GEC's Layout Progress

[Green_Elite_Cab]

The new yard design for the 4x8 looks great. Your track plan program works neat too. Do you have one of those triple turnouts already?

well, just last week, i got around to my hobby shop and asked about them. They are $60 a pop! I'm still gonna do it, but I'm gonna hold off just a tad longer (having recently purchased a BLI GG1, my modeling budget is still recovering from that).

I plan to use a Peco Medium three way turnout, and i also have plans to replace some of my other switches with Peco ones (in particular, the crossovers in most of my recent photos need to go). I'm also going to try and invest in some Caboose Industries ground throws other turnouts, so that i can finally get rid of all those atlas switch machines. a 5 pack of them is $15, so I shouldn't have any problem re-equipping them on the layout.

I think i've definitely allowed my layout to decline a great deal, and i know i haven't done any major work on the layout itself for over a year (and much of the work done was replacing old track, nothing exciting). One day, I'll have to sit down, make up and plant some more trees, add more people, get street lights, traffic lights.

I'm still hesitant to ballast anything, because I'm pretty sure I'm going to start ripping up more and more track. I know ballast has been a major detail missing from much of my trackage.


Do have some neat projects, like a Head End Power Generator car (built from a 1940s UP 44 seat coach). Amtrak acquired these cars to place behind steam-heat locomotives so that they could power cars like the Amfleet. I've also tinkered with a couple more commuter car kits, but no major progress. Because of the track situation, the catenary project probably won't continue, at least not on the layout. I'm still tinkering with build a small diorama or module.

The big modeling i did recently was the repainting of E33 #4610, and the "re-patching" of GG1 #4840.