I'll give you a "partly" on that one, Steve! Actually, the whole "mystery" series is because I was on vacation and wanted something to fill with until I could show actual progress. And I've got a wedding coming up that will take me away from the layout for some more days. :-( The rock aren't castings, just joint compound layered on. Every so often I'll work on them, usually in addition to whatever I have going on at the moment. The technique seems to be working well thus far.
Oh - I was hoping for the first "roll through" McDonald's (or pick your favorite fast food) on a rail road
So this week is - what they call in the TV biz - The Reveal: Aha! Prefab switches have been delivered! In reality, this is what you do when you're out of town for an extended period and you wish to continue to participate. I'll try to get an "in progress" shot for next week; the first crossover is now in and working. Perhaps more importantly in the scheme of things, this area marks the debut of fully electronic switch control on The Oakville Sub. There's a Digitrax DS64 buried in the benchwork, and switch control here is now via pushbutton rather than toggle switch. The added bonus is the switch can be operated by a throttle as well, or perhaps in the distant future, a computer...
Tough place for a set of crossovers....in between a set of blind curves....crews are going to need to sneek up on it if they have an approach...I predict more than a few signal violations..LOL...
Thank you, Cunnel Suh! I'm happy TB'ers like it! Ya gots to put 'em where ya can...but that's OK, I don't have any signals yet anyway!!! Bwahahahahaha.... Seriously, some of the signals on the Tehachapi line are aimed in what the normal railroad would consider strange directions due to the curvature...and I will likely signal it eventually, if someone will make my prototype...
As promised, a status update: A train slowly runs through the new switch area. Now we do know that the track guys wouldn't let trains run through without at least SOME ballast, but remember rule 1...here's a closer shot: The white shim is .010 stock so the Atlas switch will match the height of the ME flex. From another angle. Love those SD75is... And finally another train:
Looks sharp Jim, Never knew about the differnces in Atals and ME Code 55. Thanks for pointing that out. You spliced the crossover in there very well. And it is throttle controlled too! Add a few more DS64's and you can set up routes and not worry about signals. You just need to watch the route overlaps. And on the silly side - if the mainline uses concrete ties, wouldnt the turnouts too? Sorry, but my era is earlier and there are no concrete ties. Just curious. Keep it comming, love the layout!
Nope. Tehachapi is still almost all wooden tie turnouts. Concrete tie turnouts are still relatively rare.
Jim, You layout is super, I like it very much the realism is super. Question; Why did you use ME Flex and Atlas Turnouts? Is there an advantage that I may have overlooked on my layout?
Thanks for the kind words! For my money ME is the finest and most realistic flex available, and as a bonus it comes in concrete tie AND weathered. It's not as easy to use because it's stiff, but I love the looks. Atlas switches simply because they are finely detailed and available in larger sizes - in my case #7 and #10. I chose to not hand lay in the interest of speed.
A UP ballast train takes the (new) siding at the construction site while revenue traffic passes: And from the other direction: Looks like Flikr has "enhanced" their sharing code. This may be easier for some, but for me it's a PITA. Seems like you find something that works and they labor to mess it up!
Wow, a crossover and a siding, I guess I was part right with my guess. It really looks good Jim!:tb-biggrin::thumbs_up::thumbs_up: And the best part is that you spiced it all in so well, you can't tell that it wasn't there before. I hail you the Track Master!
Thanks Jerry and David! Not too happy with the looks of the ballast - the new is darker which is strange - same ballast, same matte medium... Now it's time to convert the staging yard to digital (Digitrax DS-64) switching as well. I've not been satisfied with that panel and have added a pocket track for local power so had to change it...lots O wires!
Those locos are awefully clean considering all the work they do. The addition looks great and I am sure you will enjoy for some time. You could try to add some pigments or airbrushing to weather the track and ballast and make the transition less noticeable between the darker and lighter ballast. Just a thought, but I bet you already have a gameplan to rectify. I cannot see a color issue in the pictures though. Love'n the thread, and wish I lived closer.
