Vol. 33: The Denver, Front Range and Western
In this series we take an in-depth tour of Doug Tagsold’s HO scale Denver, Front Range & Western. The DFR&W model railroad layout features trains from the Rio Grande, Sante Fe, and the Burlington Northern, and is set in the spectacular scenery of the Colorado Rockies, where Doug fell in love with big-time mountain railroading.
Doug was so inspired by the rails in the Rockies that when he got home from his trip, he tore down his old layout and started on this double decker. The line duplicates the Rio Grande Main from Denver to Grand Junction, and the Rio Grande and Santa Fe joint line from Denver to Pueblo. Allen Keller calls this layout one of the most dramatic models he’s ever filmed.
Doug’s goal with this layout was to try to recapture the drama he witnessed when he saw Rio Grande trains running through the front range of the Rocky Mountains. The layout’s double-deck spans only only 25 by 40 feet of Doug’s basement.
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2:24Get a great first look at the Denver, Front Range & Western model railroad layout of Doug Tagsold in this video. The DFR&W features trains from the Rio Grande, Sante Fe, and the Burlington Northern. The setting of this HO layout is the spectacular scenery of the Colorado Rockies, where Doug first became enthralled with
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9:47To begin the tour, RG train number 147 heads north from Pueblo on the joint line to Denver. It arrived two hours ago from Kansas City and now has a fresh crew. The power of two GP 40-2’s and an SD 40-2 easily pulls the train through the warehouse district. The south end of Colorado
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9:34We begin operations on Doug Tagsold’s Denver Front Range & Western at Glenwood Springs. Here the Denver & Rio Grande Western empty coal drag with three SD’s on the point has orders to clear the main for Track Number 5, the California Zephyr. Coal Train Number 708 now gets to leave. The SD 40 T-2’s
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7:28The Denver Front Range & Western of Doug Tagsold encompasses two lines – the Denver and Rio Grande Western from Denver to Grand Junction, Colorado and a joint line with the Denver & Rio Grande Western, and Santa Fe Burlington Northern from Denver to Pueblo. As a little kid, he would look through train books.
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7:33Rand Hood explains that one of the things that Doug Tagsold discovered when working on his layout is that the Rio Grande went through very different territories. Here he shows a high plateaued desert of Colorado where the railroad takes off from Bond and is heading from Steamboat Springs and Craig. One of the products
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6:51To create a snow base, modeling paste, an acrylic medium, titanium white acrylic paint, and gel medium is used. These three products are mixed together in equal proportions that will create a snow base for the snow. Belows with snowflakes are used over the base. One is colored and called Slushy to appear like melting
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10:20The series of photographs are going to be enlarged and used as a backdrop on the layout. The most difficult thing to do when taking photographs for model railroad backdrops is finding an area where the scene can be shot without having an obstacle in front, such as a telephone pole or an automobile. Once
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5:46The components used for the signal system on the Denver, Front Range & Western model railroad are readily available parts found at almost any electronic store. The components are a 12 volt miniature relay, a 2-pole 6-position rotary switch, a terminal strip for the wire connections, and any type of signal you want to use.
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