Proof!

Hello, everyone!

Since last time, when I made the momentous announcement of a train running on the layout, I've made some more progress, which I'll document in the next posting, but people have been asking for photos, so who am I to deny you?

I still haven't laid any of the spur tracks, and I'm still running on temporary DC power, but the shot to the right shows an overview of the layout as it stands currently. You can see that the benchwork is up, and that the foam (a combination of pink and blue 2" insulation foam) has been placed, with the layer of ceiling tiles on top of that.

It's been a while, so here's a refresher on the track plan:

The photo to the left shows where the spurs to Ellicott Engineering (two switches on the near side) and DS Pipe & Supply (on the far side) will  go. Just to the right of that is the beginning of the runaround, which I was able to make j-u-u-s-t long enough to squeeze a 60" car into while making sure traffic can still get by on the "main."

In the shot to the right, you can see the local pulling loads past the Ball Metal spur. This is the the area where the street level begins to drop. On the prototype, it drops about 7 feet in altitude in roughly 325 linear feet (a 2.1% grade). On the layout, it drops 5/8" (a scale 4'6")  in roughly 44 inches (about 320 scale feet) for a slightly more moderate 1.4% grade. Enough to be believable, provide some visual interest, and still stay within the basic dimensional confines of the materials. The track gang is obviously still at work here, as evidenced by the track sections hanging around.

This photo shows a close-up of that same area and reveals some other things, too. One, that dirty Union Pacific boxcar highlights just how shiny that GP40 is. It needs some weathering! Two, it shows that the spur track (which is not tacked down nor in its final location) is Code 100 track. It will actually be Code 83 for final installation, since that portion of the track is exposed. I'm using Code 100 for the "street track" because who cares, right? And why bury more expensive Code 83 track under a load of styrene? There isn't a lot of exposed track on this layout, so Code 100 abounds. Three, it shows the texture of the shaved ceiling tiles. It wasn't as bad as I thought, but not a walk in the park either. More about that next time!

Just to the left of here is where the wye will be, that provides access to the storage, team, and F&F Jacobs spur tracks. I haven't put those in yet.

The next three items on the task list (not necessarily in order) are:

• Finish laying track (both "main" and spurs).
• Begin wiring for DCC (so I can put that finicky DC power pack away and run some sound-equipped engines).
• Build the backdrop (so you guys don't have to look at my ugly basement walls in photos). 

I leave you with a very short, not very interesting, and of-questionable-quality video I put together (using my point and shoot digital camera, thus the not-so-great quality). But, it does show movement without me using my hands to drag the train!

Until next time,

Joe