This layout loosely represents 62 miles of the Santa Fe Mainline which travels over Raton Pass between Raton, NM to Trinidad, CO. I did not want to model the original lines 3.5% grades so I’ve limited mine to 2.2%. To gain the necessary height between decks I created a loop which is a reverse replica of Santa Fe’s Tehachapi Loop, thus the fictitious name Ratachapi Sub for the layout. The layout has 3 levels ranging from 28” to 64”, a minimum radius of 32”, staging to represent Barstow, CA, Colton, CA, Denver, CO and Chicago, IL. and interchanges with SP, UP and the C & W. In ordered to allow the movement of trains between all 3 levels there is an 8 level Helix with layout connections at levels, 1, 4, 6, 7 and 8. I have included many fictitious industries to provide more switching opportunities than were originally available on this line. For trains, I’ve included some of Santa Fe’s famous Passenger trains, Ice Reefer trains, TOFC trains and Coal trains. There are 2 mainline switching jobs that serve industries at Starkville, CO and Morley, CO plus lots of local switching at Trinidad and Raton. Future plans are to add a Dispatcher for a DTC style operation.
Prototype Location | Santa Fe Raton Pass – 62 Miles between Raton, NM and Trinidad, CO | Era | 1970 |
Size | 600 Sq Feet over 3 rooms | Scale | HO |
Clock Speed | Real Time | Crew | 5 People |
Car Forwarding | 2 Position Car Cards | Mainline Length | 250 Feet |
Passing Sidings | 6 | Number of car spots | 60 |
Rolling Stock | Freight 270, Passenger 30 | Track | Staging Code 100 – Balance Code 83 |
Control | Digitrax with Simplex, Duplex and WiFi | Session Length | 2.5 to 3 Hours |
Dispatching | None – Easy Ops at this time | Rolling Stock | 200 freight cars |
Communication | Verbal | Accessibility | Basement Stairs – no Wheelchair access |
% scenery completed | 1 % | Yards | 2 Raton and Trinidad |
Motive Power | First and Second Generation Diesel | Yards | 2 Raton and Trinidad |
Train Length | 10 o 15 cars | Session Atmosphere | Casual |







