GEC's Layout Progress

[Green_Elite_Cab]

Well, i got some work done. the most major thing i did was to continue renovating and rebuilding my track. Last summer i built a whole new passing track and reconfigured the interchange track. Now i'm increasing the length of the original passing tracks, and I'm making the crossovers more friendly to smooth operation.

Here is the original track configuration. the double S-curves caused by the crossover and then the curves immediately afterward caused lots of issues, so i decided this had to go before i went further with catenary and such. I can see why they track was put together this way, since the original plan was for beginners, and in order to make my new idea work, some of the snap switches needed extra surgery.



I moved the crossovers to the ends of the curves, giving myself twice the length i originally had. This also has the added bonus of keeping the crossovers away from my catenary bridges. that makes constructing them easier, since all the crossovers are between catenary supports, where in the original, they crossovers were bisected by the catenary poles (requiring a third cross-span support)



I plan to replace the old switch machines with under-table ones, so that makes that easier. I'm replacing alot of the old (brass) sectional track with nickel silver flex-track as well, to improve reliability. As i said before, i had to do surger on the switches, which meant that i had to cut off the straight section past the frog on the diverging end as far as i could, in order to keep the mainline on the original right of way.

They are not connected by rail-joiners or anything, but they are anchored in place so that they stay lined up.



The only problems I'm having right now are catenary pole placement. In one spot, clearances are tough. in real life, catenary poles are 12' from the track center. While i might not always be 12 feet off, this one spot causes trouble, and I'm not sure how to properly address this tight clearance area.



In other news, here is my first ever tree! I formed and painted 20 other armatures, but i haven't added the foliage to them yet.



The tree looks nice next to the commuter station, but i think i'll need more trees in this spot.



Speaking of other models, i found this Athearn American Hardware Supply Truck, so i figured i better buy it, since it matched!



Still working on my Arrow III single care (haven't even gone back to the married pair yet), but right now i'm waiting to get the tools i need to build the pantographs, and i'm still tracking down fiber optics. This picture really shows how well the Alclad paints worked for this model. only the ends are polly scale stainless steel (which was intentional since they "brush" the stainless steel ends in real life as well).

keep in mind that i haven't added the pilots yet, so if it looks funny, that's why! they are part of what permanently mounts the shell, so i can't add them until i get the internal stuff finished.



Also started work on an F40PH-2CAT, which is standard diesel power on NJ transit. the rear platform on these units is overtaken by the HEP generator, so that explains why the rear is cut off. the rear piece will go on the end, and i'll use styrene to fill in the rest.



I also got a new work table, but you'd never tell from all the stuff left on it. I'm going to have to clean it off tomorrow! so many projects.....



Not pictured, but certainly news, is that i have just ordered the frame and truck side frames for my PL42AC. I might not have the decals, but the locomotive should be running soon.

Thats it for now, we'll have to see where i got next with all of this.