Hello 7


Hi, I have decided to build an N Scale layout based on the Southern Pacific railroad in Casa Grande, AZ. I have recently (within the last 3 years) moved to Casa Grande and I am a lifetime fan of the SP.  After moving out here, I have grown fond of the old Sunset Route, and since I grew up during the 1980’s, I have decided to model the feel of Casa Grande in the early to mid 80’s. I want to be to run both locals and through freights, all with a caboose. I am still working out the track plan, but I feel that it is getting close.

John


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7 thoughts on “Hello

  • Mark

    Hi John, I live “up the road” in Tempe. I have been to the area you intend to model many times. Just a few years ago the local included an SW something with a GP.

    I look forward to additional posts and updates.

      • Mark

        I like the second plan. I didn’t send much time around Casa Grande in the 80’s, I spent more time starting in the late 90’s.

        However, I do agree that the local would have been GP-35s around 1984, a GP-9 or SW-1500 might have been used a few times when they would only have one GP-35 and needed another engine for the local. I remember seeing some 50′ box cars from a derailment that were being scrapped near where the Cemex plant is.

        • Bremner Post author

          Thanks Mark, I have been toying arround with the differnt options. As I said, I moved here just a few years ago. Are the planned industries right for my timeline and if you have any pictures, I would love to see them. All of my SP pictures from there have to do with this funny shaped siding in a place called Walong….

  • Mark

    Sorry, I wasn’t taking pictures when I was railfanning back then. I didn’t even take a camera with me the last time I was at a place called Walong.

    I thought there might have been an old packing shed still standing in Casa Grande around that time. I know there were a few cotton gins in that area and those would be pretty easy to model.

  • Tom Fassett

    Mark is right on the cotton gins. The biggest one was Southeast of Thornton and Main, where that big pipe plant is now. The big buildings of the pipe plant are the original gin buildings. There were more buiding closer to Thornton but they were torn down more than 10 years ago.
    Besides the current industrial park spur, there were spurs leading into the gin complex West of the yard area (West of the underpass) as well as a spur running out of the West end of the yard across Main (just East of the underpass) that served the building that is still there (West of the feed store near the Cotton Belt boxcar used for storage). The North rails of the yard served the businesses along first street. There was also a group of rail served buildings along Main St. between the depot and Arizona Grain–I belive that the big shed (now gone) was the packing plant. Arizona Grain hasn’t changed much since the 1980s. I believe that the metal scrap yards South of the depot (across Main Ave.) had a spur at one time as well. Out West there were the two spurs leading across the highway from Casa Grande siding (Frito Lay and Abbott–the two big complexes North of Casa Grande siding). Farther West there was the spur that led to the underground mine. The industrial park has the most rail served businesses. Both sides of the tracks had numerous spurs leading to businesses. Some are still there (the pipe plant and packing plant), many buildings have changed usage or are closed up.

    Tom F

  • Tom Fassett

    Farther East was Fertizona–another busy place in the 1980s. Is is still there at Peart and Main Ave. (Southwest of Jimmie Kerr Blvd and Peart). East from there it was nothing but fields and desert to Toltec siding.

    Tom F