Valley & Tekoa Railroad

Layout at a Glance

The Valley and Tekoa Railroad layout is modeled to somewhat simulate the Virginia and Truckee Railroad in the time period of 1895 that ran in the State of Nevada. The V&T was originally constructed to haul ore from the mines to the stamp mills along the Carson River. The towns, structures and even the name of the layout has it's origins from Biblical nomenclature. The main town of Tekoa grew up because of its location in the valley and has the only brick station on the railroad. Other towns on the line consist of Ophir, prospering because it is the location of Solomon's Mine, now producing a small quantity of gold ore and hence the location of the railroads yard and engine facilities which has enabled the citizens of Ophir to maintain themselves and prosper. The other town is Dan. The structures are a mixture of scratch and kit built. Rolling stock consist of 5 steam locos, mostly reworked brass models, No. 11-the Reno, No. 20-the Tahoe, No. 22-the Inyo, No. 26 and a 2-6-0 switcher. There is also an assortment of old time passenger cars, 35 and 40 foot box cars, gons, ore and tank cars. Trackwork is code 70 Shinohara with No. 4 switches activated by Tortoise switch machines. Power control is by Digitrax Radio DCC. This is the fourth layout in the series started in 1987 in Jackson, Mississippi measuring 4' X 14' patterned after a layout plan found in a Kalmbach book, modular in construction, consisting of L girder covered by 1/4" plywood. Sights of interest consist of unusual names of industries and stores, Man using Out House, Fire is a used 50 gallon drum, Carpenter resting while building steps, Lady haggling meat salesman, dog relieving himself at a stump. Sounds to listen for are babbling water, train whistle, mooing cows, station announcer, saloon crowd sounds and the tipple release. The V&T's newest addition is a camera in the train for viewing as a passenger or engineer.

Scale	HO
Size	14' x 19' in an "L" configuration
Prototype	Virginia & Truckee
Locale	Nevada
Era	1895
Style	Walk around
Benchwork	L-girder covered with 1/4" plywood
Roadbed	Cork
Trackwork	Code 70 Shinohara
Turnouts	No. 4 activated by tortoise switch machines
Scenery	Complete. Includes numerous sights and sounds of interest
Backdrop	Yes
Controls	Digitrax Radio DCC