Wiring

 Locations of the 3 quad units and the 12 blocks, as set up by Jim and Joseph.

Since we have 3 quad units that supply separate power to 4 blocks, the mainline was divided into 12 blocks about 25 foot long, and a line and the word block was put at the dividing line between blocks. Insulated rail joiners will be used to separate these blocks.

Block 1 is the west peninsula and the south wall, plus the bench across the aisle. It consists of, Elsewhere, westbound and Wellington, eastbound mainlines  to the furnace bridge, and from the furnace, both east and west bound mainlines to the cement plant. The quad unit will be located in the middle, near the furnace.

Block 2 is most of the center peninsula. It starts from the cement plant both east and west bound mainlines to Ridgeway, just past the gravel pit, and then from there to the curve just past the sawmill. The quad unit will be near Ridgeway.

Block 3 is all of the east peninsula. It consists of both east and west bound mainlines, from the curve at the sawmill to just past the Coal mine at Ortona, and then from there, around the loop and back, and all of the elevated branchline. The quad unit will be near the Coal mine.

Friday at the club, Aug 27.

 Dave sent in 4 plate girder bridges he lazer printed and painted a weathered green, and Glen worked his way out of Admiral and into Burtch, home of the lumber camp. 

Rod put in a missed set of insulated rail joiners and then came over to Wellington to help me work on the ready yard. Three turnouts were also set in place for the storage yard, inside the loop.

Tom completed both mainlines to the Thames River Bridge. When the loop around Admiral is installed, we will have over two thirds of the mainline done. The areas on either side of the mainlines between Lincoln and Sunset would be a good area to build rolling hills.

Toot, toot, first train Aug. 24, 2021

 Glen and I worked on Admiral, opening up the access hole so you can stand up in it. The bridge to nowhere was installed. The mainlines toward the loop around Admiral were also extended.

Toot, toot, the first train was run. It is a DC engine and some cars. We are using it to test the track.

Friday night Aug. 24, 2021

 Don S. And Rick worked on the Thames River Bridge and the 59 highway overpass, as Donald and Jeff started putting together the ready yard at Wellington. It will be 5 tracks about 8 feet long.

Don P. And Rod finished the mainline in the gravel pit area as Mike worked on the mainlines toward the harbour at Dover.

Friday 20 Aug.

 Admiral is taking shape. Glen has created a road down from the town which will cross the mainline and continue off the layout. He also added a retaining wall leading to the through truss bridge and added a hill and tunnel, in the corner into which the branchline disappears and heads off to places unknown.

Tom and Rod have most of Ridgeway tracked and are working toward the gravel pit.

Tom and I put down the mainlines out of Lincoln, past the redesigned harbour and off towards the Cement plant employing a sweeping curve through the country side. Hope we can make some rolling hills in this area.

Aug 17, 2021, continued

 The Pinehurst area was also up for revision. This whole peninsula has became to congested in the attempt to include everything. It may be scaled down to a station, freight house and the connection to the branchline, we will see.

Cliff and I adjusted and secured  some roadbed and the Oliver logging camp scene as Glen continued adding scenic elements around Admiral. 

Hard to keep track of everyone, but I know Mike and Dave were busy sorting scenery material and other boxes of stuff, but didn't find the Silos. Most of the scenery material was sorted into the kitchen cupboards.

Don and our visitor, Ron, from Delhi, worked on the dam area. The whole area behind the track was elevated for the new location of the road bridge and to get the land elevation the same as the photo of the dam. This will make this area closer to the actual scene of the CP crossing the Thames River, which was Don S. Vision all along. Having seen the visual results of this elevated area, it would help enhance the look of the layout to employ this, easily done, idea in other areas of the railroad, like between Sunset and Lincoln, if only 1 inch high. Across the river, another, arced, elevated area, will complete the scene. The open area may be a place for the corral and a farm scene. The red circled area will have several structures added.

Aug. 17, 2021, Lincoln revisions

After a reviewing, with members there, of some of the track arrangements I had made last week, we decided there is no space for a passing track in the gravel plant area, the passing track in Lincoln will be used as necessary. Although moving the Lakeview harbour seemed like a good idea, we decided that Lakeview will be absorbed into Lincoln, this will make more open space between Lincoln and Sunset, top photo. Speaking of Sunset, we can't locate the Silos for the cement plant? Anyway, Jeff started adding track in the town of Lincoln, after adding the new passing track, which will now service the harbour.

 We need to have Union Ice in Ridgeway, so some track adjustments were made there, with the input by Don P. as to the orientation of the passing siding turnout. Don, after builing many layouts of his own, has a good eye for track problems. Tom and Rod got to work on that and the track by the gravel plant.

Friday Aug 13, Lakeview

 The harbour town of Lakeview laid out, after moving it away from Lincoln, to make some actual space between them. For this arrangement we will need a 30 degree crossing. 

The harbour could support 2 ships. Even though this layout would work, I think we should move the harbour part back and add Lincoln to it. This would have the team track, meat packers and stock yard as part of Lakeview and the town of Lincoln would be around the corner where the gravel pit is. This would create more open running area on this side of the peninsula. 

Friday Aug. 13, Lincoln

 Lincoln and Lakeview were separated by a couple of feet. The turnout, circled in red was moved. After looking at this picture, I noticed there is no passing track,  see the blue line.

Friday Aug. 13, Burtch

 The Burtch logging camp module is now elevated on its own bench, with the branchline track slowly going downhill to the right, heading towards Cartier.

Friday Aug. 13, Main yards

 Laying track down to check out the arrangemen of the main yards. Wellington, on the left has 5 tracks and Elsewhere, on the right, has 6 tracks. 

Tuesday night at the Rec Club

 Don S. Is getting some signs for the building so I should start using that name.

Glen add a piece of scenery from my old layout and started the abutment for the bridge out of Admiral. Glen and Larry M. brought in lumber from a shelving unit removed from Glens house. This will be used to build more shelves under the layout.

Tom worked on the Refinery and it's sidings in the town of Maple. We have all been frustrated with the problems of working with used track, and Tom was having his share. 

Joseph set to work removing old feeder wire stubs from our supply of track.

I added a few sections of track at the Nelson Coal mine area and moved the mainline around Ortona, a little to the front, to give more room for the tracks in Nelson.

Don S. Laid out the highway bridge over the tracks and river, in his Pittock Dam scene.

Jeff started laying sidings into the lumber yard.

No photo Friday

 Gary dropped in with some magazines for the club and had a look around. Glen was at his usual spot working away to complete the cliffs at Admiral.  Rod worked on the track at Pinehurst, moving a turnout so it would not interfere with turnouts behind it. He also continued the eastbound track toward Maple. Tom positioned the Refinery and it's sidings in the town of Maple. The passing siding in Maple will mirror that of Valleyview on our old layout, in that it is twelve feet long with a crossover in the middle of it (Rob you got your wish). Industries in Maple will include sidings to the lumber yard at the sawmill, sidings to load tank cars at the Refinery, and a siding to the lubricants dock, for box cars. The mainline continues eastward behind Ridgeway towards the big loop of the peninsula. I started laying out Ridgeway and it's 2 industries of Mutual Grain  and Union Ice. The mainline from Ridgeway also continues toward the peninsula loop. So all of the mainline and it's towns are mostly laid out, on the east side of the peninsula, all the way around the west wall and back, or about two thirds of the layout if you include Elsewhere, Wellington, Dover, Sunset and Lincoln, which also have their industries or the turnouts set in place.

Tuesday Aug 3, 2021

 Don S. cut out the river below the dam and painted it. The water colour is spot on.

Peter worked on some of the trackwork in the Dover harbour area. He also continued the back mainline past the town of Sunset, where it will pass behind the cement plant, and continue on to Lakeview.

Cliff and Rod continued laying track in the Pinehurst area. We found that using a drywall screw, in the foam, just snugged down between 2 ties, will hold down the track, and will still allow cars to be run on the track to check for problems.

Larry M. started to build some shelves under the layout. This shelf will hold our supply of buildings, bridges and some track.

Jim installed the new toilet, minus the correct lid. Then, Don P. and Jim started to cut and tin feeder wires.

Glen continued to work on the cliffs of Admiral. I laid out the probable location of turnouts, and track, for the gravel plant as well as the meat packers/stock yard and team track in Lincoln.  Just had time to set the first turnout in Lakeview,  our second harbour location.  ADM,  a dock and 1 other industry will be located there. Donald also continued working on the passenger terminal tracks. Busy night.