I’ve set myself a target of having a continuous loop in place by the end of June. There are 2 public holidays before then that I’m going to try and use. After that I really have to move indoors.
I need to get a move on if the layout is going to be anything but bare track for next Feb. I wish I was as far ahead as you for buildings etc.
Cheers
N
Eric - what Craig said. Your family’s involvement is beyond priceless and a joy to watch…
Cheers
N
I really don’t have that many buildings started I mean completed. Shh 
I just started another building. Oops. 
Beginning of winter proper now, first storm of the season due this week - we may actually see some snow here at sea level (don’t get jealous now Eric 
).
Last weekend we had a blinder so I managed to get the next section of road bed finished.
Backing up a bit, some roadbed alignment from a few weeks ago.
And got it finished this weekend, I snuck 2 coats of stain on after these pics were taken.
Somewhat interesting - I made the decision to paint the ties rather than print some. I ended up doing the rails as well as AL was a bit hard on the eye for me. Here’s a comparison from the back, L to R:
Brass turnout 18 mths old, stored inside, brass turnout outside for 18 mths
two pieces of Al track with painted ties, then a bit of second hand Peco G45 I got a week or two back.
Really interesting how the Peco nickel silver has got a natural brown hue in some places - I quite like it.
More updates as weather permits.
Cheers
N
If it’s raining down there, it must mean good weather up here…
I think layout progress on my end might stall for a bit as I work on surrounding landscaping projects in the yard. I mean it’s part of the overall plan, so I guess it’s kinda related right?
I’ve only been adding bracing underneath my layout recently. Probably overkill in terms of length, but what the heck it was free wood.
Good move Craig. Sagging benchwork is what I am / was most afraid of. Or more to the point - dodgy track work coming from a wonky base.
Cheers
N
Me too! I obviously haven’t done it all yet but I can definitely see and feel the difference between the non braced sections and the braced sections. With you cementing the posts in the ground your probably off to a better start anyways, but I had to do it this way at least for the backyard due to the septic drain field. This way it’s considered “temporary”.
Probably could have ripped the 2x6’s in half and been a little further along, but probably better to have the bracing after last year
It’s 2x4 and yes I considered ripping it into 1x2 but figured I’d go overkill.
Mid winter milestone - Houston, we have a loop! 
Filmed this at last light on Monday after installing the final turnout. Sorry for the length, I’ve only got a Climax running at the mo. Flat out it’s 8 mins around.
There’s a big gark in the track at 1:50 where a rock panel blew over, otherwise it all seemed to go pretty well.
Cheers
N
Congratulations, Neil! This is a big step! Nothing like seeing trains running to motivate you to make even more progress!
Eric
A big day, congrats Neil! Looks awesome!
How many feet (or meters) of mainline again?
Thanks guys, it’s been a while coming.
Eric, the thought of a train putzing it’s way around while I work on stuff has long been a goal. Not sure I could have done it faster without throwing more time or $$ at it, but that couldn’t happen. Next step is getting scenery & planting in a few spots before the Feb show.
Cliff, about 91m of mainline, that includes 9m of ‘cutoff loop’ to get roundy round. Looks like that converts pretty much to 300’.
It’ll be 16m more to the lower yard, and another 10 to the storage container in the next stage(s).
Korm - looks like I need to update my firm statement a while back that the whole plan was only 300’. I had somehow forgotten a small 23m purchase of G45, and I slipped another 50m of the same into my birthday pressie this year. Apologies.
Thanks Rooster. Feeling pretty good with this myself. No maintenance for 4 mths and all I had was two popped spikes.
Cheers
N
Most impressive, Neil!
Maybe I missed it, but what did you end up doing for ties? 3DP, wood, plastic strips, or…?
Hell your ready for Amtrak trains then!
don’t they have their own “Autrak” down there?
(or would that be “Zetrak” ? )
Paint in the end Cliff. I had to get 40 odd metres of track down to complete this bit and printing was out of reach in the timeframe. I’m thinking it’s a medium term fix and I’ve still got the stuff that’s been out 2 seasons to sort really soon.
Printing is still on the cards, at some point.
Cheers
N
Love it all!!!
But for me the new word for bent broken or generally fouled up Garked is no forever in my vocabulary
