Well, I haven't posted here in a while, but retiring at the end of April has definitely injected extra time to the equation. Most of the layout happenings have been posted to my Youtube channel (see link for the first episode:
), and the relentless drive for content creation does take time away but hopefully I'll get back to posting here more often.
Meanwhile, I have been mostly working on the section just north of the Brooklyn Yard engine terminal to the southern edge of the East Portland industrial area (the end cap module shown previously). Completed the ice house and dock plus more background buildings, but still need to add hills to the backdrop in this location. I had to repaint the backdrop after modifying UP interchange on the other side of this scene to include a functional sneak-off staging track which required modifying the locations where track punches through. Still noodling the design for the Consolidated Dairy complex background building (the cardboard stand-in at the rear). Also completed the paved roads for the residential and industrial accesses in 0.040 and 0.020 styrene including sidewalk, curbcuts and the necessary gradients to get over the tracks at crossings.
Still some more feeders, frog wiring and switch machnine installations needed before the rest of the track is painted not mention getting the wiring between the busses and the feeders in place.
Have about half of the yard trackage laid with the REA express track, shop/service track, caboose track, yard lead bypass and the classification tracks down. Still need the arrival/departure tracks and the main which require more switch machines.
Completed the UP interchange track to the hidden crossing (the curving track going into the backdrop) and trying to figure out how the east approach of the Steel Bridge fits in here. I also will need to figure out the design of the staging tracks that fit between the modules to still also easy disconnection when the adjacent modules are moved to to be worked on).
Doing some final track planning edits of the main East Portland module as the buildings and bridges here are next once I get sufficiently along for the other modules. A lot of the bridge parts will be 3D-printed to save on assembly. One change in this module will be a 3D-printed ramp bridge representing part of the I-5/I-80N interchange for the new 1965 era variant that I can plug in and out when changing to 1955 Portland or 1972 Seattle. I have rejiggered the rosters and have identified equipment for each of the 3 sub-areas (for 1965, this included buying a SP C628 in Demo/SP Patch paint , Bloody nose F-units, etc.
Lastly , I also have started working in earnest on the freighter which will be at the SP lumber dock. This is a Sylvan Models kit that I added a carved basswood hull extension to give it more presence and suitability next to the pier as the stock kit just sits too low in as the booms would not be able access the pier properly.
