Paisano Pass Module

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Module rationale

          As construction was nearing completion on the Marathon module, design of the next module began to reemerge.  Originally, the plan was to model a part of the Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV) with special emphasis on Donna, Texas where I spent my early childhood.  As work on the Marathon module progressed through the winter, there was less to do outdoors.  Consequently, I was learning and reading more and more about the line running through Marathon, Texas.  The Southern Pacific’s Southern Route was intriguing and eventually Paisano Pass made its presence known.  In comparing the project of modeling Donna, Texas and Paisano Pass, the amount of detail to be modeled was becoming an obstacle since my skills at modeling were still in the infant stages.  That was it; Paisano Pass was the path of least resistance and Donna, Texas will just have to wait.

Area description and history

          Paisano Pass is located about eight miles west of Alpine, Texas.  At 5,074 feet above sea level, this is the highest point on the Southern Pacific’s Southern Route between Los Angeles, California and New Orleans, Louisiana.  Going south near here at Paisano Junction, is the Texas Pacifico Transport (TPT) that goes south to Presidio, Texas, to connect with a line that used to go to Chihuahua, Mexico.  From Chihuahua the line goes through Copper Canyon to Los Mochas, Mexico, on the Pacific coast.   The TPT comes in from the north in Alpine, Texas and shares approximately eight miles of track before reaching the junction.

Personal connection with area

          The inspiration for building a model of this area was a double page photo on pages 21 and 22 in “History of the Southern Pacific”.  If the copyrighting were not an issue, this photo would be here.

Layout concept

          The photographs of Paisano Pass do not reveal too much to model.  One photograph shows a small trestle bridge with a dirt road running under it.  That was about it but there needed to be more on the module so that it had more character.  There is a gravel operation south of Cleburne, Texas, that would be put at the crest of the pass on the module.  Some poetic license was applied here so I could combine a unique point in a Texas line with a gravel operation to round out the module.  I wanted this module to have something unique like a grade.

          Module framing

The frame was constructed of 1 x 3 poplar stock with ¼” plywood deck.  A pair of 2x2 glue-blocks is at each corner for legs.  For some shows 48” legs have been used to get the Z-Mod 50” standard height and for more recent shows 6” legs have been used with the whole layout placed on 2-1/2’ x 6’ tables.  Although the higher layout setting shows off the model very well, the lower height appeals more to children and people in wheelchairs.  Above the deck is ¾” x ½” finishing strips.  The sub-roadbed is ¾” plywood.  I filled the remaining cavity with ¾” pink foam and some miscellaneous ¼” and ½” foam.

          This module was sanded, primed, sanded, primed again, sanded, painted brown, sanded and painted brown again.  This might seem excessive to some but I knew that if I did the extra work I would make the module as good as I could in the area of painting and it was something I knew I could do.  One benefit is that it looked better for the trouble.  The extra benefit is that the wood has very little exposure to humidity, which could be a source of warping, expanding and shrinking.  I have had no problems with any of my modules over the last several years even though I keep them in the garage.  My garage alternates from a dry oven one day, the next day a steam bath and the next day it is an icemaker.

Basic landscape

       The elevation rose ¾” in the middle of the inside main tracks to represent the crest of the pass.  To enhance the illusion of the pass, the mountains on either side sloped downward to the crest.  The outside main line track remained at level grade across the module.  A spur off the outside main track fell ¼” further enhancing the illusion.  The gravel pit operations are below the outside main to complete the illusion.

          With only 32 equivalent inches to work with meant that at a grade of 2 percent only about 5/8” elevation change up then back down was possible.  This was not much and would be difficult to perceive by a causal viewer.  Some gentle curves in the track and relaxing the 2 percent rule made it possible to increase the equivalent length.  The pass, with an elevation change of ¾” above and the gravel pit and spur were ¼” below the module line enhanced the illusion of large elevation change.  The elevation of the mountain tops on each end of the module were higher than the pass and sloped down to the middle of the module.

Central feature/structure

          Gravel operations includes a siding the uses a Peter Wright turnout driven by a Tortoise switch and a DCC decoder.  A gravel pit with digging equipment and storage/blending silos are also a part of this mini-scene.  Gravel trucks are present and today are the prevalent mode of transport.  I wrote an article about Peter Wright's Turnout and it was published in Ztrack magazine and is shown below:

Electrical

The electric wiring is composed of two mainline track DC/DCC buses and one DCC auxiliary bus.   Each bus has a two-circuit Molex connector with 0.093” pins/sockets.  The bus with red identifying tape is for the outside main and the bus with yellow identifying tape is for the inside main.  The green bus is DCC.  The bus is red/black lamp (zip) cord.  Twelve volt DC for lighting is supplied by a power pack that plugs into an AC power strip mounted on the underside of the module.  Adaptors have been made to mate up with the old Cinch-Jones connectors so that this module may be hooked up to modules having the CJ style connectors.