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.

A Little House

This is a craftsman laser cut wood model I just completed as part of a project for the Gateway Division of NMRA. It's the first wood craftsman kit I have ever done, the first time I have ever used chalk for color, and the first time I've ever weathered any structure!

Particulars for those interested in such things: it is an American Model Builders, Inc. (of St. Louis) laser kit; the house and trim are all done with chalks (house is green, with dirty yellow highlights), the trim is very light dirty yellow over brown, the roof is painted steel gray, the chimney is painted Tuscan red, it's ALL weathered with grimy black chalk powder, and it's all sprayed with Dullcote; I also added a little rust colored chalk to the roof (probably a little heavier than necessary); the chimney is dusted with white chalk after the Dullcote to highlight the mortar. The model is glued together with white plane-modelers glue, and the trim pieces are "pick & sticks" reinforced with CA.

I thoroughly enjoyed it and am looking forward to doing more such projects, including a model of MO Tower that once stood at Cresson, PA -- but first, back to installing Tortoise switch motors and getting trains running.

Gary Hoover's Incredible Railroad

I had an opportunity to visit Gary Hoover's incredible model railroad this evening. Gary, featured in Model Railroader on a number of occasions for his outstanding modeling, was a most gracious host. He is a prototype modeler with his large Cajon Pass and Chicago railroad replicating the western reaches of the Santa Fe in the transition period from steam to early generation diesel power in August, 1951. Gary loves to build prototype model railroads, and this layout will be torn out in the next few weeks to make way for his latest effort, which is already started. As I understand, this newest effort will bring us the Norfolk Southern and its heavy duty coal-hauling mountain railroading.

Tomorrow, it's back in the basement and back to the installation of Tortoise switch machines. We got the accessory buss wires put in today.

New look to blog

I have updated the look of the blog to something I think looks a little more contemporary. I hope you like it ... but feel free to comment either way. The nice thing is that it can be changed with the click ... okay, a couple of clicks ... of a button.

For those looking for the installation of the Tortoise machines, that starts tomorrow and I'll have photos posted by the weekend.