# Another season on the Snowshoe & San Juan (lots of photos)



## San Juan (Jan 3, 2008)

Another season has come to an end on our outdoor layout, the Snowshoe & San Juan. We added a few items to the layout this year; including a new roundhouse, an oil loading dock, a K-28, and several reworked and repainted freight cars.

Following are some of the photos we took this summer, I hope you enjoy them:






































































































































And here's one of my sister's plush trains


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## ThinkerT (Jan 2, 2008)

It seems like you are calling it quits a tad early. Even up here in Alaska, we still got a couple of months before the snow becomes a serious issue...


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## San Juan (Jan 3, 2008)

We live in Southern California most of the year and can only get out to our layout in Colorado during the summer and occasionally for maybe a week during the winter. So not a weather issue...should have mentioned that. Sorry for the confusion.


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## Gary Armitstead (Jan 2, 2008)

THX for posting Matt. Very nice photos.


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## Randy Stone (Jan 2, 2008)

Great pics as always 

Randy


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## GaryY (Jan 2, 2008)

Great looking layout...in a terrific setting...thanks for posting.
Gary


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## Jerry Barnes (Jan 2, 2008)

Wow, bet you hate to leave. Should move there all year long!


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## San Juan (Jan 3, 2008)

Thanks all.

Jerry, we'd love to live there year round...well maybe myself, my dad, and my younger sister anyway. My mom and youngest sister are not as big on the outdoors as I am. They'd rather be shopping. And while we do have more options in the "big" city of Durango since we first bought the cabin there back in 1991; like the Wal-Mart and Home Depot, it's still nothing like the malls we have in SoCal









Oh and most importantly our jobs are in California. Finding comparable jobs in Southwestern Colorado is tough. My dad always says he'll retire out there, but retirement is a long ways away for myself. 


But we still have our HO and O scale layouts to play with in California


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## San Juan (Jan 3, 2008)

Forgot about this photo.

Since we take up all of the switch tracks to avoid elk and deer trampling while we are not there, I took advantage of a missing switch to simulate an abandonment train. Quite a heavy load for that poor guy lifting the rail


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## cape cod Todd (Jan 3, 2008)

Nice photos and layout. I like the way you built your RR into the existing landscape instead of wiping it all out and starting from scratch. I too have big trees and roots that I had to work around not to mentiona ridiculous grade to tame but those challenges have made for a more interesting line. My only worry for you is a branch might fall onto and damage your fine structures. 
Todd


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## San Juan (Jan 3, 2008)

Hi Todd, thanks for the comments.

Branches are definitely a worry. But thankfully no large ones have fallen when the structures were out on the layout. So far anyway. We cut off a few of the dead low lying ones a few years ago which helps. Another security measure is we cover most of the structures with plastic storage bins overnight and during inclement weather. This helps keep rain dirt splashing down and has also protected at least one from a falling branch.


Going around the trees and terrain was really the only option we had. It would have been a shame to cut down several 70-100 plus year old Ponderosa pines just for an outdoor layout. And the slope also proved to be a issue. 
We are luckier then most I guess when it came to the slope. Being in the mountains means we have lots and lots of rocks. While they are a pain when digging, they make for great retaining walls. It helps a lot on the layout budget when you don't have to purchase materials for retaining walls. The grade on the layout never exceeds 1.5 %, which is kind of amazing when you look at the terrain. Most of the dirt for fills I dug up from all around the property. For the larger fills we had to truck in dirt. 


However, when scouting for the layout location the current location always came out as the best spot. Two of the beast features include; one the are is mostly shady, a real plus on hot dry summer days. And two, our artesian well head is nearby, providing some seasonal water features. Seasonal meaning if there is enough snow during the winter the well overflows giving us water to use for small rives, etc... This year it didn't overflow due to a quick melt. But I had some culvert work to do this year so it ended up being a good thing.


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