What's New on the PRR Panhandle Division?

[G3750]

Updated 9/17/2015:

The artist finished the backdrop that will go behind the bridge. I think it looks pretty good.

Backdrop_20_.JPG (32.97 KiB) Viewed 3252 times

The wiring for the bridge got verified out as well. Originally, the bridge had a Curtis double cross-over on it. As a result there were 10 additional wiring pairs along with the signal (isolated control) rails / wires for two Pennsy signal bridges (2 signals each). That made for quite a mess under the temporary metal bridge. All of that is gone now, replaced by a streamlined set of wires. Only 1 new control wire will need to be installed. All the changes will be noted in the next version of the wiring documents.

Leveling of the river surface, leveling of each set of approach tracks, installation of the support cleats, and installation of power / ground wiring pairs are next.

George

[rogruth]

Looking great.

[G3750]

Looking great.

Thank you, I'm pretty happy about it as well.

If I can get the remaining small, but crucial items done...we might actually install a bridge soon.

George

[rogruth]

That is what I want to see.

[jlong]

Looking great.

If I can get the remaining small, but crucial items done
George

You mean the skinny dippers?

[G3750]

Looking great.

If I can get the remaining small, but crucial items done
George

You mean the skinny dippers?

Of course. That's the only thing preventing me from getting it done. Here's one getting ready to jump in the river.

OMC13.jpg (23.57 KiB) Viewed 3221 times

George

[rogruth]

George,

Is that an O scale figure?
Very nice detail.

[G3750]

George,

Is that an O scale figure?
Very nice detail.

Yeah. Before I turned her into a 1:43 figure, she and I were dating.

Actually, it's the tamest of the bunch at this UK website.

http://www.scalelink.co.uk/acatalog/Ome ... gures.html

George

[J. S. Bach]

There are some really disgusting cows there.

[G3750]

Updated 9/20/2015:

I guess we could call this episode "Trouble in Paradise". It's not a big problem, just a delay.

I expected some trouble with the eastern approach to the bridge. That was dealt with earlier this week. I am now confident that is resolved.

In looking at the western approach to the bridge, I discovered a few problems.

• First, one of the O54 curved sections was missing. I had removed the old metal bridge about a year ago and had scattered pieces of track around the layout. When I found the missing section, I realized that I had cut it. It's not a full O54 curved piece. So I am in the process of ordering a replacement.
• Second, the big curve around Steubenville needs some adjustment. Way back when, someone gave me some advice about easements and suggested that the curve consist of two pieces of O63 at the beginning and end and two pieces of O54 in the middle (all GarGraves). I had a minor track alignment issue with the old metal bridge, but there was enough play to make it work. That's not the case with this new bridge. So that must be corrected. I am ordering 2 pieces of GarGraves O54 to fix the problem.
• Third, the above O63 / O54 problem will create an issue with the Coal Mine Spur and Switch No. 1. I am anticipating having to re-align a significant portion of the subroadbed.

The problem area is shown below.

Block1.jpg (141.62 KiB) Viewed 3164 times

George

[rogruth]

George,

As "they" say down here in Georgia, It looks good on paper so it should work.
We know that's not true. Well, at least not in education where Georgia insists
on trying something that other states have tried and found to not work several
years before.

[G3750]

George,

As "they" say down here in Georgia, It looks good on paper so it should work.
We know that's not true. Well, at least not in education where Georgia insists
on trying something that other states have tried and found to not work several
years before.

Yup. It definitely looked better on paper. I like RR-Track, but it makes me prone to those kind of "map v. terrain" errors in judgment. If it were a Microsoft product, a software developer or marketeer would tell you "that's fixed in the next release".

With regard to education, Georgia's not alone. My mother, who taught English for over 30 years in WV public schools, used to laugh about some of the recycled dumb ideas that became someone's Educational Doctorate dissertation and were then foisted on kids. And if it failed? Don't worry, there's another class coming up behind this one.

George

[G3750]

Updated 9/21/2015:

I've done some serious thinking about the problems discovered this weekend and I've come to a conclusion: this is a good thing.

Building a model railroad is a journey of discovery. You learn ways to do things and try them out. Or you make decisions based on expediency and instant gratification (big mistake!). Sometimes you have to re-learn those techniques or learn a new one that comes along that is clearly better. This is a chance to correct past mistakes and make the western track work much stronger. I've already re-done the eastern portion of the mainline (back in 2012 - has it been that long?).

If I don't fix these now, they may continue to haunt me. Over the next few years, I want the layout to run well and to be worth showing off to visitors (and my grandson). I've been trying to get it to a state where I could have another Train Smoker (open house). I think this is my chance to do it right and I'm going to take it.

George

[healey36]

My experience in prior iterations has been that the trains have to run well. You can have great scenics, great lighting, great benchwork, etc., but if the trains run poorly you'll be miserable.

Healey

[G3750]

My experience in prior iterations has been that the trains have to run well. You can have great scenics, great lighting, great benchwork, etc., but if the trains run poorly you'll be miserable.

Healey

You're right. I had to learn that (and did with my rebuild of the eastern mainline) the hard way. I need to fix that track alignment issue in the western approach to the bridge or we will repeat the insanity.

George