It's always such a bummer

It's always such a bummer when you have to tear out beautiful scenery! It looks like it is deffinately going to turn out for the better, esspecially because we know what you capable of!

And so it begins

Tom,

What I see now is a good start. I agree that taking out completed scenery can be very difficult and stressful,but if it is for the benefit of the RR and it's operation you gota do what ya gota do. I have done on mine more times then I care to admit, but the final results have been very beneficial. Just look at my latest two blog post and you can see what I am talking about. Keep us posted with updates as you progress.

Richard - Superintendent CNW - Peninsula Div.

http://mrhmag.com/blog/richard_harden

Change

The reality of the change is it will improve the layouts operations, the loss is time, but the time spent was still good because it lets you develope skills, improve as you go along and the new scene is going to be very good.

The salvaged trees and other materials will return Im sure, the real loss? Some cardboard and plaster mostly. No big deal in the scheme of things.....

Time spent on the layout is still better than time spent at work!

Great job as always Tom!

Fun?

I'm looking forward to watching this develop Tom.  These changes aren't always fun while they're in progress, but you'll love it when you're done.

Amen to that!  I wish I'd been more careful about scene depth as well, but I'm now done with the changes to correct my mistakes.  In that Hancock elevator scene I just mentioned on Proto-Layouts, I had originally managed to make it  4' deep without considering just how hard it was going to be to scenic the back.  The track was within reach, so I foolishly called it good.  With the changes I just completed - moving the backdrop forward and skinnying down the foreground scene - everything's now within a 2' reach.

Good Move

I'm sure you'll be glad to have improved staging.  Since signatures don't show up in initial blog posts hereabouts, here's a link to the CWE blog for more photos http://cwerailroad.blogspot.com/.

Progress Update

Thought I'd post a few photos of recent progress on the changes at North Pierce. In the photo below you can see the first section of new hard shell and the trees that have been replaced.

The second photo shows the new track in this area, all of which is operational now. I added cardboard to the sides of the hole in the drywall to keep any dust from getting on the track. I painted the cardboard, the Homasote, and the plywood with black poster paint in order to make it less visible from the tunnel entrance.

In the photo below you can see the location of the new bridge on the mainline. Once the tunnel portal is weathered and in place and the bridge and abutments have been added, I'll finish roughing in the scenery in this area.

It's good to have all of the demolition behind me- I hate the mess that it creates. And I'm really looking forward to seeing the first train come through the tunnel heading eastbound!

Tom Patterson

I'm really looking forward to

Me too!   Thanks for the update. It's coming along nicely

Steve

And so it is finished

It took much longer than expected, but the scenery around North Pierce is finally finished. The photo below shows a view of the overall area.

Here's a shot of how the area looked last December before the changes began.

The small stream is intended to look like what one might find in the woods in the middle of summer with very little flow. The picture below shows how the stream curves around to the left out of sight.

Here's a track side shot.

A few more small details will be added over time, but for now the scene is finished. Most importantly, the west end staging yard is now in service. The shots below show the yard with 4 tracks completed..

We were able to send a few trains west from Hollister Yard during the last op session, and I'm excited about how the new staging will expand operations in the future.

Tom Patterson

Looking Good Tom

You must be a happy camper about now. Congrats on getting the new staging operational. Looks like you have a fair amount of staging track laying ahead of you. Really going to have some nice capacity. I actually like the scenery area better now. The track heading straight into the hill makes a more believable scenario than the track entering the hill at such a shallow angle that the engineers should have elected for a big cut.

Very nice, Tom. I love the

Well Done

Looks like a seamless transition with the existing scene.  

Thanks

Alan, Rick and Rob- thanks for the kind comments. The east end staging yard only has 3 usable tracks due to some old Atlas code 100 switches that need to be replaced. So for now, the 4 tracks on the west end will suffice. I'll add tracks to each end as I get around to building more rolling stock and locos.

Tom Patterson

That looks like handlaid

That looks like handlaid track. Am I right it is looking really good.  

Track

Do you have a track plan for

Do you have a track plan for your staging yard & will it have runaround tracks for working in/out bound trains?

Andy Jackson

Nice!

Tom,

That new scene turned out really well!  I'm sure you're thinking that tearing out that section of completed scenery was well worth the effort now.

I've never gotten to this detailed of scenery yet on my layouts, but I was thinking if the creek is at low water level, you might have to add a little "junk" to the bottom of the creek that has now become exposed. Something like an old tire, or a rusty wheel rim should fit the bill.

Looks really good! 

Looks really good!  I counted between existing tracks and centerline's, 11 staging tracks.

That staging should really enhance operations!

West Staging

Since the last post, the west staging yard has been finished as can be seen in the photo below. And since this photo, the final two tracks have been laid and are operational.

Andy & Jim- there are 13 tracks and they are stub ended. Trains either originate or terminate in staging and are not worked during a session, so there's no need for any run-arounds.

Paul- thanks for the kind words. I was so intent on getting the stream to look right that I didn't even think about adding some junk. Good idea.

The control panel for west staging has also been replaced since the original photos were taken. The old toggle switches were replaced with pushbuttons and new graphics were added.

Using the pushbuttons to select a track versus throwing toggles to get a route has made it much easier for crews to get trains in and out of staging.

Tom Patterson