Weekend Update 8/5/12

[PAL_Houston]

Penn Central time...

Great stuff!!
How do you achieve such excellent depth-of-field on your photo?

[Bob Bufkin]

Is that an Intermountain F7?

[Dave V]

Thanks for the kind words...  This was just a quick iPhone grab.  I prop the iPhone on a tripod and I have a clamp-on shop light over my shoulder.  Frankly I thought the quality was kinda crappy...!

Bob, that's actually a Kato E-8.

[Bob Bufkin]

Thanks Dave.  After looking again I can tell by the trucks.  Wouldn't mind gettng a couple of those Intermountain F units just to trash them up a bit.

[wm3798]

Got the decoder into Eric's T-1.  Going to try to shoot it on the layout one night this week when I have my visit...

[soo]

Well it was another successful weekend worth of work on the IHB of Mansfield,Tx.

  One thing that I learned that #10 turnouts are our freind.LOL Here are two pics,,, look in the layout engineering thread for two videos that were taken also.





  The above are pictures of the Blue Island Diamonds. Everybit of work done,,makes me more excited for the next steps.

  In the picture below you see the crossovers leading into Gibson yard,, or as Jeff and I call it,, the Mel,lol



 And there ya have it, adios Wyatt

[PGE_Modeller]

More work on the CRS-20s.   607 now joined by 611.   Almost done on the long hoods.    Time to chop the noses soon.

Looking good, Andy.  I take it you'll have these ready for "Trains 2012"?

Cheers,

[eric220]

Got the decoder into Eric's T-1.  Going to try to shoot it on the layout one night this week when I have my visit...

Sweet! Can't wait to see the pictures!

[John]

Some very nice work this week ..

For me, railfanning came in handy this weekend - eastbound from Ohio through Cumberland, I68 was shut down @ exit 43 all lanes due to car fire .. fortunately, knowing the area - a little back road action to Wills Creek and through the Narrows bypassed it all .. while everyone else sat in the hour+ backup, we were motoring east bound and down ..

[BCRail_FSJ]

Looking good, Andy.  I take it you'll have these ready for "Trains 2012"?

Cheers,

Well, l dont know about that.. although they are moving way faster than I had planned.   I am working on these while my turnouts are on mail order.   Main goal is to get back to tracklaying at Fort St John.  This is a pleasant eye-straining distraction in the mean time.

[Bendtracker1]

Since I finished with the remolding I got back to work on the layout.
Here's a sneak peek,
Last night I finished a weeks worth of work. I had completely tore out the yard at El Dorado. I still need to fine tune the tracks and get them hot.

I left the main and passenger siding in tact for the most part. I had to realign the south of end of these which increased the radius a bit and I added a station stub on the passenger siding that I forgot to add originally.

The whole purpose of this project was to add a second A/D track to the yard. I also moved the engine facility tracks so they come off the yard lead instead of the ladder tracks for easier access.

Originally I had 4 yard tracks and one A/D track [the first track off the ladder].

    Before:


    After:



I'll try to get everything finished up this week and get the blog updated as well.
Allen...

[Bendtracker1]

The above are pictures of the Blue Island Diamonds.

Wyatt,
Before I read the caption, my first thought "Damn, that looks like Blue Island with those diamonds."

Looks really good!  I think you've done a nice job of capturing the scene.
Are the bridges scratch built or are they HO models? 

[soo]

Allen,, I can not take the credit for the blue island concept...  For I am just a helper on the layout. The layout and concept is the pride and joy of Rossford Yard, aka Jeff. I just like to help.  He figured it out and he is about 80-85% of being true to scale for distances.

  Those are Atlas HO bridges. I think they make a great stand in, till the real ones are built.

  I love the look of the curved yard you got going on. Going to be real photogenic.

  Adios Wyatt

[Bendtracker1]

Allen,, I can not take the credit for the blue island concept...  For I am just a helper on the layout. The layout and concept is the pride and joy of Rossford Yard, aka Jeff. I just like to help.  He figured it out and he is about 80-85% of being true to scale for distances.

  Those are Atlas HO bridges. I think they make a great stand in, till the real ones are built.

  I love the look of the curved yard you got going on. Going to be real photogenic.

  Adios Wyatt

Ooops, that's right! 

Jeff,
Nice job capturing the feel of Blue Island!

Wyatt I'm sure your help was part of it as well, and thanks for the comment on the yard.  I can't wait to get some videos of some trains rolling through it!
 

[Rossford Yard]

Allen,

I like that curved yard a lot, too!  Hmm, may drive Wyatt nuts and see if I can put a little curve in the Mel before he gets back in a few weeks.....it actually does have a gentle bend, and I probably ought to recreate that for prototypical reality, no?

BTW, as I told Wyatt, I think I first railfanned Blue Island AFTER I moved from the NW Chicago suburbs to TX.  I thought of modeling it almost immediately, and drew many club size track plans with it in there, but it has taken 25 plus years to get er done (or at least started....).  I always figured on a bacdrop right behind the bridges to make the tracks disappear to staging, and will get one in there soon to cover the helix.