GEC's Layout Progress

[Green_Elite_Cab]

You can't go against electric traction! I'm always amazed by your brass catenaries. Are they custom-made?

Matt

Yes they are! I built them myself from brass structural shapes. I borrowed heavily from Andy Rubbo and Bill Kachel, who have already built impressive scale PRR electric layouts. I eventually plan to electrify the entire mainline and yard.

I actually started a whole thread on it forever ago, but I have since not done much work on the project. I'm thinking of building a small mock up with spare supplies I have just to get used to the construction process before I hang the wire on my layout. I also want to make a test bed for modular catenary set ups, so I might do this first before apply it to my layout.

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Right now, though, its looking like it will take forever to get the wires hung. There is always something else to be done that prevents me from putting wire up, such as track maitenance, scenery, repairs, and in this case, a small addition to the layout.

Whats more, the two completed catenary structures are taller than normal, in order to bring the power transmission lines a save distanced over a highway overpass that WAS on the layout. The bridge had to be removed to make room for my new yard. However, there does not appear to be practical space to build a new overpass unless I really get creative with just how far I can span one "segment" of a highway bridge.

The bridge was originally supposed to imply the approach to the Outer Bridge Crossing or Goethals bridge in northern New Jersey (going into Staten Island), but I had just used the Rix overpass kit instead. I think if I went for a more realistic repersentation, it might be able to span the yard, but it would also be more work, and I have very little time between school a few months ago, and now an internship at an R&D Laboratory. Its probably going to have to wait.

Right now there are only three projects on my Radar- Finish the "safety zone" around the layout edges, repairing the fallen AC6000CW and cloning JWB's Arrow I kit, which has been in my house for WAY to long and its been bugging me to much. I appreciate the level of trust I was given for being a stranger on the internet, and every day I don't get that project done nags at me.

But anyways, Here are som Before and after photos of the bridge situation.

An overview of the layout prior to the yard reconstruction.



With the Bridge-





Without the Bridge-






There is an emptyness without the bridge, but on the other hand, the bridge supporsts frequently obscured good photographic angles.

Perhaps some other kind of structure might pass beneath the poles here? I can't think of anything practical though, Maybe a pedestrian overpass?

Looking back on the yard half, the "middle" support for the bridge had to be displaced to the additional trackage. You can already see the uneven spacing where I had to "stretch" the distance to the next support on the left.



As you can see here, the Yard tracks pretty much take up any place to put supports at a practical distance. The location of the "Far right" support can be seen as a "plywood" patch on the lower right of the photo. A support might be placed on the one side of the yard, but that would require a large bridge to gap that distance.





But anyway, back to the point


Unless I figure out what to do with this bridge, I won't be able to hang the wires since I don't know If i'm going to keep the poles the way they are, or try to rebuild them to be "shorter".

See? It will NEVER get done!

Its fun to dream though...