Construction Update #8 - Westmoreland & State LIne Track, Developing Bowling Green & Weathered Rolling Stock

The Track Gang Through Westmoreland & State Line

 

Lots of progress has been made over the last ten days.  All of the track is installed and wired in the town of  Westmoreland.  I set up a train and spent about 45 minutes switching out the CEMEX redi-mix plant and the team track in the right foreground.  I'm still trying to decide how scenic the east end of town (to the right) and the entry into the helix.  At this point, it's either a tunnel portal or a road crossing over the tracks on a single lane wood bridge; I'm leaning towards the latter.

The west end of town. The Polyseamseal holding down the track was till curing when this photo was taken.  The siding at Westmoreland holds about twenty five cars, 2 locomotives and a caboose.

To the east of Westmoreland, tracks have crossed "No Name Creek" to just east of Preston Miller Yard in Bowling Green.

The first train over "No Name Creek", under it's own power, was an eastbound lead by Madisonville Bowling Green & Chatanooga #8000.  The backdrop has also been extended westward.

Preston Miller Yard, Bowling Green, KY

The MBG&C shops are located on the east end of the yard.  The noise of up to a dozen sound equipped locomotives can get old pretty fast so I decided to install some on/off switches for the tracks in the shop complex.  Currently, none of the structures on the layout are complete.  Right now I'm doing a basic build to get a feel for how things will look.

A series of industries will line the yard on the far side.  For the most part, the structures will be built form kit bashed readily available plastic kits.  The one on the left was built from some Great West Models components.  I picked these up used off ebay.  I had to separate and strip the paint off the various pieces.  Since this picture was taken, I decided to remove the short section on the right.  The next structure was built from a Walthers modern cold storage kit and the one in the distance was built from Heritage Furniture kits with a scratch built addition.

Here's a shot from the other direction.  At this point, the locations of individual buildings are subject to change. 

Here is the same scene with the backdrops installed.  Note the buildings have been changed around a bit.  Looks pretty good with the backdrop.  It will look better when my friend Kurt Boyd comes over to paint on some clouds.

 

 

Rolling Stock

 

I am always working on locomotives and/or rolling stock. I don't care much for detailing, painting and decaling freight cars but I like to weather.  And, you won't find any graffiti on my rolling stock

Construction Update #7 - Finishing the Helix & Laying Track

The Helix

 

I finally got back to Lowes and purchased another sheet of plywood in order to finish the helix.  When I got to the top of the grade, several adjustments had to be made.  First, it turned out that the roadbed I had initially installed at Grundy was about 3/4" higher than the top of the helix and second, the location of the turnout motor (Tortoise) for the west turnout at Grundy was sitting right over a lower track.  The turnout was moved east about 2 feet and the roadbed between the turnout and the top of the helix was lowered the 3/4" at the helix's ruling grade of 2.25%.

Once all the track and wiring were in place, it was time for a test.  I rounded up about 20 cars, a caboose, and two locomotives at Grundy.

The helix is about 110' long or 2-scale miles.  The downhill run took about five minutes at track speed.  The sound of  the GE and EMD locomotives in full dynamics on the 2.25% grade was pretty cool,  The initial run down the helix was a success as was the shove back up the hill.

Here is a overall picture of the upper level after 5 months of work.  The helix is in the left foreground, Grundy is in the center left and the summit at Crockett is on the upper right.  The company town of Grundy will be in the center of  the helix on the left.  All of the track shown in the photo is fully tested and operational.

Westmoreland

 

Westmoreland is at the bottom of  grade (helix).   This is the east end of Westmoreland.  I draw the track centerlines with a Sharpie.  The cork is glued down to the pink foam with yellow carpenters glue and the track is put down using Polyseamseal.  Track feeders are soldered to the bottom of the rails and dropped through the foam to the bus.  Soldering the feeds to the bottom of the rail eliminates the possibility of some blob of solder showing up in a photograph and ruining an otherwise perfect composition.  The feeders are 18 gauge wire, the bus is 12 gauge.  Most rail joiners are soldered but not all.  Some are left with a small gap in the rail to allow for expansion and contraction. 

All of the turnouts at Westmoreland are trailing point moves for an eastbound train.  The track in the foreground is the team track followed by the main, siding, house and two spurs leading into CEMEX.