Happy Thanksgiving

To all of you, Sue and I wish you a great Thanksgiving and the very best of holiday seasons.

Rolling Stock Appears on P&LE

Rolling stock is slowly starting to appear on the Paducah & Lake Erie. First to show up is the Peabody coal train, shown here crossing from the helix to the ramp that will take it to the lower level. Not all play today, as I put in the loooong passing siding on the lower level. Next is hooking up the lower level power leads as there is a significant decrease in power on the new trackage.

Main Line In, IR Receiver Installed

Wow! What a week! David James and Ken Heyl arrived last Saturday (Nov. 6), and we started working on the railroad. David had to take Sunday evening, and Monday thru Wednesday for a business meeting in Little Rock, but Ken stayed here and we put in long days. David returned Wednesday evening and worked all day Thursday and Friday and Saturday morning. Local neighbor Bob Gouirand chipped in on several occasions as well. End result? The main line -- complete with return loops to allow continuous running -- is in! The 1.67% down slope, which connects the helix with the lower level, is complete and operational. An impressive interlocking, now and forevermore to be known as Heyl Junction -- conceived and designed by Kenny Heyl and built by David James -- works like a charm and allows trains coming off the lower level loop beneath Paducah to return trains on either track up the ramp, or on either lower level main. The Digitrax electronics have been consolidated, and include the installation of the IR wireless throttle and receiver. Photos above, top to bottom: #1 - connector between the bottom of the helix and the start of the down ramp; the tracks below are the entrance and exit to the lower level return loop beneath the helix; #2 - the down ramp to the lower level; #3 - Ken Heyl (left) and David James install the interlocking, and #4 - short freight heads back up the ramp through Heyl Junction.

Ready for electronics

All bench work is done, the lower level buss wires are in (photo left), and the plywood sub roadbed is nearly all in place. Time now for the electronics (i.e. move and consolidate the Digitrax power system -- David James expertise) and we'll be ready to start laying track on the lower level. It's moving quickly, thanks largely to David and Ken Heyl.

Switch motors, bench work

It's been a busy weekend on the Paducah & Lake Erie. Thursday evening was a big (and hopefully, the last) lumber purchase; Friday and Saturday were spent installing the Tortoise switch motors. Then Saturday evening, David James (Brecksville) and Ken Heyl (Ashland) showed up from Ohio. The three of us spent a couple of hours measuring and planning for the lower level of the P&LE, and Sunday installed the last of the upper level switch motors (top photo) and started putting up the lower level bench work (bottom photo). The goal is the have all the bench work done, some lower level track laying completed, and the electronics (Digitrax) consolidated and completed by the end of the week. David had to leave for Little Rock, to return Wednesday; Ken and I will be here all week.

Fall PA Trip

Here are two of the photos from our recent Fall trip to the Horseshoe Curve area in PA. The top photo is from the Curve, while the second pic is also from a curve, this time Mance Curve, near Sand Patch, PA on the old B&O route. About a dozen of us from several states meet twice annually at the Station Inn Bed & Breakfast in Cresson, PA. This year, we were about a week behind the peak period for the color, but still managed to find some good patches. For more photos of the PA trip, you can go to http://billlinson.rrpicturearchives.net/archivethumbs.aspx?id=61776.

David James and Ken Heyl show up Saturday for several days of model railroad building; most of the lower level and virtually all of the electronics should be done when they leave.