 East Local Leaving Zenith Yard |
The East Local serves industries that have trailing point spurs for eastbounds. It follows the whole main line, with most of its work at Loma Linda, Woollett, and West Zenith.
Most eastbounds leave Zenith in the opposite direction to this train, looping back around the city and heading East over the Zenith Connector, but because today's
East Local is short and there's layover power blocking the Zenith Connector, the train has been
made up on the Number 2 main. We see it getting under way here.
 East Local Leaving Zenith |
The cars in the train are an empty PRR box for American Tool and Die in Woollett;
a loaded City of Prineville box with lumber for the West Zenith team track;
a PC flat loaded with a transformer, also for the West Zenith team track;
and an empty BN wood chip gon for the wood chip loader at Loma Linda.
 East Local at CP Drains |
CP Drains, near the low point of the LF&NW main line, is named for Drains on the Gorre and Daphetid,
also the low point of that line. It's at the end of a long controlled siding that extends
eastward from Zenith.
 East Local at Tunnel 6 |
Just east of CP Drains, the East Local enters the 843 foot Tunnel 6.
 East Local at Bridge 25A |
After Drains and Tunnel 6, there's a steady eastbound grade all the way to Tennessee Pass. The local here has passed the junction at Crucero and is crossing Bridge 25A, built on a 30 inch curve and a 1.5 percent grade. Immediately to the right of this bridge is the portal for the 646 foot Tunnel 4.
The scene here was inspired by trestles on former SP lines in Arizona, as well
as by Scotia Bluffs on the Northwestern Pacific.
 East Local's consist at Bridge 25A |
The East Local's consist is stretched out here over Bridge 25A.
I kitbashed the trestle from two incomplete Campbell kits I found at a swap meet, augmented by SP prototype plans.
The City of Prineville box car is a stand-in. Despite all that's been written about IPD box cars,
I don't know of any good, quick reference for spotting features and who had what. The Equipment Register says
the COP cars like this had staggered doors. This is an Athearn that I got at a swap meet; you can't
see it well, but the previous owner did a very nice weathering job, and I liked the opening doors
that you can put a Chooch box car lumber load
in.
I added cushion coupler pockets and better detail to the underframe.
 East Local at East Portal, Tunnel 4 |
The east end of Tunnel 4 opens into the valley where the small logging town of Loma Linda is located. Scenery work here is still in progress.
The large redwood stumps in the foreground, waiting for more complete ground cover,
are from Rusty Stumps.
 East Local Working Wood Chip Loader |
The power for the local is pulling the loaded UP wood chip car from the wood chip loader before dropping the empty BN wood chip gon for loading.
The sawmill here receives loaded log cars that travel via the LF&NW from other Western points.
The trestle, by the way, is the Walthers plastic kit. I have several scratch and kit-built wood trestles on the layout; it's very difficult to tell the difference from the Walthers after some careful paint work.
