Meeting night at the RHR.

 At the meeting, the financial report was accept. Rick provided information about the Woodstock Train Show and added money from sales into the kitty. The roof leaks were noted and will be watched, the fair board will also be notified.

Rob installed more feeder wires along the west peninsula, as Jim and Joseph laid out DCC equipment in preparation to start wiring in earnest.

Glen continued plastering the cliff along the branchline. This has to be completed before the track is installed.

Rod continued working in the Tatham area, Don and Jeff painted the Thames River banks, Peter worked on the sidings in Lincoln,  I add a spacer under the Lincoln dock and put in the crossover there.

Larry M and I stacked lumber in and on the new lumber storage area, and 5 boxes of fire wood were set out.

It was decided, because of a lack of space and appropriate steel plant buildings, to make Hunter just another town.

Friday fun at the R.H.R.

 Rob installed more feeder wires along the west peninsula, and did some track work on the central peninsula.

Glen plastered and painted his way down the branchline, and onto the mountain, that separates the Coal mine and the power plant. Code 100 track was put down in Admiral and most of the industries were located. Two rerailers were put in, to simulate a road crossing, into town.

Tom finished the track in Tatham, adding sidings to Coastal Oil and another industry. I took the liberty to move the one siding to put in Bingham the Mover.

Larry M finished the wood storage shelves under Hunter, added the missing corner post under Dover, and built a shelf to hold the track box.

Tuesday night at the RHR. Sept 21.

 Peter worked on the 4 track storage yard, which will hold 24 cars, and Donald continued working on the passenger terminal tracks. Rod worked on the mainline through Tatham, completing the mainline into Wellington.

Don P. And Rob installed feeder wires along the west side of the central peninsula, as Jim installed hydro outlets for the layout. The bus wire holders have been located and set out to be installed.

Don S. and Jeff added a coat of plaster to the Thames River area, soon the mainline can be finished up over the bridge. Glen also plastered the bridge area on the branchline, near the Coal mine. All of the code 83 track was removed on the branchline, to be replaced with code 100, as we have lots of track to spare.

Various members moved material to the new shelves, or otherwise worked on our collection of products. Several part containers of Woodland Secnic ballast were mixed together and we ended with 7 full containers. This ballast will be used on the mainline only, to give us a uniform look. Dave has most of our scenic supplies moved into the cupboards in the kitchen, after several people moved the stove out of the way.

Shelves

 Larry and Larry added some 60 feet of shelves, and put up the box shelf.

As we have lots of code 100 track we will do the branchline with code 100 also as it is more reliable. 

Friday fun at the RHR

 Sept. 17 2021

Rod and Donald worked on the the west peninsula. Rod laying track in the TATHAM area and Donald worked on the remote switches for the passenger terminal tracks.

Larry M. put in the last of the framework for the shelving under the center peninsula.   

Don S. put down plaster cloth on his Newfoundland Railroad and also cut some 2 inch risers for the branchline, which Glen and I turned into benches, so now all of the branchline benchwork is finished. The grade is 2% or less, I think. 

Tuesday night at the Rec Hall Railroad, R.H.R.

 The club received a donation of a box of railroad items, and this Postage Stamp, n scale set was inside. A couple of us had this set, years ago, infact it was the first set i had after i got married, good memories, thank you so much.   

The mainline loop around Admiral was laid as well as the ore siding, that is hidden behind the town site. This loop completes the mainline, in both directions, all the way back to just past the port of Dover, where work continues on the Thames River.

 

The Thames River received some plaster cloth along the banks of the river. When the scenery is done on the river, the bridge can be installed, and the mainline continued.

Work progressed on the Elsewhere yard and the town of Tatham, and when this 8 foot area and the Thames River area are finished, the mainline will be completed. However we may install crossovers in Lincoln and lift the track at the stream near the Coal mine, to install scenery, which will close the mainline down, while this work is done. But this doesn't stop Mike with his battery operated engine. He travelled most of the mainline without any problems. The picture shows his engine passing the Lincoln station. The trackwork needs to be tested over and over, to insure good running for years to come. For instance, we may want to super elevate mainline curves. We also need to finger test each rail joint and remove any burs or uneven joints.  Wiring is already in progress on parts of the mainline and our main power source.

A potential problem we may have is metal grains in our beach sand ballast. Both Jim and I have used this material for ballast over the years without any problems. The thought is, if it is glued down, and then vacuumed, there will be no loose grains to get pulled up into an engine.

Rick displayed 3 passenger sets that are for sale, as well as other items. David has repaired a few buildings, and collected 9 similar stations to be touched up for the mainline. We need to clean up the layout of track and other items, so we can set up industries at the sidings, stations, town buildings and roads. Lumber and other construction material, need to be sorted and stored.

Update on town names

 Town names update. 

They are all streets in Woodstock and are alphabetically arranged. Included are some reasons of why they were chosen and helpful hints to remember them. All the towns are now named with one change and a few dropped.

Mainline
ELSEWHERE, on the west wall, is a familiar name with our members. It is the home of the passenger yard and a mainline  ready yard.
FIDLER on the south wall, to the right of the furnace, will have many small industries, so lots of fiddling.
HUNTER, on the south wall by the fire door, will be home of the steel mill, and there happens to be an industry in this town and in Woodstock,  named Hunter Steel.
Jutland was dropped, this area will be referred to as the Thames River crossing, in the blog.
LINCOLN is another name from our previous layout, and it is inside the central loop, with many of the same industries.
MAPLE, on the east side of the middle peninsula,  is the home of the refinery and sidings to the sawmill lumber yard (maple lumber perhaps).
Marshall and Nelson, both dropped and replaced by simply Coal Mine and Power Plant.
ORTONA the only mainline town on the east wall peninsula, industries are to be determined.
PINEHURST on the east side of the middle peninsula,  has the connection to the branchline.
RIDGEWAY is on the edge (ridge) of the narrow bench section. Union Ice and Mutual Grain are located there

SPRINGBANK is a 1 siding town, industries to be determined 
SUNSET on the west side of the middle peninsula,  has Zorra Cement as it's only industry, so far, but is also the other connection to the branchline, at its harbour terminal and gravel dock.
TATHAM on the west wall, renamed from Warwick. Will have Coastal Oil, Buckley Mills and more, as industries.
WELLINGTON like on the old layout has a ready yard and a holding yard.
Branch line
ADMIRAL is a terminal town with a turntable, and a few industries. The branchline supposedly continues to the left, over a trestle and on through a tunnel.
BURTCH is a logging camp.
CARTIER is a small town, industries to be determined. Just past it is the lumber mill and a connection to the mainline.
DOVER leaving the mainline, from Sunset, into a port, terminal town, with a turntable an interchange track and a few industries.

Tuesday night at the Rec Hall Railroad Sept 7, 2021

 With a crew of 10, work continued everywhere. Jim finished plumbing the second washroom and then showed me the plan for the hydro and the 4 quad units. He then went about finding supplies. Staying with this topic, Don P. and Mike soldered feeder wires to the mainline.

The mainline progress continued on 4 fronts. Don S. and Jeff worked on the Thames River Bridge area, Don S. and Rod worked on the Hunter Steel area, and completed it to the furnace. I mocked up the switching puzzle area but we decided, because of the height of the layout it would be better as a stand alone layout so younger people could have fun with it. Removing the mock up  l laid out the town of Warwick in its place. Last but not least Donald worked on the Elsewhere yard.  Glen continued scenic elements on the branchline and Larry M. was busy building shelves under the main peninsula.

I have not mentioned Rick in the last few posts. He has been busy in the background, mostly  sorting out rolling stock.  With input from several members, he has removed rolling stock not suitable for our layout, and has already sold several items, adding the money to our slush fund. Most of these items will be on our tables at the Woodstock Train Show, in October. 

Switching puzzle

 Down toward the furnace corner for the west wall peninsula, but at least 2 feet away from the corner, is a great spot for the switching puzzle, easy access and lots of aisle space.

 It would be a stand alone layout, maybe with a track to the mainline, to bring in an engine. However with the town of Warwick's inxustries of, Heritage Furniture, Reliable Electric and Coastal Oil, located behind it, it will appear to be part of the layout. (I guess we could switch like coloured box cars from the mainline). These industries will be located so they can be easily reached, for switching. Coastal Oil will use the old fueling rack as part of the complex.

We would use only box cars on the puzzle, with them being black, silver, green, red, blue, and yellow, although we could also use, say, a blue tank car, red box car, brown gondola, silver covered hopper, green stock car, and a black hopper, for our colour impaired friends. Cards would be held in a box showing various colour and type of car and their locations, on each and maybe a score card, for fun. Anyone have a timer?

Editor's note. I will have to check that we have both the colour of cars and ink colours for printing out cards.

Friday at the Rec Hall Railroad , 9/3/2021

 Glen added plaster cloth to the edge of Burtch as Rod continued the mainline into Hunter. Don S. drought in our new signs, The Rec Hall Railroad, which is a nod to the fact it was a Rec Hall for an army camp, located on the fair grounds.

Rob soldered on some feeder wires and Donald installed the switches for the storage yard and one end of the yard in Elsewhere. We are thinking of using powered switches for the passenger yard.

The cement plant in Sunset was rotated to move the switches away from the port of Dover and the bend in the mainline was straightened out, because it no longer had to skirt the cement plant. The passing tracks and sidings were installed also. There is also concerns that the passing track in Lincoln is too long at 18 feet. It could be cut into two by installing a cross over, area circled in red.

August Meeting

 For the second month in a row, clubmembers brought chairs outside to hold their monthly meeting on Tuesday, August 31 on or about 7 pm. Fourteen members were in attendance. It was a lovely evening, just a bit too cool by the end of the meeting.

Club prez and keeper of the finances Don S announced the club continued to be "in the black" with $800+ in the main account with all bills paid to date and around $100 in the "slush" fund, money that comes in from various sources such as train car and equipment sales, some from dismantled layouts, etc. Thanks, Rick, for the funds you added tonight.

Rick O passed around a vintage Mantua AB diesel set that came from the layout currently being dismantled by the Prez. Cars are available for club members to purchase but will need coupler alterations. Rick noted that the next Woodstock Train Show has been officially scheduled for Sunday, October 17 and tables have been booked.

Dave H was commended for the neat set of 3D printed bridges he has done for the club and located on the east wall of the layout. Dave, in cahoots with Jeff Culp. owned up to being the contributor of the club picture and article in the latest What's Up Woodstock. A copy was handed around the member circle.

The Prez has had signs printed up professionally by the Minutemen Press and showed them off to the members. Rod B volunteered to fasten one on the side of our building at the southeast corner with screws and Glen will fasten the large crossbuck sign on the inside of the entrance door with double sided tape. Two additional signs have been made up with directional arrows to lead people attending train shows to our door when the layout is ready for visitors. 

There was some discussion about the email on layout "breakers" sent out to members on an information basis by Glen. The theme was to keep yards electrically isolated from mainline trackage with breakers so that switching shorts do not shut down operations beyond yard areas. Joseph B. and Jim F. suggested the wiring plan involving 3 Quad areas [as noted in the previous blog] will make extensive use of breakers unnecessary and expensive. No other comments were noted. 

Nothing else merited discussion and the meeting ended at approximately 8:20 pm.