Railroad Running Well

Primarily on the efforts of David James, the Paducah & Lake Erie is running well. David was here a short time last weekend, and again for two days here at the end of the week. The major issues we got accomplished were (1) adding leads from the ramp leading from the helix -- not a lot of fun, but necessary, (2) adding leads to power Attica Yard and the passing siding on the lower level, and (3) adding decoders to several engines. Yes, David even taught me, kinda, how to install decoders. The primary thing I learned is that if you've seen the inside of one engine ... you've seen the inside of one engine. We pulled five of them apart, and NOT ONE of them was like any of the others. But in the final analysis, all the engines with decoders are running well, everywhere on the railroad. It's just about time to start on some of the fun parts, i.e., building something besides track! More later, and soon!

Christmas in Springtime

Now that Attica Yard is in, I have started unpacking boxes of rolling stock. Not having seen any of this stuff since packing up in Ashland 3 1/2 years ago, it's like Christmas in the middle of April. As you can see from the photo above, the yard is already filling up; the two "empty" tracks are the main lines. The Peabody coal train is on a passing siding. With several more boxes to go, obviously building the planned storage yard has to move up on the "to do" list. As many of you already know from experience, that "to do" list does not get shorter, it lengthens on a daily basis. But, that's what it's all about.

A Visit to John Peluso's Railroad

Last Thursday, our Gandy Dancers group visited John Peluso's outstanding railroad in our weekly meeting. I came away with at least three distinct thoughts: 1) you can get a lot of railroad in a 16-inch wide space - all of John's two-level railroad (top photo above) except the yard (also above) is just 16" wide; 2) when done correctly (and it is by John), just how good photo backdrops can be - John uses ScenicKing photo backdrops blended in with the foliage - note the tree next to the foliage backdrop just left of the brick building backdrop in the yard photo, and the entire line of trees against the photo backdrop in the bottom level (top photo); and 3)John uses all four-axle power, and it works well and looks good on a smaller railroad. His entire railroad is of very neat, clean design, and runs well. An enjoyable evening.

Paducah Passing Siding Completed

This evening, we completed the last of a number of tasks we set out to accomplish this week when the Paducah passing siding went in, and was checked with trains passing through. That means this week we completely "tuned" the track (and rolling stock that was out) and got everything running smoothly; we completed the four-track, 16-feet long Attica Yard; we put the Paducah passing siding in; got the road bed in for the Heyl Junction passing siding; and cleaned and organized the railroad room. What a help Kenny Heyl was. We even found time to go train watching the first sunny day (Wednesday) and to the hobby shop. Whew! The photo above is from Wednesday and is from a new spot (for me): Geyer Road and the UP crossing in Kirkwood, just west of Kirkwood's historic station.

Attica Yard Is In

After spending Wednesday train watching, it was back to the basement today and putting in Attica Yard, named for my hometown in Indiana. Two photos -- top, the length of the yard shot from the west end, and bottom, Kung Fu fighter Ken Heyl putting on the final touches. We have the passing siding around Paducah about two-thirds finished (it will be complete before bedtime) and that will about complete Kenny's stay. We have accomplished a great deal.

"Tuning" the railroad

Ken Heyl is in Missouri this week, and first on our agenda (with snow outside) is the "tuning" of the railroad. We spent the morning with that task, and few do it better than Ken Heyl. In this photo, the Burlington with a short coal train is headed up the ramp to the helix, and ultimately to the upper level. The UP-led mixed freight coming down the ramp has just left the helix; on the lower level is the Peabody coal train with CSX power on the front. These two trains are headed for Heyl Junction, an interlocking plant on the opposite side of the room, and the "tower operator" is going to have some decisions to make regarding which train to send where. The buildings in the photo are from the late Dean Freytag's well-known railroad, and are placed simply for the picture. This area will become Attica (Ind.-my hometown) Yard before the end of the week.

Gaps and Drops

The Paducah & Lake Erie is now fully operational after some 5 1/2 hours spent Saturday in with Digitrax expert Brian Post dealing with all the reversing loops. The reversing loops were created primarily because of the complex interlocking with two crossovers on the lower level. After a number of double gaps and power line drops -- I will post a explanatory photo later for those who are interested -- trains run through the interlocking from any one of four tracks and leave via any one of the same four tracks. Photo above shows two trains meeting on the lower level, the first time power has gotten to these tracks. Now, with trains running the entire mainline, I can start "tuning" the track to assure smooth operation, and adding the yard and industrial turnouts. Again, thank you to the yeoman effort put forth by Brian Post in solving this complex wiring problem.

Digitrax Electronics Nearly Finished

The Digitrax electronics are nearing complete installation. Those working with Digitrax will recognize the device pictured here as the PM 42, an auto-reversing circuit board. This circuit board allows for up to four reversing loops, which will handle the loops on the P&LE. Note the labels on the left side of the board, designating the reversing loops: "Heyl" is Heyl Junction, an interlocking on the lower level, "Yard" is a "wye" track into a storage yard, and "Mine" is a double crossover coming out of the helix on the upper level. The fourth reversing loop will be the turntable at the engine facility when installed. The main line leads are in. Next comes the four-track classification Attica Yard on the lower level, and hooking up the Tortoise turnout motors to DPDT switches.