Santa Fe, Raton Pass

Owner: John Denny

This layout represents the Santa Fe starting at Albuquerque, New Mexico and going over Raton Pass to Trinidad, Colorado. This location allows for a helper district over the pass running at prototype speed and time schedule. At the town of Hebron the Zia Mining Company operates a branch line connecting with the Santa Fe. The time period is 1949, during the steam to diesel transition.

Albuquerque requires a yardmaster and switching crew for the industries, Raton may have a yardmaster as required and Trinidad has a yardmaster that does his own industry switching. 12 trains are scheduled (6 in each direction) along with 6 way freights.

The ATSF consists of 550 Ft of mainline with three passing sidings and several industry sidings. At Lamy is the branch line to Santa Fe, NM with some industries and at Hebron is the connection with the Zia Mining RR.

Zia Mining Company is head quartered in Ute Park and is a freelanced post WWII located in northern New Mexico. Several railroads connected with the Santa Fe at Raton and South of Raton. Santa Fe had a branch line South of Raton that ran to Koehler and Ute Park. The Zia Mining RR is loosely based on this branch connecting with the ATSF at Hebron, NM.

Zia Mining consists of 140 Ft of main line. Ute Park Yard and Koehler Yard are the two communities served by the railroad and has sidings for three mines and three logging camps. Shays are the rule for trains headed for the log camps and mines. One 2-6-6-2 is use for the interchange with ATSF at Hebron; a 2-8-0 is used for a passenger train to Raton and a doodlebug for the miners special.

Zia Mining will accommodate up to 6 operators consisting of a Ute Park yardmaster/dispatcher, two mine trains, two logging trains, interchange train, miners special, passenger train to Raton.

Digitrax system with radio throttles for the train crews controls the layout. Car routing is by Car cards and waybills.