Black Hills Railroad

Black Hills Central #110.  Keystone, SD.  James Willmus, 2012 The Chicago Burlington and Quincy Railroad built a rail line through the heart of the Black Hills known as the "High Line". The branch, which would one day become the George S Mickelson Trail had steep grades and sharp curves, but at the turn of the Twentieth Century there was a need to haul freight on the line to and from Deadwood. Large, solid frame engines couldn't make the turns and big drivers wouldn't do well on the grades, so a new engine was needed for the fleet. Fortunately, other railroads had the solution, articulated locomotives. Instead of one long set of driving wheels, the drivers were divided into two sets of bogies with their own separate valve systems. The most common arrangement of articulated locomotives was the compound mallet. This type of engine used the steam twice with high-pressure cylinders in the back and low pressure cylinders in the front. While traveling between the dri

Time for another round of updates! Today I focused on building the terrain that would be above grade, i.e. the hillside next to the tracks.  To do this, I decided the quickest way was with expanding foam.  The stuff is flexible, carvable, and can be stiffened with layers of paint and fill material. This hill does not support much weight, and so it doesn't have to be structural in any way.  Being flexible means this hill can be bumped around (such as when traveling) and still maintain it's shape.  By contrast, insulation board has a tendency to dent when struck by something.  The insulation boards redeeming quality, however, is it's stiff and can hold weight. The modules are 18 inches wide, and the main line will be recessed 6" from the downhill (North) side of the module, leaving 12 inches for the yard tracks and for the hillside.  The hill, once carved down, will take up about 5 inches of  space on the module.  This leaves about 7 inches of space for three tracks.

In the first post of 2018, I have a New Year's Resolution.  Let's see if I can fulfill it.  In the past, I've built railroads in bursts of high energy, followed by months of burnout.  Were there results?  Yes, but those results were small, mixed, and most of my hobby time was spent running in circles (literally and figuratively). This year, I hope my modeling skills makes a turn for the better by actually accomplishing something I've sorely missed since high school, building an operating model railroad.  If there's one word of advice I would dole out to hobbyists of all ages and experiences, it's this: don't do what I've done in the past, it's no way to build a model railroad.  The best way to build a railroad, if there is a "best" method, is to build in small, steady steps.  You can do it everyday if you want, or once a week, maybe even once a month.  But the idea is to tackle one small project at a time and slowly build your railroad pi

The basic construction of the module is now complete.  All that's left to do is sand down the edges and make sure the end plates are as square as possible. The next step will be to lay track, wire the track, and build scenery around it.  Here are a couple of photographs of my progress: James Willmus James Willmus The sides are 1/8" hardboard, making a smooth fascia.  I'm cutting the fascia first and will then use that as a foam cutting guide for the terrain.  Already I had to make an accuracy compromise.  Since the modules are meant to be operated from the South side (these views are from the Northwest side) I had to cut the hill down slightly so the view of the trains aren't completely blocked. Thanks! --James

I've shelved the two display modules for a later date.  Their structures aren't quite as sturdy as I had hoped, although they will be great platforms in the future.  Instead, I have jumped ahead to creating a train layout using modules.  My first project is going to be the town of Mystic. Photo by Otto Perry of Rapid City Black Hills and Western Engine #55 at the town of  Mystic.  Photo can be found at Denver Public Library Digital Collections Mystic was a small town that can fit, almost foot by foot, in 12 feet using HO (1:87) scale. Module 1 will start at the furthest western track of the RCBHW at the West end of Mystic (background in the photo above).  This module will include the 65 foot turntable, the 3 track yard ladder, and a couple of outbuildings as well as the terrain.  When operating, the "front" side of the modules will be the South side of the track. Judging by the photos, code 55 or code 70 rail will be used to represent track.  Except for turn

The Crouch Line, one of the crookedest railroads in the world and one of the longest lived short lines in the Black Hills.  Over 120 bridges were built in the 34 miles of mainline with turns so sharp some of the rails had to be custom bent to fit in the canyon. There were several towns along the mainline and this post will provide an overview of the towns, and railroad facilities at each town. Rapid City (mp 0): Rapid City is the largest town west of the Missouri River in South Dakota.  It was the western terminus for the Chicago Northwestern and the Milwaukee Road (although branch lines continued west of Rapid City for both railroads).  The Crouch Line's eastern terminus was Rapid City and the railroad used the shared locomotive facilities with the CNW. The tracks diverged from the CNW mainline and ran parallel to Jackson Blvd. running in a Southwestern direction towards the mouth of Dark Canyon where Rapid Creek spills into the floodplain of Rapid Valley. Hisega (mp 14)

Presented by Rick Mills during Railroad Days 2017 at the Historic Prairie Village, this lecture covered many topics about the history of railroads in South Dakota.  This Youtube video is an edited, shorter version of that lecture. As the director of the South Dakota State Railroad Museum, Rick Mills has the task of educating people about South Dakota's railroad history. One form that education takes is through lectures, talks, and presentations at various events around the state.  If you are in the area, stop by the South Dakota State Railroad Museum for more information about railroad history.  Also don't forget to look up the museum's website for hours and dates of operations, upcoming events, new exhibits, and much more! James Willmus