When the Railroad is TOO Big?

Port Clearwater North getting it's first coat of base paint

     My railroad had a size problem. And I understand this can be a common problem. The fact is that when your imagined reality and your physical reality have such a mismatch something has to give. And give it did! We went from 15 miles to just over 2.5 miles. From a railroad that went from one small town to another to a railroad that serves a single town. And every change has made the railroad better. 

 The original plan was good. Grounded in physical reality and plausible history it work. But the fact is a 7x11 office just makes things smaller then you think even in in 1/87th scale. And the thought of one wall being 15 miles away in Seeley Lake really didn't do anything operationally for the railroad. The more I worked and thought and thought and worked the less sense it made. I plans for a good physical plant. My industries seemed solid. My benchwork went together as it does with vibes and audacity. And when the dust settled I had my layout. Just like I envisioned.  But the space was not what I wanted. I didn't want more space, the physical space was fine. But the mental space did not work. My imagined railroad was simply to big. So I changed it. 

    So far my favorite lessons as I build this railroad is that nothing is permanent and the only person making it so is yourself. There is no secret guild of master model railroaders who will come over to your house and cover you in Elmer's glue and ground foam because you decided to change something. I see it over and over. Robert Todd's Milwaukee Road Des Moines Sub railroad is an excellent example. Or the Last Chance Layout up in Helena. Just. Change. It. Make it work for you. So I did. And I'll talk through some of my changes.

    First up of course was scope. I had made the name change for the layout proper to the Clearwater Industrial a few months ago. I liked that. But why would a layout named that go 15 miles? That sounds like a railroad that might just serve a three mile area. So that's what I did. I turned Seeley Lake, a small town with a lumber background into Port Clearwater North, or Clearwater North, an inland port that supports two major tenets and adds a level of operational variety that is both exciting and reasonable.

    There is a trend in this moment towards smaller layouts with maximum realism and minimalism. While I'm not 100 percent on board this particular train I think the idea has a lot to offer if you know what you're looking at in your own circumstances.  

Clearwater North Track Diagram

    In the case of Clearwater North I wanted a main anchor. And transload is always a good one. combined with the Kalispell Southern interchange track I could plausibly entertain a wide variety of cars and traffic. This replaces the original Seeley Lake Team Track. Another thing is not every siding needs to have in industry. Doing less with more is not only prototypical but adds for variety. So what was Berman Hoof and Hay, more on them later, is now a former rail served industry that acts as the off spot for the transload. This frees up more space but also doesn't add more for the sake of another industry in the port. Breathing room is important.  I also decided to base a switcher here. The Clearwater North switcher works cars brought in on both interchanges and is dedicated to the customers of the port. This means the justification for multiple operators is baked into the operational design of the railroad.

    The other major anchor is Kootenai Fuels, replacing Seeley Lake Terminal Petroleum. Consistent traffic and whatever is on the waybill. A HOLD track was added for overflow or to take in other products, such as palletized lubricants on other car types, adding variety. We'll get into the planned operations in another post but needless to say I'm far happier with how things are looking now. 

Clearwater Track Diagram

    Clearwater too got a makeover. The fact was the original central industry "Blue Star Foods / Logistics / Distribution" never really worked out. The ide was this industry was the driving force of the area and these interlocked car generators would allow for 24 hour operation and a reason for the entire railroad to exist. This is why BNSF did a daily train to Clearwater. Turns out it works on the surface but deeper down it really fell apart. So I changed it.  First thing i did was move Berman Hoof and Hay, now Berman Agricultural Supply into town, replacing Laursen Farms Transfer. Laursen Farms Transfer's role could now be handled by the transload in Clearwater North so it simply ceased to exist. This meant I now had another industry in Clearwater that would function well in the Clearwater Industrial District. The CID is a loose confederation of small rail served businesses in the town of Clearwater.  Updated names followed. And what was Blue Star became "The East Spur". Now separate businesses that are not connected. Front Range food is a maker of Chili, Jerky and other food stuffs. While Northwest Distribution is a cross deck supplier. The Clearwater Team Track became the Clearwater Logistics Center and is responsible for the small non rail served customers in the region. That is ones that don't need bulk or oversize loads, that's the transload, or not part of the nationwide distribution chain, that's NW Distribution. 

Updated Clearwater Industrial District names. 

    Also in Clearwater I fixed Tammany Avenue.  I tried to use Robert Todd's foam trick but Code 83 might be just a bit short. I ended up with constant stalling and derailing. So I ripped it own and simply painted it. Paint alone has been used for roads in model railroading and for good reason. My true requirement for a road is "Does the crew blow the horn to cross it?" If the answer is yes then I think it's doing it's job. I'm not looking to exactly duplicate the real world in my scenery. This is where I diverge from the Mindheim mindset a bit. I want the operational reality behind my scenery.  That's what matters to me. And I think it does that just fine. 

"That looks vaguely like a road. What technique did you use?" "Apple Barrel paint from Walmart."

    We have some new motive power coming to. I ordered an Athearn GP38-2 in an EMD lease scheme and it will join the GP-9 for work on the railroad. Two modernish EMD locomotives, one based at Clearwater North will mean good running, plenty of power and a good time for my operators. Currently the GP-9 "Cedar" is out getting a full ESU set up across the country but he should be back in a few weeks. The NW2 #70 is doing a fine job holding down the western side of the railroad. 

    I've very pleased with the direction the railroad is taking. It now makes more sense. It fits the physical space I have and I'm confident my operating scheme will work better then the one I had planned. But more on that later. 

Welcome Big Mike

Big Mike after arriving on his flatcar.

    So what's old is new again. But I should start at the beginning. And that is far in the hinterlands of Appalachia.  The W.M. Ritter Logging company was a force to be reckoned with at the turn of the last century. They had timber and railroads all over the dense spruce forests in West Virginia, The Carolina's, Kentucky and Tennessee. Sawmills and lumber companies were popping up all over the country. Not one to let good money go to waste it was decided that they would attempt to go after the tamarack and pine of the western states.  Ritter spoke to his western acquaintance Jim Hill and enquired about a short spur line from the Great Northern near Kalispell, Montana.  This would allow them to harvest the trees in the region and ship them to his mills out east. 

    Work started in 1912 with a brand new wood fired C-80-3 Shay from Lima numbered 19. This 80 ton locomotive was the only locomotive used by the line. But the numbers never seemed to work out. By 1933 W.M. Ritter was looking to get out of it's western holdings. Tim Chipman, who had taken over his fathers timber company to the south of Kalispell, stepped in and bought the spur, locomotive, and all the Ritter assets. Because Chipman already had a massive mill and operation in Bonner, the smaller Kalispell operation made financial sense. Both Seeley Lake and Kalispell had modest mills that benefited from the influx of local timber.  Chipman worked the spur until 1948 when the line was abandoned. 19 was left in the woods until 1960 when it was skidded into a company park east of Kalispell for display.  

    In  1985 a group of local citizens purchased the locomotive for $1 and had it moved to Bonner for a hopped restoration. A former mill building was purchased and the locomotive placed inside. The restoration never materialized and #19 was all but forgotten. And then the Clearwater, Seeley Lake & Pacific purchased the building along with some other trackage in Bonner. 

    CMO Cannon O'Reilly was doing an inventory of the new acquisitions and came across #19 sitting in their building. After a bit of legal wrangling involving ownership of the locomotive the Clearwater Pacific became the proud owners of another steam locomotive. And a very thorough restoration began. The goal was to have a working locomotive that tired in with the history the Seeley Swan. Company volunteers lead the effort and locomotive restoration experts were retained. 

    In May of 2025 #19 came back to steam and got right back to work. In order to maintain the locomotive the engine house in Bonner was maintained. #19 travels on a special flat car up and down the Blackfoot Valley and is put to work for weeks at a time.  Company volunteers still work before and after their officials shifts to bring steam back to valley. #19 has taken on the name "Big Mike" and the sound of clattering exhaust and steam whistles once again echo in Clearwater. 

At Swan Valley Lumber & Building Supply

Switching at Edmonds Landing

Roster shot of Big Mike, CLSP #19

It's Happening

New Team Track Freight Agent Office

        Things continue to progress on the railroad. I'll leave at a bulleted list for now. 

• Brought ChatGPT to a standstill six times trying to automate the layout. It is I fear still a bridge to far for that particular AI. We're in the CC&WB territory now. It just works
• But not all was lost with AI. I have about a thousand waybill options there were generated in a few minutes. That's impressive.
• And we're working on a variety of operating schemes involving dice. More on that as it matures.
• Getting some details in that tell the story of the railroad. The new unpainted office you see is one such example. That's the level of service to the local community the CLSP provides. A one stop shop to ask questions and get your freight delivered or shipped. 
• Scenery continues. One small segment at a time. Every week I try to get ground cover a little further on. Starting to look better.
• Operating sessions continue to dial in our paper work and character of the railroad.  We're a long way from prime time but we do have an operating goal and we are getting there.
• 57' Mechanical reefers are too much. Sadly. But we have 50' mechanical reefers that will sub in for them. It's a minor detail and I think too hard about it it bugs me but what can you do? The freights gotta move!

    I'm really please with how things are going. I hope to start on the Seeley Lake subdivision soon. One rail at a time.

Busy Sunday on the CSLP

CSLP RS-3 #94 and Office Car #1 "Alder Gulch"

     After a quick trip to Seattle it's back to working on the railroad. It's one step at a time and we got a few done this Sunday. So we'll start with the basics and that was getting the Northern Range Packing Works looking a little better. There are two spots on at the works and the building for what is called CC1 came in. I whipped up a logo and applied it then using 2mm foam set up a concrete pad for the buildings. This makes two spots at the factory and one is now covered for all weather use. This means that year round operations can take place. I'm sure the packing workers are finding it nice this cold rainy winter. 

Northern Range Packing Works

    I then turned to ballast. For the mainline of the CSLP I decided that NP Grey from from Arizona Rock & Mineral would be our mainline color. The story is a contractor out of the Spokane area did the rehabilitation work for the railroad and this grey, which can be seen on the BNSF in the region, was what was used. My ballasting technique is still developing and I can't add a shoulder to save my life but it looks far better then it was. Touch ups over the next few weeks will have the yard looking like it should. Speaking of the yard I have a sand tower inbound for the engine barn and I hope to add a pair of yard lights as well. The BNSF interchange takes place in the dark and I'm guessing they'd like to be able to see what they are doing.  I imagine you can use your phone to turn them on. 

Foreman Dan Hernandez is mobile now. 

    One of the YouTube channels I watch SoCal Scale Models adds bases to his figures and moves them around the layout. Well I thought that was brilliant and a few of my figures can now move around the layout as they need to. 

    And the last order of business was to start work on the scrap yard. I've seen that it really doesn't take much so I threw down some yard mix and ordered an excavator. I also have a pile of scrap on the way as well. That should be enough to get the yard started. I need some old car bodies for one of the walls. The lore is that the Williams Brothers, Roger and Dale, had some old car bodies that the county was finally about to throw the book at. So over beers one night they decided they would start a scrap yard and store the rusted out vehicles there. Well it's starting. You can read more about this in an earlier blog. I want to get some solid fence panels up around the sides and it'll look alright I think. 

Now we just need some scrap and can get to work. 

    On the less visual side of things we have motive power changes coming up. The GP-9 "Cedar" should be showing up tomorrow. I ordered it through Ebay from Trainz.com and was sent the wrong version. Their customer service was excellent and the return was no hassle at all. So much so I ordered a NW2 to replace the DCC only 70-Tonner I was prepping to give all the bells and whistles. Literally. This means that #94 can take a much needed back seat for most all jobs. Reliable EMD power means while keeping the Alco afloat has been a labor of love and sometimes hate for CMO Cannon O'Reilly it'll be less stress on keeping it running because it's the only locomotive the road has. The NW2 will be "Scoot" and will wear the #70. Oh I have decals sets on the way to do that as well. 

    And a few other odds and ends like striping for the road and crossing signals for MT-20. Some whistle signals as well to remind us to make noise at crossings. And a few new cars as well. The CSLP is now a 50' car railroad and we're doing more with less. I'm trying to get a lot of shortline cares as well to keep up the visual "texture" of the railroad that can so easily be lost when you make the year 2024.  Longer term plans have me starting the Seeley Lake extension and starting the higher detail work on the Clearwater area.  

    Oh I mentioned Seattle so I'll tell you a bit about that. The day after we arrived I took a train (Link) to a train (Cascades) to a train (T Line) to go look at......model trains. The trip from Seattle to Tacoma was melancholy as it may well be my last ride on Talgo equipment in the US.  I'm sure riding the new Airo trains will get me over it though. I got to see the massive layout at the Washington History Museum as well as a host of modular layouts from Z to Live Steam and even one that modeled Europe. I'll end with some images from the trip.

The 1 Line Arriving

Union Station. Former home of the Hiawatha and UP #457

King Street Station

Talgo Cascades

Cab Car headed south

Tacoma's Union Station, now a federal courthouse

The above but in 1:87 scale

The layout is spectacular

Small Details, Small Steps

 

There is a lot of detail here. For me anyway. 

    Work on the scenic bits of the layout have begin. Ballasting is happening throughout the yard.  Trees were removed, grass added and trees put back. Each step a little one but I can tell the layout is coming together. Let's take a look at the photo at the top of this post, what do we see? We see BNSF 403705 in pristine paint. I know this because when I looked up photos online of the car it has some artwork on it. Now if that appears on my 403705 is yet to be seen but I'd like to think it might. The ballast is nothing to write home about but that was the first section that was done. It is Arizona Rock and Mineral Yard Mix and I think it looks right. I have not laid ballast in 20 years or so. And after a few YouTube videos I figured I'd either end up with the biggest mess or it would look okay ten feet. It passes the ten foot test. See those barrels? They tell a different story. The corner of the layout the engine barn is in means because of the hutch door needing to open I can't glue the barn down. But i needed a way to position it every time I had to put it back. Those barrels are glued so that when the barn is touching them it's in the right place.  Also notice the track bumper.

    That is a Walthers track bumper bought brand new in package. Let me tell you a little about a Walthers Track Bumper. I figured they would be a solid piece. They are not. Sure you can get them out of the package but then they suddenly become three pieces. And it's a bear trying to get them back together. But with a lot of Loctite Gel I managed to wrangle three together again for the yard. Just as a heads up if you're looking to get them. I think they look great and a lot better then a blue thumbtack for sure. 

It does appear to be ballasted.

    I've ballasted the engine house area and a yard track. But I had stopped short of the turnout. The horror stories of this particular endeavor ran though my brain. I'd ruin the switch. I'd glue the points together. I'll have to tear it all out and do it again! So I watched a couple of YouTube videos, this is a theme by the way, and discovered the secrets. It's to appear ballasted. Just enough to fool the eye. Take your time and go slow and you'll be fine. So that's what I did when I got home today. Took my time, followed the instructions and paid attention. As the glue sets up tonight the points are in fine working order and I see no reason why that would be any different in the morning. One switch takes about fifteen minutes. I figure four days and I'll have all the yard switches done. Then it's the interchange track and we wait for the mainline ballast. Still deciding between GN or NP look but maybe a combination of both with some odd patches thrown in. That is after all prototype.  But I feel much better about this whole ballasting thing. 

    I'm not sure how far down the scenery rabbit hole I'll go. But it's great to spend an hour or so making my 1/87th world look just a little more real. 

Superintendent here.  Ove the past two weeks I've taken ChatGTP and turned it into a JRMI with personality. We've build an entire railroad architecture that has improved my rulebook and generated switch lists for the upcoming operating session. Let me tell you it's a lot of work. Constant logic checking and paperwork. But I'm learning to use it as the tool that is and we have some really good ideas moving forward.  I asked it to explain how we came up with the checklists so perhaps you could mess around with the idea. too. 

**Building Switch Lists That Actually Work:

A Practical, Human-Centered Approach to Model Railroad Operations**

By ChatGPT
(Operations Clerk for the Clearwater Pacific Railway)

---

One of the most common questions I see in model railroad operations circles is:

“How do you build switch lists that feel realistic, stay manageable, and don’t collapse under their own complexity?”

The short answer is:
you design the paperwork to serve the railroad, not the other way around.

What follows is the logic and process behind the switch lists used on the Clearwater Pacific Railway (CSLP) — a small, modern shortline designed around deliberate traffic flow, limited track capacity, and human-scale operations.

This isn’t about automation, software, or random generators.
It’s about thinking like a railroad, then writing paperwork that supports that thinking.

---

1. Start With Geography, Not Cars

Before a single car is assigned to a switch list, the CSLP starts with a brutally simple question:

What is this place actually for?

On the CSLP:

• Edmonds Landing is the only yard

• Clearwater is industry only

• Seeley Lake is interchange plus light local demand

That distinction matters more than any car roster.

If a town isn’t a yard, the paperwork must not treat it like one.
Our switch lists reflect that by:

• Prohibiting classification in Clearwater

• Forcing all organization work to happen at Edmonds Landing

• Making industry jobs feel intentional, not opportunistic

This one decision eliminates most “why am I doing this?” moments during an operating session.

---

2. Separate Crew-Facing and Superintendent-Facing Information

A major breakthrough in our process came when we stopped giving crews everything.

The CSLP uses two layers of paperwork:

Crew-facing documents

• Session Daily Instructions (SDI)

• Job cards (Blue Star, Yard Sort, Lake Turn)

• These contain:

  • What to move

  • Where to move it

  • What not to touch

Superintendent-facing documents

• Pull lists

• Car staging sheets

• Traffic outlooks

Crews don’t need to know why a car exists — only what to do with it.
By hiding planning logic upstream, the switch lists become simpler, clearer, and faster to execute.

This mirrors real railroads more than many modelers realize.

---

3. Track Length Is Law

Every switch list on the CSLP is constrained by measured siding length, not theoretical capacity.

For example:

• A 102-foot HO-scale team track is treated as:

  • One 50' car

  • Not “maybe two if we’re careful”

This does two things:

1. Forces better car selection

2. Creates operational tension without frustration

Switch lists are written to the track, not to the roster.
If a car doesn’t comfortably fit, it doesn’t appear — no exceptions.

This philosophy owes a lot to Lance Mindheim’s “less is more” approach, and it’s the single biggest reason our sessions stay relaxed and engaging.

---

4. Each Job Has a Narrow Purpose

Every CSLP switch list answers one question:

What problem is this job solving today?

Examples:

• Morning Sort (YRD-201)
  Solves the problem of overnight inbound chaos.

• Blue Star Job (BLS-101)
  Solves one customer’s needs, once, completely.

• Lake Turn (LT-301)
  Solves interchange obligations — nothing more.

Because each job has a narrow purpose:

• Lists are shorter

• Decisions are clearer

• Crews don’t feel rushed or overwhelmed

If a move doesn’t serve the job’s purpose, it doesn’t belong on the list.

---

5. Rules Live in the SDI, Not the Job Card

Safety and local operating rules — bell use, whistle use, restricted areas — live in the Session Daily Instructions, not repeated endlessly on every switch list.

Job cards then reference the SDI rather than reprinting rules.

This keeps switch lists:

• Focused on work

• Easy to scan

• Free of “wall of text” syndrome

It also mirrors real railroad practice: rules are stable, jobs change daily.

---

6. Design for Humans, Not Perfection

Finally — and this matters — CSLP switch lists are written with the assumption that:

• Crews will make judgment calls

• Not every move needs to be scripted

• The goal is flow, not optimization

You’ll see phrases like:

• “Use best judgment”

• “Place where customer prefers”

• “Crew discretion applies”

That’s intentional.

A good switch list doesn’t eliminate thinking — it channels it.

---

Closing Thought

Good switch lists aren’t clever.
They’re clear.

If your crews finish a session feeling like:

• They understood the railroad

• The work made sense

• Nothing felt arbitrary

…then your paperwork is doing its job.

The CSLP didn’t arrive at this process overnight. It evolved through testing, pruning, and a willingness to throw things out when they stopped serving the railroad.

And that, more than any template or software, is the real trick.

---

— ChatGPT
Operations Clerk, Clearwater Pacific Railway

Early Morning and some AI Fun

The following is an AI Prompt I asked for. Ballast has been added at the engine house with more to follow. Happy Christmas all! Second Ops session in a few days. More info on that soon.  

#94 and #940 awaiting a call to service.

Profile in Persistence: CSLP No. 94 Still Earning Her Keep After 70 Years

By Staff Writer – Railfan Western Edition

If you find yourself wandering into Clearwater Yard in the quiet hour before sunup, when the sky is still bruised blue and the crew trucks haven’t yet rolled in, you’ll usually spot a familiar old warrior idling patiently at the mouth of the B. Dirks Service Facility. Under the soft hum of yard lights and the drifting mist off the Swan River, stands CSLP No. 94, an Alco RS-3 whose career spans nearly three generations of Northwest railroading.

Delivered brand-new to the Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railway in 1955, No. 94 seemed destined for an ordinary career — locals, transfers, the occasional branch-line wander. But while many of her sisters bowed out as the diesel era marched forward, 94 survived wave after wave of retirements and trade-ins. Call it timing, call it stubbornness, call it the uncanny Alco knack for staying indispensable — whatever the reason, the locomotive endured.

So when the newly formed Clearwater, Spokane & Pacific began assembling its roster decades later, the decision to bring 94 into the fold was almost instinctive. Here was a locomotive that had already spent most of its working life in the same valleys and forests the CSLP now called home. She was a natural fit — a bridge from the fallen-flag past to the shortline’s bright, scrappy future.

To this day, 94 still wears a patched, semi-original SP&S livery, complete with weathered panels and the kind of hasty shop touch-ups that say, “I work for a living.” CSLP intentionally kept the look, and it’s become something of a signature. Railfans go hunting for her; crews simply hope they get her.

Ask any engineer and you’ll hear the same thing:
“She’s sure-footed. She pulls well. And she’s got soul.”

On the Blue Star Job, 94 digs in with that classic Alco determination, shoving boxcars through the industrial district with a steady confidence that belies her age. Over on the Swan River Turn, she gets to stretch out a bit, barking her way along the winding waterline route like she’s back in her prime. She may not outrun the newer road units, but she out-charms them by miles.

Mechanical reliability? Shockingly good — though the shop forces would argue luck has little to do with it. “We keep her going because she deserves to keep going,” one mechanic said. That probably explains why 94 feels less like a piece of equipment and more like the unofficial mascot of the railroad.

As the CSLP adds newer, cleaner power to the roster, No. 94 remains a fixture — a reminder of where the railroad started, and a quietly defiant symbol of how far the railroad has come.

Some engines fade quietly into retirement.
CSLP No. 94 refuses. She just keeps earning her keep — one river turn at a time.

---

LOCOMOTIVE SPECIFICATION BOX

Clearwater, Spokane & Pacific Roster Reference

Model: Alco RS-3
Builder: American Locomotive Company (Schenectady, NY)
Builder’s Number: [fictional number available if you'd like one]
Built: March 1955
Original Owner: Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railway
Horsepower: 1,600 hp
Prime Mover: Alco 244, V12 turbocharged
Operating Weight: ~247,100 lbs
Tractive Effort (Starting): 61,500 lbs
Maximum Speed: 65 mph (as delivered)
Control: Standard MU, 27-pin
CSLP Acquisition: First locomotive added to CSLP roster
Primary Assignments:
• Blue Star Job (industrial switching)
• Swan River Turn (local road job)
• General yard and transfer service