My Layout: The Alta California

Welcome to the Alta California Railway, an HO scale prototype freelance railroad set in 1968, connecting Mexico with California.

The best way to keep up to date on its construction is to subscribe to my YouTube channel, with this playlist dedicated to the ALTA project.

My 9×15 layout is set on the shores of the Sea of Cortez western Mexico, circa 1968. Operations are focused around Empalme & Guaymas, with the two cities having grown up faster, earlier thanks to substantial investment and better connections provided by the Alta California Railway.

A double track mainline with superelevated curves is the stage upon which all my custom painted and superdetailed rolling stock performs. Also included is the Ferrocarril Interbanos de Aurora, an electrified interurban connecting the two cities. The interchange between the two roads is modeled along with the electric backshops for the trams.

Elsewhere on the layout is the bayside neighborhood of Esquina, on the Empalme side. There, Sonoran vernacular architecture is on full display with most of the structures scratchbuilt, taking direct inspiration from buildings in the region back before the 60’s. 19th century buildings cluster around a 16th century Catholic mission, which faces a “law of the Indies” style plaza.

Empalme de Guaymas is a striking 1960s modernist depot designed by a notable Mexican modernist architectural team. All but unheard of in the US, this thin shell concrete depot shows how vibrant the “Mexican Miracle” was, driving the nation into what was once a bright future. The depot will be entirely scratchbuilt.

Looming over the depot is a 19th century brewery that has had consistent success over each decade and has grown steadily. New buildings and additions spill out over a corner of the layout, from 1850’s era ornate brickwork to 1960’s modern curtain-wall industrial distribution buildings.

Around the curve from there will be the imposing 1930’s streamline moderne diesel shops. Also scratchbuilt, it’ll feature magnetic walls that are removable, revealing a fully detailed, painted, and weathered interior to show off kitbashed rolling stock. A Heljan transfer table will (hopefully, with some work) be able to seamlessly deliver rolling stock from the mainline into one of the 6+ bays to be worked on.

Always in the distance are the distinctive ancient volcanic mesas which spill into the ocean in real life, sort like if Monument Valley was by the sea. Careful geological care has gone into making these match their Sonoran counterparts and slowly I’m adding accurate flora & fauna to the layout to reinforce that specific microclimate present in Guaymas.

This layout is the second iteration of the Alta layout concept, you can watch a video about the first iteration here. This version of the layout began in 2022 after I tore down the old layout (seen in the bottom photo) and rebuilt it all from scratch together with friends. The benchwork is experimental, and includes storage for A-line rolling stock boxes in one section of the layout.

Below you can see the “donut” shape of the layout, with broad 36″ and 44″ radius curves to allow me to run full sized 86′ auto parts boxcars and Pullman heavyweight cars without issues. This photo was taken in September 2024 and will be updated as the layout comes together. In the foreground the white area is the platforms for the modernist depot. Esquina is on the right, the brewery on the left of the depot out of frame. The smokestack is where the diesel servicing facility is.