The Dry Gulch & Hellingon Railway:
An HOn3 Scale Model Railroad

This article on my Dry Gulch & Hellingon Ry. Is for the small and more portable 4x9ft version. The track plan is an adaptation of the California & Comstock Railroad featured in the June 07 issue of MR (Model Railroader Magazine) as well as the MR publication “102 Realistic Track Plans” on page 41, track plan #43.
I changed the overall dimensions and omitted the “tacked on” yard and engine facilities. Instead of going the traditional 4x8 route I extended the layout an extra foot making the overall dimensions 4x9ft. The extra foot in length may not seem like a lot, but really does help extend the length of main line and allows for more room for scenery. The tunnel underneath the mountain was originally a double track main line which for a Turn-of-the-Century Southwestern layout. There are sidings on both sides of the layout that would have been the leads for the double track tunnel. I decided to remove the curved portion and just make a pair of sidings for operational interest.
The first siding at the front of the layout is the station and stock yard. The town taking up the center of layout is Hellingon, Dry Gulch exists elsewhere in fantasy, perhaps when the train enters the tunnel entrance at the back end of the layout the train heads to Dry Gulch. The stock yard is for operational and visual interest even though Hellingon’s main industry comes from mining. The depot I see being a Woodland Scenic’s pre-built depot or some other depot appropriate for a mid sized western town.
While we are still in the same area of the layout, what was a spur or side track, according to the California & Comstock plan, I changed this to be a small engine facility complete with “Gallows” turntable, single stall engine house, ash pit, and somehow I plan to fit a coaling tower and or coal bin in there somewhere as well.