Thanks for having posted those control panel images. I may have to download those shots and save them for later reference.
Here's an early Tuesday update on the yard panels. Wain sent me this shot earlier today of the painted and fitted wood trim. No glue at this point, just test fit. Later he sent me these shots of the glue up in process. Here's an up-close of the corner after using the Dewalt band clamp. These boys are really looking good!
Well, the big tortoise install session got started in earnest. We were able to set up an assembly line and get new throw rods installed (we swap out the .025 rod that comes with the kit for a .039 rod) and then while Ed handled the top side (checking point contacts against each rail), I was under the table doing the installs. Of the 21 needed we completed 12, so not a bad night. I thought about some pictures, but I came to the conclusion that the last thing this thread needed was a picture of my fat butt under the table with my shirt untucked. So no pics. You're welcome. Meanwhile Rey was busy completing another cut of 100 ton coal hoppers. The UP livery is pretty cool, IMHO. Later in the evening we received some pics from Wain of the latest on the panels. The first is his test fit of South Seattle Yard, while another frame sets up in the clamp. The last pic is of all three panels that now have the holes drilled for the LED lights. We're not far from starting the panel installs and the eventual wiring. That will be another RGW red letter day for sure. Thanks for checking in.
Be thankful I have never posted pictures of myself in action, such as you've described. You might quit model railroading and take up knitting instead! Ha ha ha.
No work session last night due to multiple conflicts, but Wain sent over these shots earlier in the day. He drilled and counter sunk screws in the unglued side of the panel frame. This will allow us to take out the panel if it is ever necessary. He also advised that the backside recess drilling was complete for all 3 panels, so we are good to go with install and wiring. Two of these get mounted to drawer slides, then put under their respective yard, the third is flush mounted to the fascia. I better get those tortoise installs done...
Well, we did it, absolutely no more tortoise switch machines need to be put in place on the RGW! Here are the final 8 to go in: Now perhaps my back can recover. Doug spent his evening putting in trees on the middle and lower track sections. He also has been working with the Dremel shaving off he backsides of some trees to place directly against the backdrop. Can't wait to see how that looks. I received a delivery today of several packages from eBay. I have been buying vehicles to put on the layout. Here is a Porsche outside the gas station. And a really cool addition of a logging truck; shown here delivering its cargo to the logging spur. That's it for now, have a great week.
Spent some time working on City Hall yesterday. The converted fire station has its new storefront installed, brick inlay and new paint. Now if I can only find the windows I set aside years ago. Next I'll tackle the revolving door.
GEE Michael, Glad to know I’m not the only one who does that!!! I look for stuff all the time. I’m slowly getting things organized, but it’s going to take awhile! Very nice looking building! You guys are making great progress! Dale
Looks good, but I don't have one on my layout because people in the area I model can't afford one either. They're more likely to be driving a country Cadillac (Ford pickup truck). Progress looks great, BTW. Nice looking city hall. Also like the log loading area.
This past Tuesday saw everyone doing their part to clean up the layout. We fixed some unruly track joints, redrilled a switch tube and reset the tortoise and then ate homemade oatmeal chocolate chip cookies; while shooting the breeze. While we socialized, I took some random shots of the "clean" layout. Here is Seattle Pasco Yard, specifically the NE end. Seattle tracks are to the right, Pasco tracks are in the back left. Looking further down the yard, the tracks come back together and enter the helix. Here are opposite views of Franklin Yard. Looking due east: Looking west: Wain advises he's about ready to start the panel installs. We have completed the tortoise installation and Megapoints Controllers has shipped our routing components order. Should be a fun couple of months. Thanks for checking in.
Another productive evening at the layout as several projects were worked on. Wain and Ed spent much of the evening looking over our brand new megapoints order and strategizing on component locations near the three yards. Meanwhile Rey added roof extensions to an old caboose after seeing multiple online posts that the production roof was too short versus the prototype. Doug was busy with more trees on the lower level, in specific the NW corner. He then addressed some ballast issues near several turnouts in Franklin. Meanwhile Scott was working on the logging spur. We're pretty sure the recent cold snap contributed to the Chooch rubber wall pulling away from the landform, so he fixed that and then put down more scenery in the area. I started the evening showing off my recent eBay vehicle grab. I purchased many of these cars from truck stop hobbies. Reasonable pricing, quality cars and trucks. We ended the evening munching on girl scout cookies (my favorite time of year) but not before addressing a lingering issue at the Franklin Wye. I have wanted to put a landform in the middle to break up the view. Doug and I traced out the template then got the foam and wire cutter out of mothballs and started shaping. Here's how that looks before scenery. All in all a great evening. Thank you for sharing it with us.
Just sitting here on the couch unwinding (that's a nice way of saying my back is killing me) from spending two hours hunched over on the lower staging yard. After looking at the yard pic in my preceding post for a week now, I finally decided it was long since past time to extend the yard tracks in both Seattle and Pasco. Here's how they look now. Seattle Yard: Pasco Yard: These are staging and destination tracks for both yards. I decided tonight that we will run a scenery backdrop between the two sets of yards. On the Seattle side, a cityscape, on the Pasco side, a grain terminal. We will not anchor the divider down, but rather weight the building flats to keep it rigid. By doing this we can take the divider out for easy access during cleaning. This is not the next project on my list, as I want to get Black Diamond complete, but the track project had been on my mind and tonight I addressed it. Scott continued the restoration of the logging spur. He added more scenery and then worked on track clearance. He also restained the wood planking between the rails. Before the night ended I did some final shaping of the landform inside the Franklin Wye. Then glued it down. After it was firmly in place I added the first layers of blended turf, natural dirt and Woodland Scenics soil. Next week we'll add some foliage and trees. Until then, thanks for checking in.
RGW, I enjoyed seeing your photos of your layout. Particularly the one of the retaining wall, great photo and equality great scenery. Keep up the good work!!! I feel for you on your back problems, I too have the same problem, it really stinks and a few curse words to go with it. Joe .
Thanks Joe. I appreciate you following the RGW and for your comments. Agree with you, back problems suck. Michael
Well another work party in the books. Tonight we had a Spartan crew as two of our buds are on vacations and a third was under the weather. That left Doug, Scott and I to wrestle with various projects. Doug took up where he left off last week adding new ballast to the Franklin Wye and its adjacent tracks. This picture also shows you the landform in the Wye and how it looks after the scenery glue has dried. Scott started off the evening unveiling the two locomotives he volunteered to repower and add DCC. I have owned these shells for 20 years, so to finally see them on the layout was a thrill. He then headed back to the SW corner to continue work on the logging spur. Before the night was over he had the tracks working beautifully (we had a slight high center problem) and then found time to install our traveling crane tracks. This shot is immediately before our 1-2-3 weight blocks were put on the tracks to hold them in place while the glue sets. As for me, I worked on the crane itself, getting it assembled in sections so it can be painted. Once it is painted and the guy wires are installed, I will add the logging claw that I purchased on eBay. Well that's it for tonight, thanks for checking in.
