look like CM rolling stock. The CM did upgrade the rails to 85 pounds at the turn off the century so code 55 track wouldn’t be that far off with some good painting and ballast. It would sure be interesting just to model the Busk tunnel.
They also had some really neat rolling stock. Towards the “end”, they took a street car from Colorado Springs, and tuned it into a motor car for the run up to Cripple Creek. I want to say that they made that run twice daily with that car. I will have to look in the books when I get home.
I have also found the footings for the tell tales in Ute Pass. I thought everything had been removed, but there are a few things still around. I also have found pieces of insulators, spikes, and other various things. I figured that would have all been pretty well picked over by now.
This was more of a mental exercise… I’m pretty entrenched in modeling the Pennsy (my first RR passion) right now. Plus, with a GI paycheck running a family of four (far enough away from any base infrastructure here in Raleigh to preclude the use of commissary/BX benefits), I can budget only so much toward the hobby, so multiple prototypes are out for now.
But, that’s not to say that someday I can’t do both! The CMRy would lend itself quite nicely to a portable show layout (like my current layout). A double-loop single track up-and-over might be fun for shows, with vertical, rather than horizontal, scenery.
Have the line replicate Leadville on one side, and the climb up to Hagerman Pass on the other. Nothing exact, just the right feel… That way my “home layout,” the future 'round-the-walls PRR Middle Division, wouldn’t have to compete.
I’m going to have to find a better-paying career than meteorologiy and the military before my wife would stand for that!
I have actually been really tempted to model the Midland since we PCSd here. It is easy to find models of equipment and structures here, as well as having ready access to what remains of the prototype. I think my wife would have me behind for sure if I wanted to change everything midstream. I am also starting to get the narrow gauge bug, and that can get dangerously expensive really fast.
