RESTART PT4

Continuing the re-start theme...

The small guard shack has been added, as well as a barrier to protect the yard office and its propane tank. And the flag flies proudly behind the guard shack! Maggie's PT Cruiser, Sam's red Ford F250, and Bill's colorful Chevy truck are all in the lot, along with the security vehicle; the green Excursion.

The port-a-potties are back in place to answer nature's call, as is the propane tank and the welding tanks.

Bob, on his chopper bike, and Jake prepare to go home at the end of the day.

As they head out the lot, yet another double-stack passes through. Note that the dumpsters are now back in place at the end of the drive, as is the communications antenna. That grader in the lot will be busy later grading and smoothing out the lot -at the other end of the yard!

One of the upgrades that I finally made was re-wiring this panel into the layout. Part of the original layout when it was in the hobby shop, the switches allow me to select either DC or DCC operation for each main. Before, I had to physically swap the leads between power packs to do this; as a result, the inner track usually stayed in DC, while the outer track stayed in DCC. Thus, non-decoder equipped locos only went west, while decoder (and especially sound) equipped engines usually only went east! But now, with the flick of a switch, I can send engines in either direction, whether they have decoders or not -a definite operational improvement!

RESTART PT3

Now that the track is back down, it's time to test it!

The 'high and wide' train sits in Hillsdale Yard, as another train makes its way around the layout. If you're going to test the track, you might as well use the biggest car you've got to run!

The intermodal train rolls through the yard. The converted container/shop is back in place, as is the cell phone tower.

The lights are back in place, along with several vehicles. And a big chasm beyond.

One of the changes is this: Tony's Garage is no more! Instead, the yard office is now here, taking advantage of the parking lot. But don't worry; Tony may get his garage back in business yet!

The main shop is back as well. Over the coming weeks, you will see how all of these 'bare-spots' got taken care of, as work on the layout progresses. Stay tuned!

RESTART PT2

Last summer, I re-did the layout. Here's some more of what I did:

The "in progress" mess stage!

I relocated this cross-over from the back side of the layout to the west end of the yard. In addition to now being more accessible, it also now makes switching the yard from either end -or between west-bound and east-bound tracks- much easier.

The light-colored ballast highlights the recently completed track work.

The new straight main on the backside.

The track is in place. I removed three switches from the back line; the two that made the cross-over have been relocated as seen above, the third is 'in limbo'!

The crew of Hillsdale Yard is back on the job! A passenger car honoring Prisoners of War and the Missing in Action sits in the yard; and in the background, a stack train is rolling along. The trains are running again!

RESTART!

This past summer, I decided to re-do the layout! There were some changes that I wanted to make, so...

I completely cleaned off the layout -boards and all!

The back line was completely torn down; there were a  number of switches that, while not a problem, were either largely inaccessible due to their locations, or were no longer being used -again due to their locations at the back of the layout.

In addition to ripping up track on the back side, I also tore up some track in the yard. A new board is in place on the far end. And all the wiring will be torn out as well, as I replace the bus lines under the layout.

The new curves are laid out. The roadbed is Woodland Scenics Track-Bed.

Track laying is in progress. I went from 26"/28" radius curves to 37"/39" radius curves. While not necessary to run my equipment, since I was putting in the board, why not "go big"? Unfortunately, poor planning got me here; I didn't brace the board first, so now I have to correct a noticeable sag along the front!

I also added this panel across the end legs. The layout is now much more stable than before! Down the line, I would like to put some shelves here for storage. Never can have enough!