3. Construction
  4. Benchwork

Upper Deck to CFI and Beyond

Upper Deck of the layout, which goes through a fictitious town before reaching the CF&I facility. From there the mainline moves on to Cero Summit and then on to Montrose.
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This is the area of the coal loading facility (loading ramp and trucks). The idea is to use the run around track (left out of view) to get the cars staged to where they need to be. Empties will be put here on trips up to Montrose and will be picked up either by a local or by the next train down from Montrose.
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This is the area of the coal loading facility (loading ramp and trucks). The idea is to use the run around track (left out of view) to get the cars staged to where they need to be. Empties will be put here on trips up to Montrose and will be picked up either by a local or by the next train down from Montrose.

  • The CEO inspects the mainline in a station stop on the first run to the upper deck.
  • The road president checks out the track work on the way to the 'yet to be named' town. Interestingly enough, a box car has already been spotted at one of the industries. How'd THAT happen?! :)
  • My brother Mark is working on the wiring for the throat switch to the CF&I area. For the wiring in this area special focus is given to keeping the wires as tight as possible to the bottom of the wood sub-bed. So far .... so good.<br /> <br /> And a little advice, which is something we seem to always forget when we work. Have your DMM handy and check your impedance OFTEN. It will save you headache in the long run. Right Mark ;)
  • Wiring has been completed on the north side of the upper deck, so of course...it's time to test a train out! #464 leads the presidential train on the first run up to the new town and the CF&I.
  • Facia work is completed on the new addition to the layout. The intent was to create a divider into the layout, so as to give the operators an immersive feeling while operating.
  • Ties are complete for the climb area. Next...staining and then rail :) The goal of finishing the mainline in 2013 should be reached!
  • Bridging the gap to the upper level. Although this piece is meant as just a temporary solution to get to the upper deck, it may stay in place for a while while I build the bridge that will go in this area.
  • A very momentous day! The layout is starting to be 'closed in' by adding the climb up to the upper level from the Garfield switchbacks. I ended up building this thing like a tank (2x4's and 1x3's), but the good news is that the addition is pretty solid.
  • Working outside of the closet was one of the smarter things that I have done in a while. <br /> <br /> With the saw horses I can actually hold up the staging yards and wire sitting like a normal person. I had better make sure that I did this correctly, because I have my foreman Bailey watching over me!
  • Track work is about half way done for the Montrose staging yard.
  • A close up view of the switch toggles for the upper staging leads. Pretty simple really, but they should work out well.
  • Looking down the mainline towards the CF&I quarry. Track work is done about to the first switch throat. Approximately 3 feet towards the camera from the papers on the wall will reside the scene divider from the CF&I with the Cerro Summit area.
  • This is the area of the coal loading facility (loading ramp and trucks). The idea is to use the run around track (left out of view) to get the cars staged to where they need to be. Empties will be put here on trips up to Montrose and will be picked up either by a local or by the next train down from Montrose.
  • Track work and switch mounting has been completed for the staging yards and I have started to experiment with facia configurations. I have decided to utilize the same configuration that I used on the lower (non yard) parts of the layout, using PVC caps, DPDT switches, and a 12V supply for my switching mechanisms. I've test out a few different sections of the layout and it seems to be a pretty good configuration.
  • Tie work is starting in the "No Name" town area, where there will be a passing side and three industry tracks. The hope to use one of the tracks as a location for some Safeway refer car pickups. Gotta have some of those awesome refer cars on the layout :)
  • This view gives you a slightly better vantage point with the trackwork and how large the town will be.
  • Ties are stained and now we are ready to start on the track work.
  • It dawned on me that it might be slightly better to do the track work and switches OUTSIDE of the closet, instead of trying to learn how to contort myself in new and exciting ways.<br /> <br /> This is the upper staging area (will be called Montrose in my world) and will have, as you can see, 4 tracks for receiving or sending out new trains.
  • On to the other side of the upper deck, or just above the Salida yards. This location will be my take on the Cerro Summit area, with one 'coal chute' similar to what would have been seen around Monero. In this location there will also be a livestock loading facility to get those cattle and sheep out of the high country (another job to do on the layout).
  • The bench work for the upper deck is being put in place. The deck itself is using 3/4" plywood (for strength) while the mounting scheme to the walls it utilizing shelf brackets, sizes ranging from 10" long to 8" long pieces. Surprisingly, the strength is actually pretty decent.
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