John Hansen has been working on his layout for several years, and he sent this information with the photos:

Premise: Being an investigation into and a justification of the rationale behind the planning, construction, and operation of the Rio Grande Southern Railroad. (It’s my layout and I’ll do as I like with it.)

The southwestern portion of Colorado is not extremely well populated. I wanted my layout to reflect that. I also wanted the opportunity of small tableaus, separated by not much of anything. The availability of a good deal of space lent itself to this notion. Also, it seemed to me, this method of design would allow me to concentrate on one area at a time, if I so desired, with the knowledge that as I went along, little ideas would come to mind which could be added. Anywhere.

The height (56") was an attempt to gain verisimilitude by obtaining a more direct sideways view of the con-struction. Also, it is my hope that there will be enough to hold the eye, so as to downplay the part of the layout on the other side. I am not comfortable with back-drops. In this case they would be too close to the ob-server, I think, and besides, I can’t draw. Did I note the structure is high enough to work on comfortably from the underside?

I attempted to simplify power and operations by (1) ensuring that each length of rail has two wired con-nections, (2) designing the track plan so that most turnouts are usually entered from the frog, not the point, and (3) most of them don’t operate anyway. Yet.

While I have attempted to duplicate certain areas on the RGS, such as the Ridgway engine yard, Brown, Placer-ville, etc., any similarity of the actual layout to the design (or vice versa) is purely a case of nature imitating art.

Specific questions will be answered upon request in writing (or verbally, if this is more convenient.)

The Ridgway Terminal

Ridgeway from another angle

P.S. I am aware of my shortcomings in the literary field. So, if I can expose my self in this fashion, surely there are others out there who can also. We look for-ward to any and all such submissions. Also, constructive criticism is appreciated. But, we may publish the other kind too.

Ridgeway sandhouse

Crane next to the Ridgeway turntable

The RGS crossed many small streams

The creek crossing from the opposite side

Cattlepens at Placerville

Scene at Brown

The other end of Brown