An Overview: The Milwaukee Road from Plummer to Spokane (in Fall 1973)

(With UP and BN interference, where accurate)

Introduction:
This post is the first post in a series of what I am thinking about modeling in my approximately 14x26 foot space (including a furnace).  I would appreciate any comments, corrections, and addendums.  As these come I will correct the text here.  Also, if you are reading and can help with photos, train lists, and prototype track layouts, your assistance would be most appreciated since I am new to MILW modeling, and I have not yet met all of the MILW followers.  Thank you in advance!

While I am no stranger to researching different railroads and locales around the Pacific Northwest (read my previous post for more about that), perhaps this is a concept that I can make stick.  I have spent far too many hours and dollars researching different modeling concepts.  I am finding alot of spark with this one though.

Background

The Milwaukee Road’s Pacific extension has always been an interest of mine, but I was under the impression that it had very little operating potential, and therefore would not make a decent modeling subject.  Long trains on mountain passes with electrics and diesels MU’ed together is definitely cool, but the lack of operation in terms of switching and blocking always has been something that has kept me from focusing on that, even at a time when there is a plastic Little Joe on the market (with new boxcabs likely as well).  The same lack of operation goes for Marias Pass and other cool mountain railroads.  Milwaukee in “the gap”, the 212.2 mile stretch between Avery MT and Othello WA where the electrified infrastructure was never completed, however, has a few more modelable vignettes worthy of consideration.  My attention is currently on Plummer ID, where all MILW trains picked up and/or set out cars.  During passenger days, trains left the Milwaukee mainline at Plummer and went out of route to serve Spokane WA.  Half of the route toward Spokane was on Milwaukee rails, and at Manito Milwaukee trains entered UP rails for the run into Spokane.  At Spokane, Milwaukee trackage rights continued on the UP “Washy” to Marengo, where trains rejoined the Milwaukee transcon to proceed toward Othello.

Plummer is also interesting from a UP perspective because in 1955 UP was able abandon a portion of their Kellogg branch from Tekoa to Plummer in favor  of trackage rights over the Milwaukee Road from Manito to Plummer.  UP had  extensive  zinc and lead traffic that originated in the Kellogg-Wrdner area, so, a daily UP train came through Plummer as well.  The vision I see for Plummer would be for it to make up the upper level of a potential layout, with the mainline operating in a large circle from staging to Plummer and back to staging.

For freight operations, all cars that go to Spokane were setout at Plummer.  The Spokane blocks were picked up at night by the “Plummer turn” and were brought to Spokane to be switched.  This train traveled the combined UP and MILW infrastructure between Spokane and Plummer.  At Spokane, cars were switched to the tracks of one of 4 different jobs (discussed later) in the very modelable 9 track yard.  In that yard, cars were switched to and from local industry jobs and locals, as well as blocking for Plummer setouts.  Additionally, the jointly served UP-MILW auto ramp was there.  The vision is that Spokane would make up the lower level of a potential layout.

Additionally, depending on space, several towns between Plummer and Spokane might be included.  These towns would be MILW or UP switched depending on which railroad it was on.  More on that later as well. 

A map to familiarize the reader:

Benefits and Drawbacks to this prototype

First, the benefits:

1. Car variety: Allows operation of transcontinental mainline trains, with connections to many railroads at each end, and therefore the most car variety. Local traffic that terminates/originates at industries on the layout and in the Spokane vicinity is also nicely varied. I am especially enamored with Pullman grain hoppers and MILW owned many varieties of them, and some foreign road cars were operated as well. My recent fascination with MILW house cars, especially boxcar rebuilds, has energized my interest and desire to build model. 
2. Rail Service Design interest - Multiple handlings: Freight cars can be handled multiple times on the layout. As opposed to previous concepts where cars came from staging to be spotted, most MILW cars from the outside rail world will have to be handled 4 times. For example: 1 – setout by road train at Plummer. 2 – picked up at Plummer by the Plummer turn and setout at Spokane. 3 – switched at Spokane yard into new train by yardswitcher. 4 – Depart Spokane to industry or staging. This can be accomplished by only modeling 2 towns with staging, a very rare feat in the combination of prototype ops and model railroad design. 
3. Multiple railroads: While MILW operations are the focus of this concept, there are two UP local Washington Division trains that operate over some of the territory, as well as BN industry and transfer job activity in Spokane. Additionally, UP actively switched the lumber mill at Plummer and it is assumed this would be part of the layout.  
4. Tangent connections: Because the car variety is strong, many if not most Tangent Scale Models cars can be justified on the layout without stretching realism. This was a concern with the Palouse branchline or Camas Prairie concepts. I simply want to enjoy most of the cars that are produced as a part of Tangent Scale Models - a mainline railroad is the best way to do this. 
5. Suited to a small basement: Previous concepts that include a mainline require multiple towns to be convincing, and the only rail activity in these towns are a few local industries and perhaps a branchline (Belgrade and Manhattan MT respectively, for example). 14 foot long passenger trains and 18+ foot long freight trains with long stretches of mainline between them do not work well in my space, even if they are in a mountain district. 
6. …yet expandable: If space permits in a future basement, this concept could be expanded to include one or more of the following:
1. • From Spokane: Coeur D’Alene: served by UP, BN, and MILW (with BN and MILW sharing right of way), this town has lots of interesting operating potential, although most traffic is mill traffic.  Couer D'Alene is 10 rail miles from the Metaline Falls branch. Further research required. 
   • From Spokane: Metaline Falls branch: Metaline Falls and Usk were the primary shipping towns on this line… see details below.  Branch is 120.1 miles long from Spokane.
   • On the mainline East of Plummer to St Maries: 19 prototype rail miles on a mostly 1 percent grade with a large log dumping operation at Ramsdell.  At St. Maries, there was a major mill and other customers as well as a small yard and local activity – 2 jobs originated here including the run down the 24th division branch to Clarkia and Bovill.  It is another 50 miles to the crew district at Avery (where “Little Joe” electrics were added for the Eastbound run toward Montana).  Also, there is a signature bridge at "Pedee" that was a railfan favorite, plus the landmark wooden trestle across Benewah Lake.
   • On the mainline West of Plummer in the “gap” – there is incredible scenic variety including the Palouse, scab-land, and the beautiful basaltic rock area above a lake in the middle of nowhere – this portion of the railroad is non-signaled west of Sorrento Tunnel which of course would be operationally interesting.
   • UP toward Kellogg ID – zinc and lead, chips, lumber, and grain on this railroad, with big lashups of power prior to the 1975 downturn that hit this line hard.
   • UP toward Tekoa and Colfax – and Pullman and Moscow (with BN potential)
    
7. Locomotive variety:  For the MILW, the locomotive variety is strong with SD40-2, SD45, GP40, U25B, U28B, U23B, U33C, U36C, GP9, and SW1200 classes being the strong players, with several minor types as well.  Thanks to the influx of new GE models in the late 2000s, it is possible to model all of these and standardize on smooth running KATO, Atlas, and Proto (GE only) drivetrains.
8.  Cabooses: Who would have thought that 2 out of the 3 major MILW caboose classes from that era would be available reasonably as RTR plastic models?  While I see one major issue with the Walthers ribside model that is tough to totally fix, a workaround is likely possible.
9. UP potential: As a former UP employee my interest in UP ops has increased over the past decade, especially with the cool locomotives and cars present here and the “play” potential the two UP locals add to this layout concept.
10. Reciprocal switch industries: At least one reciprocal switch industry is present on the layout; the MILW auto facility in Spokane was also switched by UP, which adds more play potential as well.  There may be others in the Spokane industrial area as well.  
11. Minimal signaling: ABS signals are in place on the Plummer to Manito MILW stretch, and the UP Manito to Spokane stretch.  This would require (hopefully) minimal detection to keep things simple.  Trains are listed in the timetable so a dispatcher would not be necessary although depending on the amount of real estate included could make things more interesting.  ABS signals were not in place west of Plummer in the gap. 

Now, the Drawbacks:

1. No F units: While F units have become a love of mine, at this point I believe I can let this go.  UP F units were present on the locals on layout in 1972, but at this point I am thinking 1973 so there is probably too much fudge factor there for me.   
2. No BN:  Ever since going to Colorado’s joint line in 1984, I have been a devoted BN fan.  My interests in the BN system have ranged from branches to mainlines, from WA to IL.  The list is long, some of which was documented in my first blog posting.  I will want to include as much BN interchange traffic  as possible in the Spokane part of this layout, but the MILW is undeniably cool and very modelable, and features many of the things I love about BN: GP9s, SD40-2s, and Pullman grain hoppers. I also get a lot of my BN ‘fix” at Dan Holbrook’s layout so the MILW represents something fresh and fun.

My next series of posts will include details about the geography (the towns), train ops, locomotives, and cars.  Stay tuned...and thanks for reading!

I was tempted to purchase this placard from a caboose or locomotive... but I didn't... yet!