Mill Valley Branch

The Mill Valley Branch is a branch off the main line serving Mill Valley, CA.

Prototype

This branch was developed to serve Mill Valley, a developing community. Initially, it also provided access to Mt. Tamalpais, a 2600 foot high peak visible across the Golden Gate from San Francisco. It was a popular weekend destination for travelers.

Beginning in 1896, the Mount Tamalpais and Muir Woods RR was developed. The MT&MW connected with the North Pacific Coast in Mill Valley and over 8 1/2 miles of trackage ascended to an Inn at the peak of Mt. Tamalpais.

This branch began with the unlabeled Mill Valley Junction at the edge of Richardson Bay and ran into Mill Valley.

The following map shows the track layout in Mill Valley. The track exiting to the left from the station exiting off the top of the map is the MT&MW RR main line.

Union Station in Mill Valley. Right track is the NPC. Left track is the MT&MW RR.

Model Railroad

In the model, the Mill Valley segment is implemented on a 4 foot wide by 32 foot long raised bed. The bed is 18 inches off the ground. In this 32 foot bed, the entire Mill Valley trackage of the North Pacific Coast will be modeled as well as railroad related structures. One of the structures is Union Station connecting the MPN with the MT&MW railroad. Past the station, the beginning of main trackage of the MT&MW will be modeled to the end of the bed.

In Phase 3 of railroad construction, the bed will be continued, looped back toward the shed and model the climb to Mt Tamalpais and the branch to Muir Woods.

Bed Construction

This photo shows the nearly complete bed on which the Mill Valley Branch will be constructed.

This photo shows the bed with the last eight feet filled and planted.

One track will run along the left side of the bed. This is a non-prototypical section of track that will complete a continuous run loop.

This shot shows the right side of the last eight feet of the Mill Valley bed. Track will run between the trees, turn right, then connect with the right side of the yard area which is yet to be filled. This track segment is the beginning of the Mt Tamalpais & Muir Woods line that ran 8 1/2 miles to Mt Tam. Paving blocks on right side are the future location of the Blythestone Hotel, a resort hotel serving Mill Valley. The hotel was a stop on the MT&MW RR's route.

Road bed is temporarily filled with dirt and mulch for weed control. Track will not be set until entire bed is complete.

Bed Utilities

Engine Power

Engines operating on the outside of the layout will either be powered by live steam or will be battery power.

Low Voltage Lighting

Buildings and other lighting will be controlled by a Malibu transformer mounted inside the shed. A 12-2 low voltage line will be run along the side of the bed. 12 volt power will be distributed to structures and other low voltage lighting using Malibu transformers.

120 V AC Power

A 12-2 120 Volt AC line will also be run through the bed feeding power to weather protected outlets mounted to the outside of the landscape timber. The circuit will be protected by a GFCI outlet inside the shed and protected by a 20 A circuit breaker.

This photo shows low voltage cable and 120 V AC cable being fed along the inside of the landscape timber.

	Cable is loosely stapled to the timber so the location is known for future reference.
	A year later, the beds feeding the Mill Valley branch are complete and ready for an initial track layout. The future branch line to the Mt. Tamalpais & Muir Woods RR will cross the bed at the right corner. The bridge to San Rafael (not prototypical) will cross the bed on the right.

Irrigation

Lines for a drip irrigation system will be installed inside the bed. Current plans are to use a drip irrigation system available from Harbor Freight Tools. Lines will be laid during construction to avoid the necessity of tearing up the bed at a later time. A number of options relating to the supply of a water line to the layout are still being explored.