Welcome to Tehachapi Loop in Z!

Hello and welcome to my blog!

I hope to chronicle my adventures in building a "large" Z scale layout here, focused on the Tehachapi Loop. I've always been fascinated by trains, especially freight trains, and there are several awesome resources to 'railfan' the Loop, especially this channel on YouTube. I've also been inspired by Platelayer's blog post on his design of a Tehachapi layout in Z, found here.

One of the great things about Z scale is the great 'train to scenery' ratio, where one can model landscapes much closer to actual proportion than in just about any other model railroad scale. This is one of the big reasons I chose to try the Tehachapi Loop in Z; it has a diameter of about 1210 ft, which Z scale would be ~ 5.5 ft. If one were to try this in N, it would be 7.5 ft (still reasonable, but how many of us have a spare 8 ft of room for a single loop of a helix?). In HO it would be a whopping 14 FEET in diameter! If we look at the elevation change between the tunnel and the crossing above, 77 ft, in HO that would be nearly a foot (.88 ft or 10.6 inches); in N it would be about a half a foot (5.77in)...in Z it's 4.2in. So, a 5.5ft diameter loop that rises over itself 4.2in isn't really that bad, and can be modeled with relative ease. In my case, where the layout will be situated, I only have room for a 4' diameter helix, and if I keep the proportions the same, that's about a 3" rise, which is very easy to model.

As of July 2020, I have to dismantle an HO scale switching layout to make room for the new project. In the mean time, I am researching complete automation of the layout. Ideally I want to be able to turn it on, press a button or two, and have between 5 and 7 trains traverse the loop, all automatically. This is not for the faint of heart! It will take full DCC, computer connection, and many different electronic components to make it work the way I envision.

I plan on building a testbed layout to start with, so I can learn how all the components work and integrate. I'll be using an older Digitrax Zephyr (DCS50), and mostly Digitrax components, all connected to a Minix mini pc I bought off Amazon via a LocoBuffer-USB from RR-Cirkits. Currently the plan is to use Railroad & Co.'s TrainController software. I hope you enjoy the ride as much as I am anticipating it!

Cheers!