Trains Are Runnin'

Trains are running on the Paducah & Lake Erie. Sunday was a looooong day, but the helix is transitioned into the upper deck mainline, and the eastbound track is in from the helix to the entrance to Paducah. The westbound track is in from the helix to the end of the James Creek Railway spur at one of the three coal mines. The work bench is also installed. Below are five photos from Sunday: from top to bottom are 1) the first train to run (David James' Alco) at about 6 pm Sunday; 2) the transition from the helix to the upper deck; 3) David laying track on the upper deck; 4) the Digitrax power components for the helix, which we've made into its own power division; and 5) the work bench, which will include a spur off the lower level that will have the programming track and a RIP track.

I mentioned a couple of days ago about a silicone product we're using to fasten down roadbed and track, and we're quite happy with it. It's fast drying, with no need to tack down either roadbed or track until is dries, and it goes down easily. The first tubes we used on the helix dried white in color and looks messy, but since this will all be hidden, it was a good trial run. We have since gone to a clear-drying silicone and have become much more adept at putting it down, so it looks pretty good. For those interested, the product is "DAP Alex Plus, Acrylic Latex Caulk Plus Silicone" and be sure to get the drys "clear" version. It's about $2.25/tube at Home Depot.