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Cresta Creek Model Railroad

In 1890 plans were put together in a small town named Barrelton, this would be the beginning of a monumental undertaking to build a railroad for the town to expand. By 1892 work had begun, track was laid to the West of the town towards the base of the Buffalo Mountains. The plan was to extend out to the Cresta Mountains but this would be no easy task. It soon became clear that one man stood out. He was of Irish descent. His name was Cormac Cody, known as Cutter. He had a nose for the land and made it clear that a bridge would be needed to span the Barrelton river as the valley beyond untouched would be rich with minerals. Resources were few. And after some time it was agreed and a makeshift bridge would be put in place until Girders could be spanned, he was right as they moved into the valley deposits of coal and later iron ore would be found. It would not take long for a local entrepreneur by the name of Maximilian Pittman to establish two mines, extracting coal and ore. It would later be known as the El Minero Valley. On leaving the valley, there was an accident where an unexpected dynamite explosion occurred, blowing track and derailing a locomotive which fell into a ravine, killing the crew along with other workers including Cormac Cody This was a disaster and work would stop for a short period. Eventually the rocks would be blasted, opening a somewhat flat area. This would make for an ideal trading post. The year was now 1894 and the trading post had been built in memory of the men who had lost their lives. It was named Cutter’s Crag As work progressed, crossing creeks and moving ever closer to the base of the Cresta Mountains. Finally, their goal was insight to climb the Cresta. Over the next year thousands of tons of dynamite would be brought to the mountain as they made their way up her slopes. Many men would become casualties of her relentless nature. Eventually, by the end of 1895 there would be a way through to a stable area where a much earned rest would be in order as 1896 began an Eastward plan across a large creek would be the path and the first train, not without a struggle would reach the summit, bringing much needed supplies. After crossing the Cresta Creek while blowing some rock, they had struck gold, literally there was gold in those mountains and now they could get it out. This is where the railroad should have ended, but it didn't, for it to continue. It would need to cross a massive gorge and work began on a trestle to span the gorge. There was revenue coming in and more workers and resources were put in place. The gorge itself named Grimstone was a challenge but they needed to carry on through the toughest terrain, winding track through rock and creek, it would be done. But at a high price, monetary and life, this would be known as the Cresta Pass, they continued their path at high level back towards the Buffalo Mountain Range, blasting tunnels, bridge after bridge. As 1897 approached, the head of the mountain was in sight. This is where things got tricky. The plan was to descend the mountain and hopefully meet up with the original route out of barrelton. But this would take time to bring up a lot of dynamite to the area. So with the resources available, it would begin, what lay on the other side of the mountain, in a clever plan, a tunnel area was secured, for the descent, while a path was blown to the side through the mountain, two separate tracks would be placed and an outpost built along with a dynamite storage facility for the blast back down the mountain. This would be known as Buffalo's back as a switchback was put in place for quicker movement. The path out of the mountain was no different to any other brutal landscape with creeks and a sloping area, but it would serve as a good area for logging. So the track continued until they reached a flat area on a ridge. This would later be named Pan Rattle Ridge and where a loop would be needed. The ground around this area was poor marshland and wet, but they did succeed and built a return loop. It is said that a woman named Myrtle Mud coat drowned in the marsh but her body has never been found. Strange, So the name Myrtle's Marsh makes sense. 1898 and the work down the Buffalo's back had started a twisting path through and around the mountain would almost take two years to complete the final dynamite blast out of the mountain where the tracks are joined and they return to where it all began. All those years ago, the town of Barrelton has expanded growth of new businesses and prosperity. Welcome to the Cresta Creek railroad. I came up with these track plans a couple of years ago, but did nothing with them, until now. Credit to all the mod makers out there who add so much to this game, thank you, Hope you enjoy.