Welcome to the Santa Clarita Valley Railroad!!
Hello, welcome to the fictional Santa Clarita Valley Railroad! It's an active model railroad project that has been going on for a year now. It all started with the aquisition of my roundhouse 2-6-0 daylight #1601 back in May of 2011. When i ordered the engine online I knew I wanted to keep it apart from my main fleet of steam and diesel locomotives. This started the formation of a private railroad inside my model railroad. I deemed it The Santa Clarita Valley Railroad because I live in Santa Clarita, California. Soon after i aquired the 2-6-0, a second engine followed which i already had, a Southern 4-4-0 #3857. It's a bachmann spectrum model that i bought in 2009. Two weeks into having the engine and it's pcb wires broke! When I put it into the SCVR it still wasn't operational. About 2 months after the SCVR officially formed I built a small 2 stall shop to house SP #1601 and Sou #3857. It was placed in the middle of my 4X8 layout, it was soon connected to active rail. Before the shop was added the tracks that were there used to be a coach yard, it consisted of 4 tracks. After the shop was built only 2 tracks to the right housed coaches.
About a month after the new shop was built a 3rd engine was added to the fleet. A famous engine to my railroad being that it was my first engine that i ever owned! It's an IHC ATSF 2-6-0 #7809, it was part of the zenith limited set and it was the first engine I ever owned. Suprisingly it survived for 18 years going through 2 old layouts and now onto this new layout. I had the vision to make the 2-6-0 into an SP style 2-6-0. In January 2011 i aquired a vanderbilt tender to start it off, it was soon painted black to match the engine. A week after that a new pilot wheel assembly was built for 7809 because her old one broke many years ago. She now it 100% complete and still running as she has for 19 years! Once 7809 was added to the fleet I realized that yet another shop was needed to house more engines. It wasn't until march that a second shop was purchased and placed next to the first shop. It was smaller than I wanted but it was good enough. After this shop was added yet another engine was added to the fleet another old engine that I had for a qill, but this engine had more personal attachment to me. It's a Mantua 0-4-0 shifter, formerly ATSF 99. My dad had given me his collection of model trains that he had as a kid in 2007. When i got the engine it was in terrible shape! Missing its' smokebox door, cab, drawbar, valve guides, and boiler piping. To top it off the shifter was beat up really bad! Paint chips everywhere and everything was worn out. The first 2 years of the restoration were slow just disassembly work and tender work. In 2010 major work was finally completed when the boiler, frame, cylinders, and tender were all repainted. In 2011 i planned out all the work that was left and needed for the restoration. The tender frame got a screw stuck in it and the screw snaped it half. Entially I was going to drill out the screw but it never happened. A cab off an old Tyco clementine gave it the number 5. Throughout the year 2011 SCVR #5 just sat outside the shop awaiting work that would never come, until this year 2012. A parts supplier shifter was aquired and the rebuild was back under way after a nearly 2 year hiatus. The original running gear on #5 was to worn for my liking so almost everything on the parts engine was used on #5. Such as the complete running gear assembly, motor, and tender. I rebuilt the tender with incredible detail and restored the tender handrails and trucks and retuned the wheels. The entire locomotive was finally rebuilt after 5 long years of setbacks! The only original parts on #5 are the boiler, frame, and cylinders. The engine now sits in the NEW SCVR 3 track main shop.
Before this bigger shop was built about a half a dozen engines were added to the SCVR! A life-like 0-4-0 docksider was purchased specifically as a shop switcher, the mechanical aspects of these engines are not impressive but it was good enough to have around. Problems on turnouts caused me to look for another saddle tanker. That led me to buy a rivarossi 0-6-0T, it was an undecorated engine that was 100% complete with no missing parts. The engine had an aftermarket moveable bell which I loved. It was a perfect runner after maintenace was applied. The life-like 0-4-0 #98 and SCVR #66 (rivarossi 0-6-0T) were placed in the second small shop. As christmas was on the horizon I knew that yet ANOTHER shop was needed, a much bigger one. After christmas 2 more steamers were added to the SCVR, a rare mantua 2-6-6-2 mallet painted in the Cherry Valley Logging Company scheme. I fell in love with this 2-6-6-2 because of the rarity, colors of silver, green, and red, and its smooth performence. It sat covered up outside the second small shop. The other christmas gift engine was another roundhouse 2-6-0, but in the C&O scheme. I bought it mainly cause it was orange and red, because orange is my favorite color.
At this time SP 1601 and C&O 425 were in the first built shop and SCVR 66 and ATSF #98 were in the second shop. SCVR 7809 and CVLC #25 and the at the time incompleted SCVR #5 were all sitting outside the shop, Southern #3857 was sitting outback of the second shop. On January 18th a break through had happened! A new walthers 3 track shop kit was aquired, It was 18 inches long which was twice as large as the shops i had already. It took 2 days to complete and a switch was built to add the 3rd track. The shop was connected on the 3rd day of having the shop and locomotives SP 1601, C&O 425, CVLC #25, ATSF #98, SCVR 66, and the newly aquired MDC 0-6-0T #9 were all put into the shop. Although this new shop was built we still had the first shop that I started out with. The engines in that shop were SCVR 7809 and SOU #3857. SCVR #5 was still outside. Even more engines were aquired! A mantua 0-6-0 "Big Six" was purchased and had been cleaned, checked, and repaired and was ready to roll. The big six #14 took 0-6-0T #9s place in the main shop. Another steamer was added a month later! A mantua 0-4-0 booster, a Southern Pacific engine that I called #33 since it had no number. The numbers I gave most the engines have yet to be painted on, but they will eventually.
This was the start of May and Southern 4-4-0 #3857 was sent back to bachmann to recieve a new tender. They sent me a new one instead which I was happy with. At this time #3857 got moved into the original shop, along with #9 and #98. SP #33 took #98s spot in the main shop. On my birthday May 1st, SCVR #5 had been completly rebuilt as I stated above. Also as birthday gifts I got a new Bachmann 3 truck Climax and a bachmann 0-6-0T. I always wanted the 3 geared engines (shay, heisler, and climax) so the climax was first on the list. I gave it an oil bunker to cooperate with the west coast that I live on. It took #425s place in the main shop. #425 was moved into the auxilary shop with #3857. #98 and #9 sat outside the shop for a little while as did #14. More engines were added to the SCVR again! A Mantua 2-8-2 Reading Camelback, a Mantua classics SP 4-6-2, a life-like 0-4-0 Teakettle, 2 tyco plymouth switchers, an Atlas gp40, and a bachmann cable car. These were all aquired within 2 months! They all have been lubricated, checked, and some repaired as needed. The 4-6-2 and camelback sit on my 3 rack storage shelves that house my main collection of steam and diesel engines and spare rollingstock. This was because I have no room to house the 4-6-2 and the camelback in the shop. This brings us to current date and as of right now no more engines have aquired since then. I actively repair, maintain, and rebuild engines from both the SCVR and my main fleet. I live to rebuild and repair engines, I get as much joy rebuilding an engine as I do actually running it. As of right now the SCVR has 15 steam locomotives, 14 of which are operable, the other engine is 0-6-0T #9 which will go back to her original home in Oregon after plans to rebuild the engine did not come to be. The SCVR has 6 diesel locomotives and 4 of those are operational. The 2 others are a bachmann F7 that needs heavy electrical and motor repair and one of the tyco plymouths that needs wiring work. This will be done in time, but since I had so many projects both from the SCVR and my main fleet the long term SCVR projects are pushed back. The newest project on the SCVR is "SCVR 99.". After SCVR #5 was rebuilt I still had 2 spare boilers, tenders, a frame, cylinders, #5s original wheels and rods, and many appliances. Realizing I didn't want all these parts lying around the shop I assembled another shifter that had a newly rebuilt tender, painted boiler, frame, and cylinders. I also had a spare motor from a 4-6-0 that was cleaned and tuned.
Today both life-like 0-4-0s sit on seperately applied rail outside the main shop which I call that whole area "the back lot." SCVR 14 and the ATSF plymouth diesel sit outside the main shop on track that projects outside the shop. SCVR 99 is currently sitting in the auxilary shop getting on-off work. So far the entire tender is rebuilt and assembled as well as the boiler. All that #99 needs is a new crankpin and valve guides. The motor was in the engine to test and it runs well even without the right side drive rods and no valve guides. The motor has been removed so i better screw can be fit to hold it down. I hope to complete #99 by the end of this year (2012). I fill further report on engines on this site as time permits.
Well a lot has happened since we last made this page! In the last few months we've added so many engines to the roster! Three diesels and two steamers are now apart of the collection! Also many repairs and regular maintenace goes on and can be viewed in our shop news page! Being the Owner and Founder of this railroad, I do have a few personal projects I like to work on in my spare time. A newly aquired 2-8-0 kit has been my private project for a while now. It's an old MDC Roundhouse 2-8-0 Circus Special locomotive! Entially when purchased I thought i'd just have it join my favorites on the SCVR. Well when numerous problems kept occuring during the assembly of the locomotive, I decided I couldn't have the the locomotive taking up my crews time when it was needed elsewhere. I then took private ownership of the locomotive. Technically al the locomotives and the entire SCVR is my private railroad, but we operate excursions one weekend a month for the public. So the 2-8-0 #3 started to be privately worked on by me. The boiler had to be repainted and I finished the work on the pilot wheel in August 2012. It is kept in my SCVR main shop alongside my top favorites. When completed #3 will run with the SCVR engines but it will have a limited schedule and will only participate on certain steam ups. Being it's my private project, updates are not active. You can watch the progress being made in the Shop News page and the Projects page. It will also run specials every so often and run special events. I hope to have the engine operable before 2013, but I can't make any promises.
Another huge accomplishment was the purchase of a turntable! In August 2012, we found it possible to aquire a turntable and complete the project we planned for a year! The turntable area was completed a week prior to the table being purchased and we had to redo the freight yard in the process. The final result was a beautiful turntable area with 4 tracks projecting off it and the old red shop placed in the area. It houses Southern 4-4-0 #3857 and SCVR 0-4-0 #99. This was a huge accomplishment for us and it is the last project on our line on this layout! We are now able to qualify for a line expansion! Within August and September 2012 we plan to build a new set up for the SCVR! It fill feature a double main line and hopefully a bigger shop to replace our auxilary shop! It is still in the planning stage but it's ready to start happening! We plan to keep everything the way it is in regards to the shop area, but the freight yard will be bigger, we plan to build a roundhouse after we relocate the turntable, and we plan to have a larger auxilary shop. We do want to keep our current auxilary shop being it's the first SCVR building, but it will be relocated! This is a huge project but the outcome will be better over all for our ever expanding line!
Rather than updating everytime a change happens or a locomotive is added to the fleet I'll just let you check the Shop News page for updates! To Summarize the actions leading from summer 2012. We've aquired 4 more steam locomotives and 3 diesels! Also we purchased and built a roundhouse for our new line! Our new line is expected to start being constructed in the month of October! Have a steam filled day!
About a month after the new shop was built a 3rd engine was added to the fleet. A famous engine to my railroad being that it was my first engine that i ever owned! It's an IHC ATSF 2-6-0 #7809, it was part of the zenith limited set and it was the first engine I ever owned. Suprisingly it survived for 18 years going through 2 old layouts and now onto this new layout. I had the vision to make the 2-6-0 into an SP style 2-6-0. In January 2011 i aquired a vanderbilt tender to start it off, it was soon painted black to match the engine. A week after that a new pilot wheel assembly was built for 7809 because her old one broke many years ago. She now it 100% complete and still running as she has for 19 years! Once 7809 was added to the fleet I realized that yet another shop was needed to house more engines. It wasn't until march that a second shop was purchased and placed next to the first shop. It was smaller than I wanted but it was good enough. After this shop was added yet another engine was added to the fleet another old engine that I had for a qill, but this engine had more personal attachment to me. It's a Mantua 0-4-0 shifter, formerly ATSF 99. My dad had given me his collection of model trains that he had as a kid in 2007. When i got the engine it was in terrible shape! Missing its' smokebox door, cab, drawbar, valve guides, and boiler piping. To top it off the shifter was beat up really bad! Paint chips everywhere and everything was worn out. The first 2 years of the restoration were slow just disassembly work and tender work. In 2010 major work was finally completed when the boiler, frame, cylinders, and tender were all repainted. In 2011 i planned out all the work that was left and needed for the restoration. The tender frame got a screw stuck in it and the screw snaped it half. Entially I was going to drill out the screw but it never happened. A cab off an old Tyco clementine gave it the number 5. Throughout the year 2011 SCVR #5 just sat outside the shop awaiting work that would never come, until this year 2012. A parts supplier shifter was aquired and the rebuild was back under way after a nearly 2 year hiatus. The original running gear on #5 was to worn for my liking so almost everything on the parts engine was used on #5. Such as the complete running gear assembly, motor, and tender. I rebuilt the tender with incredible detail and restored the tender handrails and trucks and retuned the wheels. The entire locomotive was finally rebuilt after 5 long years of setbacks! The only original parts on #5 are the boiler, frame, and cylinders. The engine now sits in the NEW SCVR 3 track main shop.
Before this bigger shop was built about a half a dozen engines were added to the SCVR! A life-like 0-4-0 docksider was purchased specifically as a shop switcher, the mechanical aspects of these engines are not impressive but it was good enough to have around. Problems on turnouts caused me to look for another saddle tanker. That led me to buy a rivarossi 0-6-0T, it was an undecorated engine that was 100% complete with no missing parts. The engine had an aftermarket moveable bell which I loved. It was a perfect runner after maintenace was applied. The life-like 0-4-0 #98 and SCVR #66 (rivarossi 0-6-0T) were placed in the second small shop. As christmas was on the horizon I knew that yet ANOTHER shop was needed, a much bigger one. After christmas 2 more steamers were added to the SCVR, a rare mantua 2-6-6-2 mallet painted in the Cherry Valley Logging Company scheme. I fell in love with this 2-6-6-2 because of the rarity, colors of silver, green, and red, and its smooth performence. It sat covered up outside the second small shop. The other christmas gift engine was another roundhouse 2-6-0, but in the C&O scheme. I bought it mainly cause it was orange and red, because orange is my favorite color.
At this time SP 1601 and C&O 425 were in the first built shop and SCVR 66 and ATSF #98 were in the second shop. SCVR 7809 and CVLC #25 and the at the time incompleted SCVR #5 were all sitting outside the shop, Southern #3857 was sitting outback of the second shop. On January 18th a break through had happened! A new walthers 3 track shop kit was aquired, It was 18 inches long which was twice as large as the shops i had already. It took 2 days to complete and a switch was built to add the 3rd track. The shop was connected on the 3rd day of having the shop and locomotives SP 1601, C&O 425, CVLC #25, ATSF #98, SCVR 66, and the newly aquired MDC 0-6-0T #9 were all put into the shop. Although this new shop was built we still had the first shop that I started out with. The engines in that shop were SCVR 7809 and SOU #3857. SCVR #5 was still outside. Even more engines were aquired! A mantua 0-6-0 "Big Six" was purchased and had been cleaned, checked, and repaired and was ready to roll. The big six #14 took 0-6-0T #9s place in the main shop. Another steamer was added a month later! A mantua 0-4-0 booster, a Southern Pacific engine that I called #33 since it had no number. The numbers I gave most the engines have yet to be painted on, but they will eventually.
This was the start of May and Southern 4-4-0 #3857 was sent back to bachmann to recieve a new tender. They sent me a new one instead which I was happy with. At this time #3857 got moved into the original shop, along with #9 and #98. SP #33 took #98s spot in the main shop. On my birthday May 1st, SCVR #5 had been completly rebuilt as I stated above. Also as birthday gifts I got a new Bachmann 3 truck Climax and a bachmann 0-6-0T. I always wanted the 3 geared engines (shay, heisler, and climax) so the climax was first on the list. I gave it an oil bunker to cooperate with the west coast that I live on. It took #425s place in the main shop. #425 was moved into the auxilary shop with #3857. #98 and #9 sat outside the shop for a little while as did #14. More engines were added to the SCVR again! A Mantua 2-8-2 Reading Camelback, a Mantua classics SP 4-6-2, a life-like 0-4-0 Teakettle, 2 tyco plymouth switchers, an Atlas gp40, and a bachmann cable car. These were all aquired within 2 months! They all have been lubricated, checked, and some repaired as needed. The 4-6-2 and camelback sit on my 3 rack storage shelves that house my main collection of steam and diesel engines and spare rollingstock. This was because I have no room to house the 4-6-2 and the camelback in the shop. This brings us to current date and as of right now no more engines have aquired since then. I actively repair, maintain, and rebuild engines from both the SCVR and my main fleet. I live to rebuild and repair engines, I get as much joy rebuilding an engine as I do actually running it. As of right now the SCVR has 15 steam locomotives, 14 of which are operable, the other engine is 0-6-0T #9 which will go back to her original home in Oregon after plans to rebuild the engine did not come to be. The SCVR has 6 diesel locomotives and 4 of those are operational. The 2 others are a bachmann F7 that needs heavy electrical and motor repair and one of the tyco plymouths that needs wiring work. This will be done in time, but since I had so many projects both from the SCVR and my main fleet the long term SCVR projects are pushed back. The newest project on the SCVR is "SCVR 99.". After SCVR #5 was rebuilt I still had 2 spare boilers, tenders, a frame, cylinders, #5s original wheels and rods, and many appliances. Realizing I didn't want all these parts lying around the shop I assembled another shifter that had a newly rebuilt tender, painted boiler, frame, and cylinders. I also had a spare motor from a 4-6-0 that was cleaned and tuned.
Today both life-like 0-4-0s sit on seperately applied rail outside the main shop which I call that whole area "the back lot." SCVR 14 and the ATSF plymouth diesel sit outside the main shop on track that projects outside the shop. SCVR 99 is currently sitting in the auxilary shop getting on-off work. So far the entire tender is rebuilt and assembled as well as the boiler. All that #99 needs is a new crankpin and valve guides. The motor was in the engine to test and it runs well even without the right side drive rods and no valve guides. The motor has been removed so i better screw can be fit to hold it down. I hope to complete #99 by the end of this year (2012). I fill further report on engines on this site as time permits.
Well a lot has happened since we last made this page! In the last few months we've added so many engines to the roster! Three diesels and two steamers are now apart of the collection! Also many repairs and regular maintenace goes on and can be viewed in our shop news page! Being the Owner and Founder of this railroad, I do have a few personal projects I like to work on in my spare time. A newly aquired 2-8-0 kit has been my private project for a while now. It's an old MDC Roundhouse 2-8-0 Circus Special locomotive! Entially when purchased I thought i'd just have it join my favorites on the SCVR. Well when numerous problems kept occuring during the assembly of the locomotive, I decided I couldn't have the the locomotive taking up my crews time when it was needed elsewhere. I then took private ownership of the locomotive. Technically al the locomotives and the entire SCVR is my private railroad, but we operate excursions one weekend a month for the public. So the 2-8-0 #3 started to be privately worked on by me. The boiler had to be repainted and I finished the work on the pilot wheel in August 2012. It is kept in my SCVR main shop alongside my top favorites. When completed #3 will run with the SCVR engines but it will have a limited schedule and will only participate on certain steam ups. Being it's my private project, updates are not active. You can watch the progress being made in the Shop News page and the Projects page. It will also run specials every so often and run special events. I hope to have the engine operable before 2013, but I can't make any promises.
Another huge accomplishment was the purchase of a turntable! In August 2012, we found it possible to aquire a turntable and complete the project we planned for a year! The turntable area was completed a week prior to the table being purchased and we had to redo the freight yard in the process. The final result was a beautiful turntable area with 4 tracks projecting off it and the old red shop placed in the area. It houses Southern 4-4-0 #3857 and SCVR 0-4-0 #99. This was a huge accomplishment for us and it is the last project on our line on this layout! We are now able to qualify for a line expansion! Within August and September 2012 we plan to build a new set up for the SCVR! It fill feature a double main line and hopefully a bigger shop to replace our auxilary shop! It is still in the planning stage but it's ready to start happening! We plan to keep everything the way it is in regards to the shop area, but the freight yard will be bigger, we plan to build a roundhouse after we relocate the turntable, and we plan to have a larger auxilary shop. We do want to keep our current auxilary shop being it's the first SCVR building, but it will be relocated! This is a huge project but the outcome will be better over all for our ever expanding line!
Rather than updating everytime a change happens or a locomotive is added to the fleet I'll just let you check the Shop News page for updates! To Summarize the actions leading from summer 2012. We've aquired 4 more steam locomotives and 3 diesels! Also we purchased and built a roundhouse for our new line! Our new line is expected to start being constructed in the month of October! Have a steam filled day!