It will get fine tuned when I glue it down, but they all fit good. I was told a PA1 is a picky locomotive so I did my testing with one. Wires will get holes drilled and run under the board, but this worked for the test for now.
Here is the first run ever under power through Pinole on the ATSF Line, and onto the new Franklin Canyon section. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chw4OQtP-5U&feature=channel_page"]YouTube - Layout52009 042[/ame]
PA1 stopped because of gaps cut in the rail at the switch. Once wired correctly, it will keep on chuggin. But the tests through the curves went beautifully.
Now this is over a scale 100 mph. Trains will NEVER run through here that fast, but I wanted to see if the PA1 would make it through the switches and curves, (22"R), OK. It did. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGnFC_dMacQ&feature=channel_page"]YouTube - Layout52009 043[/ame]
Didn't get as much done today as I had hoped, but after church tomorrow, and some Mothers Day festivities, , I am going to try and get the track glued.
Glad your getting closer to getting some good ol' Santa Fe going. Looking forward to seeing a revenue train. The railroad job hunting isn't going to well on my end, so my layout's deadline keeps getting pushed back. Nice to see someone making some headway.
Yea, the railroads have alot of people laid off right now. Our division is running on half the people it used to use. And thats including the track dept too. Less MOW means less track work, which after awhile will mean less good track to operate over.
Geez! This is great. This is the first time I have seen this thread and I spent several hours going from start to finish I have to admit I didn't read every message but I at least looked at every picture and video. I grew up in Point Richmond above the SanteFe yard there and spent a lot of hours exploring Point Pinole even before it was a park. You did a great job representing that area and the feel of the railroading going on there. I now live in the Sacramento area and was hoping your layour was in driving distance because I would LOVE to see it first hand.... Is it really in Alabama? I don' get out that way very often ;-). Great work and I will be following along now!
Tonight I got the 'S' curve glued down and the switches. Got holes drilled for switch machines, and several feeder wires dropped. I also got one of the side tracks glued down and run to the corner I cut out. Tomorrow I am hoping to get another section of plywood mounted....depending on what time I get off. I am going to get a drink and cool down and then I will grab the camera and get a few photos. (Will look pretty much like the last few shots!) LOL
Here's the siding thats glued in place, and the cut-out corner. I used Liquid nail to glue the track down right to the plywood.
Here's looking the other way. This track ends here on top of the platform, and another track will come in on the other side, but lower...or even with the platform.
A track used to be here running to the end of the platform, and the section above had a track dead ending before the drop. When these photos were taken, the area had become a collect all of different things the BNSF had removed, like the beloved cantilever signal all cut up.
The Main here has always been higher then the sidings, thats why I am glueing the track right to the board. In some places the ballest will just be dirt, from Franklin Canyon, just like it was in the 80's.
Here's the area now with just the Main....but the siding used to run next to it here several feet lower.
The 'S' Curve running towards the backdrop is banked on both right and left curves, and the curved switch and Main will be banked.
