TRAINMASTER BY WERNER MEER  US-RAILROAD-SHOP KILCHBERG
HOCHWEIDSTRASSE 3  CH-8802 KILCHBERG (ZÜRICH) SWITZERLAND (founded 1977)
PHONE *41-44-715-3666, FAX *41-44-715-3660, E-MAIL trainmaster@bluewin.ch
Go back to our Website - click here

added: March 12, 2013  /  updated: March 10, 2016 (Part 4)

HILL 582 in HO Scale (1:87)
CAJON PASS, CALIFORNIA
Second in popularity only to California's Tehachapi Pass and the famous Tehachapi Loop, Southern California's Cajon Pass attracts rail enthusiasts from throughout the United States and Canada as well as many foreign countries world-wide. Very famous and popular is this special location "Hill 582" in the middle of Cajon Pass for every railfan. Take a look at the "real thing" - click here


 

This is the Hill 582 Diorama
This Diorama was built by Kim Nipkow, Switzerland (size 65 x 160 cm) from December 2012 to February 2013.
Take a look at his own web site - click here
Kim is just 18 years old but already a well experienced model builder, specializing in landscaping. He visitted Cajon Pass and Hill 582 in Summer of 2012 and finaly decided to accept the challenge to re-create Hill 582 in HO scale, 87 times smaller.

please scroll down for more infos / bitte nach unten scrollen für mehr Infos

This page has 6 parts  /  Diese Seite hat 6 Teile

Part 1:

Photos of the finished diorama by Kim Nipkow

Part 2:

Photos of the finished diorama by Werner Meer

Part 3:         Photos of the diorama construction by Kim Nipkow
Part 4: Photos of Hill 582 on my Mojave Desert (Cajon) HO Scale Layout by Werner Meer
Part 5:                          Photos and links of the real Hill 582 by Don Toles and others
Part 6: Photos and links of the Mojave diorama and Joshua Trees by Kim Nipkow

 

Part 1: Below are different photos of this "one of a kind" diorama (by Kim Nipkow)
No question, we are pleased with this special tribute to the builders of the real thing. Lots of photos - click here
The guys are: Don E. Toles, Gary G. Gray, Marc Fournier, Jerry Shinar.
201: Overview of the whole Diorama. From left: UP Track (Colton-Palmdale cutoff), BNSF MT-1 and MT-2, Hill 582 (BNSF MT-3 is missing)
202: Bird's Eye View of this realistic Diorama
203: West side of Hill 582 (looking East) - Please note: Kim added a photo backdrop of the real thing with photoshop on the computer!
204: North-West side w/UP West bound on MT-2 205: BNSF WB Double Stack heading for L.A.
206: BNSF EB on MT-1 and UP SB on UP Track 207: Crazy Railfans catching the BNSF ES44AC EB on MT-2
208: North side w/BNSF MT-1 and MT-2 209: East side w/bench under the trees
210: South side w/Gary's pickup and Marc's Jeep 211: Hill 582 Memorials w/Don (standing) and Marc (sitting on Don's car)
Kim, the builder, with the Hill 582 Diorama. In the background is his Layout (backdrop not finished).
This Hill 582 Diorama was on display at the 4th-US-Modellbahn-Convention in Rodgau (Frankfurt) Germany on
October 19/20, 2013. In addition, Kim was running clincis about landscaping. Take a look at their web site:
direct link
And last but not least, the well known Pelle Soeborg (Denmark) will be there as well.
PDF of 8 page report of this diorama published in German "Modellbahn Kurier Special No. 13" in May 2013:
direct link  copyright by EK-Verlag

 

Part 2: Below are different photos of this "one of a kind" diorama (by Werner Meer)
I am the proud owner of this diorama and it is on display in my US-Railroad-Shop and can be seen during my regular opening hours.
I took a lot of photos to show views from different angles and all the details, even some are more or less similar.
A big thank you goes to Kim for building my favorite place in the world "Hill 582" in HO scale.
24: Two BNSF EMD SD75M diesels are passing Hill 582 18: BNSF WB on BNSF MT-2 toward San Bernardino
13: BNSF MT-1 (left) is usually for EB Trains uphill toward summit 25: North/West side of the Hill
64: Bird's Eye View 65: North side og the Hill
12: The Hill is an excellent spot for railfanning 26: The Swiss flag proves, there are Swiss railfans here
68: Standing at the North end of the Hill, we are on eyelevel . . . 19: . . . with the roof of the engines. Also great for close up photos
34: The flags are only placed if there are special visitors 33: Looking North/East
55: Two BNSF MoW Vehicles are also around 57: Looking East
32: Above the BNSF tracks is the UP track 56: SP built the Palmdale-Colton Cutoff in 1967
16: Along the UP track is a US Forest Service Road, which . . . 15: . . . can be used for railfanning as it is a public road.
14: The vegetation can be seen very well 53: The bushes look very realsitsic
22: There is a UP MoW pickup truck checking the UP main 23: The loco is an Athearn Genesis EMD SD70ACe
66: The Hill can easy be reached by car. Sometimes, the dirt roads . . 67: .  are washed out and it might be difficult with a low clearence car
51: West side of the Hill 29: Nice detailed surrounding of the Hill
54: Common vehicles on the Hill: Red pickup of Don (between . . . 30: . . . the trees), silver pickup of Gary and blue Jeep of Marc
47: The white Cadillac Escalade could be the rental car of Ruedi. 11: Or did Werner replace his Chrysler Town & Country today?
46: Hill 582 Memorials just to the right of the pickup truck 42: Don's truck with the water tank and Marc - Don is standing
36: East side wooden retaining wall 41: Once again, it looks like the real thing
48: The flags are waving and welcoming the visitors 58: The usual position of Don's truck for watering the plants
59: North side with Memorials and the coupler 60: It is just like a short alley
70: Excellent re-creation of the Hill. No Eucalyptus trees are on . . . 72: . . . the diorama, because there is nothing available in HO scale
09: Bench with Pelle Soeborg and Kim, Memorials w/coupler 80: Bird's Eye View
79: It is time to go for a visit to the real Hill 582 77: Still taking photos
76: Looking South, the road to the top of Hill 582 is steep . . . 75: . . . but no problem with any vehicle

A great opportunity to present a special loco on a special diorama

The first time ever, the diesel loco of Werner Enterprises is passing Hill 582 on its way from Omaha, NE to San Bernardino, CA. There is a long string of Werner trailers (TOFC) to be delivered to the Fontana Terminal of Werner Enterprises.
Werner Enterprises (WE) is a big trucking company founded by Clarence L. Werner in 1956 and based in Omaha, NE. With 7'200 Trucks (Tractors), 25'000 Trailers and 14'000 employees, WE is one of the five largest truck carriers in the U.S. WE is using the railroads for TOFC service, which can be seen over Cajon Pass as well. Direct link to Werner Enterprises: click here
Last but not least, the host of this website, Werner Meer, feels somehow familiar with WE because his first name is Werner.
81: This very unique paint scheme was applied by . . . 82: . . . Ferdinand Rat on an Athearn GE AMD-103
93: The 53' reefer trailer was produced by Athearn 89: Bird's Eye View
96: Ferdinand used the reefer trailer decals of A-Line (PPW) 95: Athearn made the solid blue Werner trailer as well
91: And another bird's eye view 90: No question, Hill 582 is an excellent spot for railfans
87: The BNSF SUV must be of Dave Miller 85: So many different angles to take pictures
84: Almost identical to photo 85 83: The proud owner of the WE loco is Werner Meer
Werner Enterprises Terminal Diorama in HO scale (1/87) with the above Werner Diesel Loco - take a look: click here

New 5/04/15: A great opportunity to present a special freight car on a special diorama

Beat Schneuwly (Switzerland) did very realistic weathering on a CSX Gondola. The finished model visitted the Hill 582 Diorama.
265: Great looking Gondola. Photo by B. Schneuwly 266: Looks realistic against the sun. Photo by B. Schneuly

 

Part 3: Below are different photos of the construction of this diorama (photos by Kim Nipkow)
It was for sure not an easy job to build something that is existing in the real world. So, Kim wanted to re-create Hill 582 as close as possible. Some details were hard to do because everything is 87 times smaller. No question, the result is outstanding.
250: This was the first drawing looking at Google Maps 251: Here are the different elevations
248: From left: UP track and BNSF MT-1 and MT-2 249: Just a wooden frame was the starting point
252: To get the contours of the terrain, he used styrofoam 253: Afterwards, the styro was covered with plaster
254: Next step, mark all dirt roads 255: Ready to start with track laying and landscaping
256: The foundation with diff. sand is done 257: The first bushes are planted
258: The difficult part is the Hill itself 259: How to make the retaining walls etc.
260: Finally, the trees and bushes have been planted 261: Even the bench in the middle has been mounted
262: Now, the Hill sides will get bushes 263: Railfans are already enjoying this spot in the middle of Cajon Pass

 

Part 4: Below are Photos of Hill 582 on my Mojave Desert (Cajon) HO Scale Layout by Werner Meer
Building Hill 582 from the ground up to be a more or less exact replica of the real thing.
In the meantime, the second railing and addtl. wooden deck has been installed.
New 3/10/16:  Landscaping Cajon Pass - Hill 582 - finished - click here

 

Part 5: Below are are different links to the "real thing" of Hill 582 (Cajon Pass) in Southern California
This exclusive photo with the dramatic dark sky was taken by Don Toles on 11/19/11

 

WM 5/31/10 South/East side - 3037 WM 6/1/10 West side w/MT-1 & MT-2 - 3206 WM 6/1/10 Railfans walking to the Hill - 3338

Here are the links for our "History of Hill 582" pages:

The History of Hill 582
General Overview

Page 1/3


Written by Don E. Toles (USA)

Updated: 4/28/14
5/14/08 Don Toles w/Hill 582 memorials - 623 See these 3 pages with all photos - click here 7/07/08 Hill 582 as seen from the East side - 19

 

History of Hill 582
The Early Years

Page 2/3


1991 - 2006

by Don E. Toles

Updated: 7/01/10
12/01 - Gary & Don X-Mas 2001 - 068 Read it and see all 108 photos - click here 4/9/06 - Chard Walker, Don, Karl, Gary - 105

 

History of Hill 582
The Late Years

Page 3/3

2008 - 2015

by Don E. Toles

Updated: 10/11/15
12/29/08 - Triple meet, WB & 2 EB trains - 8139 Read it and see all 364 photos - click here 12/29/08 - Don Toles w/memorials - 8140

Copyright by Don E. Toles (with permission Werner Meer)

Below are links of a recent visit to Hill 582 (May/June 2010) by Werner Meer

Cajon Pass
Hill 582  Part 1

by Werner Meer
May 29 - 30, 2010

Updated: 7/22/10
WM 5/29/10 UP EB coming round the curve - 2119 See all 204 photos - click here WM 5/29/10 BNSF WB pass UP EB - 2131

 

Cajon Pass
Hill 582  Part 2

by Werner Meer
June 1, 2010

Updated: 7/26/10
WM 6/01/10 BNSF EB w/9 locos - 3222 See all 239 photos - click here WM 6/01/10 North side of Hill 582 - 3334

 

Cajon Pass
Hill 582  Part 3

by Werner Meer
June 2 + 4, 2010

Updated: 7/31/10
KS 6/02/10 - Don with question - we say, yes - 161 See all 261 photos - click here WM 6/02/10 - Railfanning at its best - 2604

 

8 different and detailed Maps of Cajon Pass with captions (Mile Posts and Location) by Gary G. Gray - click here
New 8/11: Maps "How to find" Hill 582, Sullivan's Curve, Noisy Point by Gary G. Gray - click here
Accurate Map of Cajon Pass with 3rd Main Track by Michael Amrine - click here

 

Part 6: Kim Nipkow is an excellent modeller and landscaping specialist
Below are different links to his activities of dioramas and home made Joshua Trees
See also his own web site / Sehen Sie auch seine Homepage -
click here

 

Mojave Desert Diorama mit Joshua Trees - Mojave Desert Diorama with Joshua Trees - click here

 

Werner Enterprises in the Mojave Desert in HO Scale - click here

 

Joshua Trees im Modell - Modeling Joshua Trees - click here

 

Joshua Trees im Mojave Desert - Joshuas at the Mojave Desert - click here

Go back to Cajon Pass Main Page - click here
 

Home Cajon Pass Photo Gallery California Photo Gallery HO Mojave Desert Layout

See 2500 photos of my HO Scale Mojave Desert Layout:

0  Track Plan
10/20/07
1  Underframe
1/17/08
2  Track Laying
4/12/08
3  Track Laying
9/24/08
4  Track Laying
10/03/08
5  Landscaping
1/29/08
6  Streets & Buildings
3/23/09
7  Streets & Buildings
10/30/10
8  Streets & Crossings
11/28/11
9  Landscaping
4/27/13
10 City of Percyville-1
1/29/14
11 City of Percyville-2
3/26/14
12 City of Percyville-3
5/10/15
13 Landscaping Cajon
7/27/15
14 Cajon & Hill 582
3/10/16
15 Finished Layout
11/19/15
16 Werner Ent. Terminal
12/27/15
17 Percyville 2016-1
2/20/16
18 Cajon 2016-2
2/26/16
19 Details 2016-3
3/30/16
Buildings made by
Pelle Soeeborg
Same Buildings
located in Mojave, CA
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