Tuesday night at the Huff and Puff

Nice to see Joseph and Glen at the club last night. We also welcomed Larry in as a new member. He has jumped right into the fray. We continued dismantling the coal mine end of Springbank, cutting off most of the background in this area and cutting in the new route for the lower mainline. At the same time discussions continued on just what the new areas may look like. Moving the Lincoln station to the old Mount Tom area with the upper mainline in front of it and the branchline behind it, so it services both, seems like a good idea. Moving the turnout joining the branchline back to the upper mainline, on the back side of Lincoln, or removing all together was also talked about. We decided that putting a small portion of the loop to Miller in a tunnel would give us access to the turnout at the logging spur. The triangle area behind this loop may be the site of the lumber mill or be used to blend in the scenery in this area. We do seem to have lots of area in Miller to accommodate it. The coal mine would seem to be better located on the exterior wall behind Springbank which means we will have to find a new location for the ore mine, perhaps in Elsewhere or where it was on the cupboard bench, but more in the corner. After we remove the last of the table top material in Northdale we will start rebuilding the upper mainline.

The new lower mainline area at the end of Springbank, the exit door has been turned around so we have lots of room in this area now.

Tuesday night at the Huff and Puff

Great to see Glen up at the club amidst all the construction. His thoughtful insight is always welcome.
After Lincoln was elevated about 3 inches it was moved into place. The group gathered around to discuss the best position to set and attach Lincoln to the existing branch line benchwork. Being able to reach the turnouts on the logging spur was an obvious concern. The corner behind Allen Lumber was cut off leaving room for the branch line and to leave ample room to operate the branchline. Then an angle was cut off Lincoln where connects back into the Northdale area. It was decided to use the old turnout to the branchline and  run it parallel to the upper mainline until it loops off to the new town of Miller. It looks like we have Lincoln positioned where we want it, so now the rebuilding can commence.

New open area is a big plus in the new arrangement.

The area cut off Lincoln to create an aisle for the branchline.

A look through Lincoln to the old Northdale corner. 

Tuesday night where is everyone?

Well with Don, Mike, Joseph, me and a new, could be member, Larry we went to work. The quad unit was unhooked from Lincoln by cutting off some feeders. After locating the end of the bench work we remove track in the area. The scenery was cut and the benches unhooked. New legs and braces were installed. Then came the big move. Easy as pie. Left it sitting in the approximate location until next week. Humm, Larry has a pickup. Loaded all the garbage in it. I'm casting my vote for his membership right now! Thanks a lot.

What my be.

This is a simple outline of what the new track plan my look like.

In this concept the coal mine, Mutual Grain and gravel dock are located in the bottom right hand corner, creating a small town. The area to the right of Lincoln can be developed into a harbour or a small town with the old Ortona bench being an interchange. This would cause more traffic on the branch line. This interchange could also be part of another line switching the town of Wellington and returning to the interchange. In this case we would need to connect the branch to the upper mainline at the sawmill curve, creating a Wye, which could also be used to turn branch line engines.

Meeting night

After a before the meeting, group talk 2 things were decided. We will cut off Lincoln at the turn to Jutland, some where past Union Ice. The curve will lead into the new lower mainline where Northdale was, and all of Lincoln but the Hay Co. Siding will stay intact. The area where the coal mine and Mutual Grain will be lowered to the height of the lower mainline and switched from it. This will allow the lower mainline to curve around the new end of Springbank in the open and not in a tunnel or a gully. Then at the meeting, because it will speedup construction greatly and end up with a better result, it was decided that we should move Lincoln next week which, with a small amount of wiring, will limit running to dead end runs from Wellington to Springbank and from Elsewhere to Jutland. Lincoln will be raised 2 1/4 inches to the height of the upper mainline at Springbank and new bracing will be added, before we swing it. The new lower mainline will descend to Jutland. Clean up and prep work continued after the meeting.

Tuesday night at the Huff and Puff

Work crew hard at work. All of Miller was taken down. All but the top of the logging line remove and most of the bench work removed. All of the backgrounds behind Miller were also removed. The next step is to clean up the mess and start rebuilding. We should have a quick discussion about the idea of lowering the coal mine and Mutual Grain to the lower mainline level as this will impact the benchwork levels going forward. We will also need to decide on what we will use for the base for the track, as we need to know how thick it will be.

Tuesday night at the Huff and Puff

A few members ran on the mainline while others continued with the dismantling of the branchline. There is only so much room to work in the area so not everyone is needed. I spent an hour showing a couple that Glen had talked to at one of his presentations. They were very interested in the layout and it's operation. Meanwhile the crew removed most of the track, remaining scenery and the Wye. We decided to remove the rock wall and black trestle so the logging line can be rerouted and graded.