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Browning Railroad, Inc -:;. The Browning Railroad, Inc. By David Hannah Photos cO/lrtesy of the Author he tracks and structures owned and operated by The 10-foot lengths of aluminum rail, is spread over 20 acres of TBrowning Railroad are located on the grounds of the ground. There are 34 treated 2 X 2 ties in 16" lengths every 10 Browning Plantation, in Chappell Hill, Texas. The Browning feet. The minimum radius is 60 feet to allow for the operation of Railroad is a miniature Live Steam railroad that operates just like larger steam locomotives. On the dam, between the two bridges, the big railroads. The Browning Plantation, listed in the National are double main line runs over 500 feet in length. The grade rises Register of Historic Places, was the beloved home of one of 4-1/2% between Dinkey Creek Bridge and Stamey Siding and 5% Chappell Hill's most prominent citizens, Col. W.W. Browning. between Dulce Station and Pando Siding. This section has been The recently restored home was built before the Civil War, and is known to work steam locomotives very hard and make for some open to overnight guests and private functions such as weddings great stack talk as the engines labor up the hill. and professional gatherings. The bed and breakfast guests may Sixty spring-loaded switches of various sizes range from No.7 ride the Live Steam train when the railroad is in operation. to No. 11 frogs. Over the last two years, the Browning Railroad The first 800-foot loop of track was constructed and laid in volunteer workers have been replacing the No.6 and 7 switches the fall of 1986. The golden spike was driven Super Bowl Sunday with Nos. 8 and 9. The double crossover located on Luck's bridge 1987. This completed the first loop in front of the station, and a is constructed using four No. 11 frogs and two No.6 frogs. The spur into two storage buildings. In the late fall of 1987, the track total length of this double crossover is over 65 feet. " . : ! was continued in a northerly direction to complete a loop through Two double crossovers and five single crossovers are located Stamey siding. During the fall and winter of 1987/88, the track at various places on the main line to help in the train operations. was laid down the hill, after completing many small bridges in the To facilitate bi-directional running there are nine sidings, each process. Dinkey Bridge was started in December '87 and track was longer than 120 feet. This allows simultaneous operation of up to laid to the end of the bridge in the summer of 1988. The track ten trains in each direction. All sidings have spurs for setting off turned south and proceeded toward Pando siding with the final rolling stock, as in prototype switching operations. All the major connection back to the original main line completed July of 1989. sidings have water towers for refilling the steam locomotives. During the spring and summer of 1991, construction was start- The Browning Railroad bridges are built to hold heavy steam ed on the two spillway bridges, and the south spillway trestle locomotives. There are numerous small bridges of 12 to 60 feet in bridge was completed first to allow the use of the tractor to dump length, 18" above the grade, for drainage of storm runoff. All of base material on the dam. In July of 1991 the north spillway the small bridges are constructed with 2 X 4 ties, at least 24" in bridge was started. This bridge is known as Lucks Bridge, named length, allowing passengers to disembark in case a train has to for Jack Lucks who unfortunately fell off the side of the bridge, stop on a bridge. breaking his ann but not damaging the bridge. Jack did all the The three larger bridges, Dinkey Creek Bridge and the spill- engineering work, and set the grade of the bridge on a 1% climb way bridges, are constructed to hold double track main line. from the dam. A single main line of track was laid between the Dinkey Creek bridge was the first large bridge and was con- two bridges, and the track was opened to the end of Lucks structed to carry the main line over the creek and the spring run- Bridge in September of 1991. ning into the lake. The major span of this bridge is 20+ feet over The loop around Sargent Station was completed in the creek and, with the support members, looks like the original November 1991. With the completion of the double crossover on Dinkey Creek bridge located in California. Lucks Bridge and the final assembly of the other main line track The spillway bridges at either end of the dam were also built on the dam, the Browning main line track was completed in to carry the double track main line. Both are 8 feet wide and over March of 1992. 60 feet in length and capable of carrying full size cars or trucks. Approximately 9,000 feet of 7-1/2" gauge track, consisting of The north spillway bridge utilizes six 10" l-bearns 25 feet in Oave Hannah and his son John M. Hannah running the Union Pacific diesel built by Gerry Bowden of Grants Pass. Oregon. The Oave Hannah with Railroad Supply heavy Mikado built engine is powered by a Briggs & Stratton Vanguard V-Twin. 18 ho, in 1989 by John Marshall Phillips. with hydraulic drive. 50 LIVE STEAM September/October 1996 Don Isom of Klamath Falls, Oregon (left), builder of many of the miniature structures on the railroad, with Dave Hannah at The Browning Railroad town of Isomville. BROWNING RAILROAD,ING. OI7PrajOt!.rrlj' ojJ 8r"w/'1'-!!~ P/,.gnllfiOrT C"'~I"I",,-l/fI;ll/ rU.iZ$ DAVIO I-IANNAH'.zzr:, ~~ESIOENr O.a'//~:Ot"'.f"//993 RAY8URN CI-IEI<R.Y ENGINEERS, INC. c.-,fl~t(!tiI13 ctTt.5Ji"t:~rr HOIJS.,ON,fEJ( ..•..S GRAPHIC senLe 8rownif19 SI",pr/ot7 Another view of Isomville along the double-track main line. September / October 1996 LIVE STEAM 51 length. These I-beams are spaced 32" apart, with three beams on either side of the center pier. The center pier consists of six 10" creosoted posts set in concrete 5 feet in the ground. The south spillway bridge is a wood trestle set on concrete pads. The bridge was built with a 75-foot radius to carry the double track main ! line off the dam. The trestle bents are constructed with 4 X 6 treated wood set 6 feet apart. Between the bents are five 4 X 6" I, timbers supporting the track ties. Both bridges are capable of car- I rying five tons. ,I All the miniature buildings located on the main line of the Browning Railroad are built to 1/6 scale of the prototypes. This works out to 2" to the foot so the buildings look better with the I 1/8 scale railroad equipment. All the stations are modeled after :~~£ I those located on the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad in "",~", ,: Colorado, such as Isomville station which is a model of the Delores station. All four large water towers are operational, which allows steam engines to take on water when necessary. The water A passenger train powered by an EMD F-7 diesel at Browning Station, 'i1ll 1, tower at Pando siding is supplied by a water car, and is used The engine was built by Don Phillips of Backyard Rails. only in an emergency. The coaling tower at the Browning Station is a model of the Chama coaling tower in Chama, New Mexico. Ii The signaling system located around the Browning Station 11; loop was constructed in the fall of 1993. Currently six block sig- nals control the movement of trains through Isomville and : ~ Browning Station. In the future a total of 18 signals will control the movement of trains between Pando siding and Stamey siding in i! both directions. The electronic signaling system is manufactured , , by Automatic Control System of Corvallis, Oregon. All the signals show three light indications, to signify which blocks are occupied. The motive power and rolling stock of the Browning Railroad were acquired and assembled from many different rail- road manufacturers. The F-7 units were acquired from Backyard ':",3 "-~~-•. ~ ~.__u:'.~'~-:-"':"i,. ...~-~ _'_ -"'~ _'".". _ •.... : ...•. _ -I(;., _ •• ";"j Hannah's diesels (not all of them) at the railroad's barns. Rails in 1988. They were originally delivered as an F-7 A-B-B-A diesel combination. The A:s were the powered units and B units carried the gasoline tanks. After the electronic control system failed and it was determined that they couldn't be repaired, the units were split into an F-7 A-B-B combination and F-7 A alone. The second B unit is the powered unit pushing an F-7 A dummy and an F-7 B dummy. There is also an SD-35 diesel engine manu- factured by Railroad Supply Corporation. The Browning railroad also operates a Railroad Supply Mikado steam locomotive. This engine is modeled after the K-59 Double-headed freight on one of the bridges. No. 1209 that operated between Denver and Pueblo Colorado in the mid '30s. Currently under construction is an SD-60M diesel engine i modeled after the Union Pacific wide cab, heavy road diesel !I! engines. This one is powered by an 18 hp Vanguard two-cylinder gasoline engine, coupled to a 25 hp hydraulic pump powering four Eaton hydraulic motors.
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