Revelstoke

Revelstoke was centrally located on the layout. It was also the lowest

location, next to Arrowhead on the shore of Upper Arrow Lake.

Revelstoke consisted of the station with two station tracks to

accommodate passenger trains and a through freight track. Ample

track was provided in the adjacent yard to accommodate reforming

of consists. To assist in yard operations, the yard had a ladder and tail

track at each end.

To facilitate turning, servicing and storage of helper locomotive the

yard had a servicing facility at the west end, which included a 6-stall

roundhouse, ash pit, coal tower and watering stations. Notable were

the oil tanks near the roundhouse, which provided crude oil for the

oil-burning locomotives, which were operated between Field and

Kamloops to reduce smoke in the tunnels.

Industry was kept to a minimum, consisting of an icehouse at the east

end of the yard to replenishing reefers carrying fruit from southern

British Columbia, in particular, the Okanagan Valley, which is still

today major fruit producing region.

West of Revelstoke

To the west of Revelstoke were the towns of Clanwilliam and Taft. As

was actually the case, on the layout Clanwilliam was just east of the

summit of Eagle Pass and Taft on the western slope, the high point on

the layout being reached at the bridge over the Arrowhead branch,

just east of Taft.

Clanwilliam was modelled as a mining town with station and, to the

west of the yard, the mine. Clanwilliam had a modest passing

capability, as the passing siding was relatively short.

Taft consisted of a station and a substantial passing siding.

Beyond Taft (the end of scenery) the track passed through a

washroom to emerge in the workroom at Kamloops, a marshalling

yard with a loop for reversing trains and ample track for staging and

storage.

East of Revelstoke

To the east of Revelstoke, was a significant climb up the

lower Illecillewaet Valley through Albert Canyon and

Glacier to Rogers Pass and the west portal of the Connaught Tunnel.

On the layout, the Illecillewaet Valley was divided into lower and

upper stages, demarcated by arrival at Albert Canyon. From Albert

Canyon the upper Illecillewaet Valley doubled back on the upper level

of the layout with Glacier above Revelstoke and Rogers Pass and the

west portal of the Connaught Tunnel on the upper level above and

between Revelstoke and Clanwilliam.

Albert Canyon consisted of a yard, a substantial passing siding,

station, another siding with loading platform on the north side of the

yard, along with  a few houses and a mine. Although the mine at

Albert Canyon was actually located 5 miles north of the town, on

John’s layout it was located at the western end of the yard.

The Upper Illecillewaet Valley was distinguished on the layout by the

presence of two snowsheds, one under repair. The paths of previous

avalanches could be see on the backdrop at several locations

including above the snowsheds. Near Glacier the track crossed over

Loop Creek flowing out of a mountain valley and the site of the

original, but gone in 1937, Loop curves and trestles.

Glacier consisted of a station, substantial passing siding, and storage

siding. The station looked much like the existing station except the

existing station is of log construction. The storage siding

accommodated storage of fuel oil tanks cars supplying fuel oil to

drive the ventilation system of the nearby Connaught Tunnel.

Between Glacier and the tunnel, John painted on the backdrop a

spectacular view of the Illecillewaet Glacier, head waters of the

Illecillewaet River and site of the famous Glacier House, a resort and,

in the early days of the Canadian Pacific, a dinner stop. With the

construction of the Connaught Tunnel, opened in 1916, Glacier

replaced Glacier House as a station stop.

The west portal of the Connaught Tunnel on John's layout had on the

north side of the main line, a short storage track prototypical of the

time. The storage track was used to store one tank car supplying fuel

oil for the ventilation system. Although double tracked in 1937, John

chose to model the tunnel as single track. In November of 1958, the

tunnel was converted to single track to provide greater clearances for

oversized boxcars and tri-level auto transporter cars.

Beyond the west portal of the Connaught Tunnel at Rogers Pass in the

Selkirk Mountains (the end of scenery) the track passed through the

washroom to emerge in the workroom at Field, a marshalling yard, a

loop to reversing trains and ample track for staging and storage.

The Arrowhead Branch

Some license was taken in locating the Arrowhead Branch Line.

Instead of heading directly south from Revelstoke as it did, on the

layout it branched off at Clanwilliam. Arrowhead consisted of the

town, servicing yard, station, run around track, and adjacent boat

and barge dock with its own siding. Particularly unique was the two

track barge which could be loaded and then used to move rolling

stock “down the lake” to the workroom area where John had his work

bench and also storage tracks specifically designed to receive rolling

stock from the barge.

Industry was confined to a small fruit packing company. In latter

years the Okanagan Valley to the west has become a major fruit and

wine producing region of British Columbia.