Dave Loveless – Southern Pacific Coast Division Monterey Branch. aka R&D RR
Description
The Southern Pacific Coast Divions recreates railroading in the Monterrey area between 1940 and 1960. The mission is to create an environment and methodology, where a group of individuals with various skills, knowledge and experiences, can replicate the operating of a prototypical railroad. The focus is on:
- Entertainment
- Fellowship
- Education
The R&D railroad models the Southern Pacific Coast division in 1941 and is designed and built for operations. It resides in a purpose- built 24’ X 36’ building, with a double deck lift gate for easy egress. The railroad is double-decked, with the Southern Pacific Coast Division from Gilroy to Salinas on the lower deck and the Monterey Branch on the upper deck. The decks are connected by a single- track 5 level, custom built hidden helix that is equipped with sensors to indicate the location of a train.
The railroad has a 12 track staging yard. Each track is a through track, with the South representing East Salinas/King City/Los Angeles and the North end representing San Jose/ San Francisco /Roseville.
The layout currently has 100% of the track in place. 76 FastTrack turnouts have been built and installed. Scenery has just started but many scenes are mocked up with models and temporary structures.
The railroad is NCE DCC controlled with wireless throttles, and hand thrown turnouts. Dispatching is done using 1. Track Warrants via FRS radios or 2. TT/TO via telephones. Concise documentation of all train operations is provided to assist operators in stepping into a new job.
Scale: HO
Era: 1940-1960
Approximate Size: 805 square feet
Percent Complete Benchwork-100% Trackwork-100% Scenery-40% Signaling-100%
Location: Watsonville
Access: Raiseable Duck-under
Parking: Parking is available on the property (50-100 foot walk)
