Mainline Leads In; Next Come Tortoise Switches

The leads on the upper level mainline of the Paducah & Lake Erie are in, thanks to some help by Bob Gouirand. Next come the Tortoise slow-motion switch motors, which I am using for all switches on the main line, and hard-to-reach turnouts. Industrial tracks will be hand thrown switches. Anyway, I have to install 14 of the Tortoise guys on the upper level as it stands right now, and there will be more. The good news is that I have found them in the moving boxes (we could have done a better job labeling boxes when we packed up the railroad in Ohio).You will recall that I'm trying to get all the "under the bench work" wiring on the upper level done while I have easy access before installing the lower level.

Trains Running; Dropping Leads

Trains are running again after the visit by Digitrax expert Brian Post. It was, as I suspected, a matter of some recent wiring by yours truly being done incorrectly, and it took Brian about 10 minutes to see the errors of my ways. As most modelers will attest, when trains are running - even just a short distance - it's much easier to get motivated to work on the layout. That's especially true this week in St. Louis when the thermometer has hit 100-plus degrees every day (heat index in the 112 range)! Now it's to the task of dropping leads every six feet to assure even distribution of power. Rather than soldering to the buss wire, I am using 3M "suitcase connectors" (photo above). They can be a pain to work with, but are quicker than soldering every connection. Anyway, we move forward.

Changes are coming, help on the way

I continue to have power problems, but have contacted a DCC expert, Brian Post, here in St. Louis who is going to help. It will be great to get trains running, and a great morale boost to get busy.

I have once again decided to make this a two-level railroad, since I have gotten quite interested in operations, and simplky need a larger railroad to do that effectively. Impetus for this move has been visiting Bob Buschart's two-level railroad and seeing how I can combine my present helix with some long 1.67% grade elevation changes to give me a lower level of about 30 inches off the floor. His lower level works quite well and I am committed to doing it.

Once I get trains running (hopefully this weekend) and start building again, I'll get more photo evidence posted. Thank you for your patience.

Back from trip, hospital stay

I'm back to working on the railroad after returning from the private railroad car trip to Washington D.C. and back. But first, an update. Photos above, from top to bottom and all from the vestibule of the Cimarron River, are departing the nation's capitol, just after having passed through the Sand Patch PA tunnel, and leaving Chicago's Union Station with the former Sears Tower rising in the background. It was a great trip, but four days later, I landed in the hospital for three days. But, I'm home now, walking increasing distances very day, dieting religiously, and losing weight. It's back to the Paducah & Lake Erie Railroad in the basement.

Ready for trip

Ken Heyl is in town getting ready for our private car rail adventure to Washington, D.C. and back. Ken helped on the final piece of track work. We leave Friday via a private car (as part of a National Railroad Historical Society trip) tacked on behind Amtrak. We go to Chicago Friday night, join on behind Amtrak's Capitol Limited Saturday evening for the overnight trip to Washington, spend Sunday through Tuesday nights in Washington, return to Chicago overnight Wednesday, spend Thursday night in Chicago, and on down to St. Louis Friday. All nights are in our private compartments in the Pacific Union rail car. We're looking forward to it.

Upper Level Mainline Is In!

The upper level mainline of the P&LE is in, as of 3:40 pm today. Top photo is yours truly putting down the final piece of track. Bottom photo is the first train running the entire loop, here entering what will be the Yard Limits of Paducah; four of the cars are recent acquisitions from the defunct Buckeye Western, owned by the late Dave White of northern Ashland County, Ohio. Next on the agenda is the dropping of feeder wires to the buss wires.

Isolation worked ... kinda!

I'm happy to report that isolation, as described in the previous post, worked in partially determining the power problem and preserving (after a fashion) my sanity. Simply, a different engine runs just fine on each of the throttles; the "problem" unit does not run on either. Thus, the problem - still to be determined - lies with the one unit, but now I can take it to one of a couple of Digitrax "experts" I know and get it fixed. I have called Home Depot and put the chain saw order "on hold".