Details of the PSMRE Layout

In this section we present details, statistics and status of the PSMRE layout. Construction started in 1996. By 1999 most of the track and wiring was complete enough to operate trains, but scenery was still a work in progress. As 2001 rolled by, much of the scenery was complete and museum visitors were enjoying the skill and labors of our fine model craftsmen. Currently the layout has matured to the point of being considered finished. While there are still projects underway, including scenery details, a few buildings left to be constructed and ongoing electrical projects, the layout is fully functional and to most visitors appears to be finished work of art. In fact our focus has shifted from "build and operate" to "operate and maintain". You may enjoy looking at pictures of some of the work in progress over the years, and just below is a diagram of the track plan.

Track Plan

Here is a track plan, which is scanned from our brochure. You can click on the picture below to get a bigger version which is a little clearer. For the advanced reader, print out a copy or open a second window in your browser, so you can refer to the diagram during the following description!

It went which way?

Many railroads tended to designate their tracks as east or west bound. The idea was to make things easier for employees, since the actual tracks often wind around enough that a given track might go in any direction at a given point! By giving tracks an official designation, much like the highway system, everyone knows what track heads what direction and by tradition, railroads often used east / west! So if you think your local interstate highway has confusing names, consider that in our area, "west" generally meant north by the compass. So "east" means south. A train called Extra 155 West could be heading from Portland to Seattle, almost due north. Confused? So are we sometimes! This mnemonic might help: we're based in the Pacific Northwest, so North is West. Like the railroads themselves, traditions change and these days, BNSF, the railroad that operates the tracks we've modeled, uses north / south. Thus a train headed from Portland to Seattle is referred to as northbound. On our layout, we're stuck in the 1950's so the old east/west system remains.

Deciphering the track plan

Our visible southern or "eastern" end begins as trains exit the Asarco Tunnel (lower left in diagram), pass through Tacoma and continue up to Auburn (just above the double-doors on the diagram).

The general plan provides point-to-point operation, with four logical end points. (1) Portland and (2) Seattle are represented by the main staging yard, and are connected by the long double-track main that covers most of the layout's length. "Portland" is reached by a grade down from the tunnel at Asarco, and "Seattle" by continuing up the main line from Auburn. The wye at Auburn leads to the Stampede Pass line, which terminates in a (3) secondary staging yard representing Yakima (formerly Martin), which is visible in the plan at the lower left edge. There is also a Milwaukee depot just "north" of Head-of-Bay Yard, and tracks from here lead north and represent the (4) Milwaukee system. These tracks actually end up down in the main / lower staging yard as well. So, three of our four off-layout destinations end up in the lower main staging yard.

There are several major on-layout destinations for local sweepers, switching freights, locals from off-layout, or passenger traffic. These include the yards at Auburn and Head-of-Bay (Tacoma), the Milwaukee station house, Union Station, industrial areas at Tideflats and the industries south of Union Station, we refer to as Asarco. Local traffic can originate and terminate at either yard.

The track plan above is not very good at showing the layers of track. There is a helix at the right end, and a grade down at the left end, to the main staging yard beneath the rear section (below Auburn and the area to the left of Auburn). The right downgrade is entered just about at Asarco, where the main goes "south" into the Asarco tunnel. The right end (west) is more complicated; the wye at Auburn allows trains to go north (west) to Seattle staging via the helix, and the other leg of the wye goes to east (east, yes actually east) to Stampede Pass. The Stampede Pass track is on a higher level and after looping around the dispatch area, heads along the back wall all the way to the yard on the left end of the layout (currently called Martin).

A priority for our orginazation is the operation of trains during the times we are not operating the layout. This is of course is the vast majority of the time the layout is open to the public, since our operating sessions occur only once a month. For auto-train operation (that is, unattended display operation) there are return loops that keep the mainline trains from entering the staging yard. Trains heading to Portland reappear from Portland without ever reaching the grade down to staging, and similar for Seattle. We run five trains in the "auto loop" barring equipment problems.

This auto loop is a top priority, and represents our single most significant committent to the museum. We are very careful with any work that effects the mainline. Maintaining these locos and cars is key. We also have engineers on call during the week in case of problems. We're a museum exhibit, and we want to show the public working trains when possible. We are also quite proud of the auto-train operation, as this entails running five trains on the same track. A failure of one train will likely bring the system to grinding (and sometimes spectacular) halt.

Currently our method of control involves a system of detection blocks that trigger stop blocks (small sections of track) to turn on and off. This system uses Digitrax's LocoNet® as the communication network. A cycle is started when a museum visitor presses a button outside Union Station. This begins a series of steps that release and stop trains so that each train moves through a portion of the layout. Once all trains are stopped, the sequence can begin again.

A recent addition (2010) is an RDC (passenger rail diesel car) that travels the Stampede line. The RDC is controlled by a computer, triggered by events on the mainlines below. The RDC represents our initial foray into controlling the auto-trains on the mainlines by computer. It is planned that at some point passenger trains will enter Union Station to make their stops and freight trains will stay on the mainlines.

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Visit the Organizational Structure Page

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