June update ...a little late

The month of June started off with the installation of more roadbed compass west of Dolores Yard. 

I thought at one point I had included in a post blog post as to why I use 'compass west' versus 'railroad west'. After a quick check of the archives, I found that I pointed it out in April of 2021. However, I'll restate it to a bit clearer.

It is my understanding that railroads had two directions: east-west or north-south. I'm sure there is an exception to that statement. LOL! Of the two directions, one was always superior to another. For the SP, the superior direction was West. Thus westbound trains had superiority over eastbound trains of the same class. 

San Francisco was where the Headquarters was located and the 'West' end of the Southern Pacific. From Los Angeles you go west to San Francisco. From Portland you go west to San Francisco too. 

I tend to use directional terms such as 'compass west' or 'compass north' in the blog  for clarity purposes when I'm referencing locations on my railroad. When the railroad becomes operational, we will use the correct West or East terms as used by the Southern Pacific.

Back to construction...

In our last episode, I displayed the laying out of the track plan for the area compass west of Dolores. As I reviewed the results,  opted to make a change that better reflected my original plan. 

When laying the track coming from Dolores, I had decided to keep a contiguous piece of flex track rather than cutting it for a turnout. After a few days of 'noodling' on it, I decided to bite the bullet and cut the track. In the image above, you can see where the track has been removed and the turnout roughly placed. The black strip under the track on the left is the super-elevation. 

More roadbed was added for the siding on the fascia part of the track and for the line to the Shell Oil facility on the back side. The TankTrain will use this. 

Here are a couple different views of the Shell Oil track on toward the wall/window and the main closer to the front of the benchwork. 

On to laying track in the area. 

In the picture to the right, you can see the turnout added to be main for the siding and the spurs coming off of it.  

All of the track has been added in the picture to the right and the one below. I'm happy with how it turned out. There will be some excellent switching opportunities in this area. 

In the picture below, you can see the industry track to the right near the wall. The Shell Oil track curves left in front of the window. The main is in the foreground, but only has Super-Elevation tape applied. The track is still to be installed. 

Roadbed was started for Taylor Yard as well. In the pictures below, you can see the beginning of the main track roadbed on the outside of Taylor Yard and it heading into Glendale. The third photo is Glendale.

The main at Taylor is double track. The outside roadbed is installed and the first half of the inside main is installed as well. 

It's a long run. Getting the roadbed perfectly straight was a challenge. I'm very happy with the result. 

Here is another view. The hole is for the turntable that will eventually be installed. It's more of a scenic feature versus actually turning engines. However, you never know how it may be used once operating sessions begin.

Essential tools in the foreground include the caulk gun and the laptop.

Laying out the yard ladder is a challenge. It always changes from the design to reality. In addition, I have changed the design from one very long yard into two yards. One for mainline traffic and one for locals. I'm still noodling on how that will work out. The real Taylor Yard had a hump and multiple body yards. I don't have the room, nor want to deal with trying to make a hump yard work. I've seen some great designs, but weight, rolling resistance, and retarders don't scale well in my opinion. 

To the right is the railroad west end of the yard. Version 1. The switching lead wraps around behind the turntable. 

I'm of the opinion for a model railroad, a separate switching lead is desirable. Primarily because the traffic pattern on a model is much busier than the prototype. So using the main as the switching lead will be problematic. 

To the left is the railroad east end ladder. A bit different in design. 

I have decided that trains will depart from the body tracks of the yard. I will have an arrival track next to the main. Again, this is how the design is going. Once it's operational, things may change.

The track at the fascia edge of the benchwork will include an 'alley' to pass cars between the two yards. A local layout employed a similar design. I found it enjoyable. So yes, I'm deviating from the prototype in my yard design.

To the right is the railroad west end ladder Version 2. Again, I'm still working thru it. It is missing a couple of turnouts for the picture, but it's creating two distinct ladders. 

One more look at the Version 1 ladder from the railroad west end. It flows well. 

I'm still reviewing the best way to do the ladder as I'm would like to maximize the length of the yard body tracks. 

The next series of photos are the roadbed proceeding railroad west to Glendale and beyond. I'll need to add more benchwork to continue further west. This will include passing over the stairwell to connect to to the second peninsula. 

That's it for railroad construction updates for the month. However, I've been working on rolling stock quality control. 

My regime includes:

1) Installing Kadee couplers where needed. 

2) Making sure the couplers are free swinging.

3) Installing metal wheels if needed. 

4) Checking wheel gauge. Adjust the wheelsets if needed.

5) Ensuring the wheelsets are free rolling. Yep, using the Reamer.

6) Adjusting the truck free play. 

7) Adjusting the car weight as needed. 

I use grams for my weight measurement as I feel it's a bit more precise. I also think the NMRA standard is a bit on the heavy side, so I'm typically on the lighter side of their weight standard. If something is over the weight target, I will adjust the weight if it's an easy change. Otherwise, it's 'rolling heavy'.

Over the last month, I decided to accurize my rolling stock a bit more. I picked up Official Railway Equipment Registers (ORER) for my era which is 1979-1984. I've been going through my rolling stock inventory spreadsheet and validating all equipment as in or out of era. If they are newer than the end of 1984, they will likely be moved to the 'for sale' pile. With a few exceptions of course. 

For those unfamiliar with ORERs, here is a brief glimpse. 

The first ORER I picked up was 1981. Great, middle of my era. However, I quickly found book ending my era would be more effective. So now I have 1979 and 1984 ORERs as well. As an added note of frustration, my 1981 version is missing some pages. It looks to be a printing issue, but the 32 page gap starts in the middle of Norfolk Western and resumes in the Prairie Central. The gap is missing some railroads I need to validate. So, having the other versions resolved that. 

That's my update for June. I'm a little tardy this time around. 

Enjoy your summer!