Future Plans Summer 2012
Plans for the future include of course, all track and wiring. This should be done within the next year. After that, we'll be taking a bit of a break from construction. I plan on using a computer program called Rail-op to generate switch-lists for the crews to follow. To use this, every inch of the track will have to be measured, to determine capacity at all industries, yards etc. Then we'll take some time and actually have operating sessions to determine where changes need to be made to improve this. I have entered most of my built cars into the program, and I have to date 340 cars, which is about 150 cars or so more than I need. I'll probably be getting rid of more non-SE road cars. After all this is a Southern RR we have here.
Scenery work will start after structures are built. I have about 50 structure kits to do, about half of these are Campbell's. Some are Walthers Cornerstone, some Timberline, and some Micro-Scale.
Ballasting will actually be one of the last things done to the layout. If you look at a prototype RR, the ballast appears on top of anything else there, meaning the scenery has to go in first, then the ballasting. That's just one of my quirks.
Scenery work will start after structures are built. I have about 50 structure kits to do, about half of these are Campbell's. Some are Walthers Cornerstone, some Timberline, and some Micro-Scale.
Ballasting will actually be one of the last things done to the layout. If you look at a prototype RR, the ballast appears on top of anything else there, meaning the scenery has to go in first, then the ballasting. That's just one of my quirks.
April 2014
Unfortunately, it's been a while since I've done anything on the website, and that is my fault. Have had some health issues and my daughter lost the house she had been renting so she's back in with us for now. Great thing is our Grandson is now living with Gop, (me) and Gran! Bad thing, because of her screwy hours, the pace of construction has had to slow down. Hard to work on it when she's trying to sleep.
We are at least on trackwork, up to the Mulberry community, and have all the track in at the Confederate Hill Coal Mine's loader. The track serving the Mill Village's company store is in place, so reefer's and ventilated box cars can be delivering meats and groceries in the future.
Only thing really lacking up there is the turntable, for turning the big engines. While there will be an additional 25-35 feet, if not more, of track, sidings, and spurs past the mine, no locomotive bigger than a 2-8-0 will be allowed past there. This reflects the actual past on the Southern RR, as during WWII, there were war trains of 100 cars or more brought into my hometown of Selma bound for the Port of Mobile. Due to the bridge restrictions south of Selma at the times, nothing bigger than 2-8-0's could go south. These war trains had to be split up into trains of only 15-20 cars at the most, pulled by the smaller 2-8-0's of the Southern, many of these built before the Southern was even formed in 1894. As my "tribute" to that era, no locomotive bigger than a 2-8-0 can therefore go past the mine.
June 2015.
At this point in time, you may have been wondering what I've been doing on the railroad. The answer is, not much!
What I have been doing instead is catching up on all the rolling stock that I have been contracted to paint. I have had to date, 2 articulateds, 3 mikes, 2 pacifics, 2 consolidations, and a santa fe, (2-10-2). I've also been dealing with several RSD crisis the past year, which has brought a halt to everything. This has really slowed me down on finishing off what belongs to others, without me being able to do anything on what is mine. I actually made the decision to retire from custom painting at that time, and have been contacting customers since.
I love to paint, and as I see it the more the merrier, but unfortunately, it has gotten to the point that I can no longer do these custom jobs. My hobby, is suffering. So in order to get back to the layout, and get the trackwork finished, and start on structures and scenery, I have to make a sacrifice. That sacrifice will be custom painting.
We are at least on trackwork, up to the Mulberry community, and have all the track in at the Confederate Hill Coal Mine's loader. The track serving the Mill Village's company store is in place, so reefer's and ventilated box cars can be delivering meats and groceries in the future.
Only thing really lacking up there is the turntable, for turning the big engines. While there will be an additional 25-35 feet, if not more, of track, sidings, and spurs past the mine, no locomotive bigger than a 2-8-0 will be allowed past there. This reflects the actual past on the Southern RR, as during WWII, there were war trains of 100 cars or more brought into my hometown of Selma bound for the Port of Mobile. Due to the bridge restrictions south of Selma at the times, nothing bigger than 2-8-0's could go south. These war trains had to be split up into trains of only 15-20 cars at the most, pulled by the smaller 2-8-0's of the Southern, many of these built before the Southern was even formed in 1894. As my "tribute" to that era, no locomotive bigger than a 2-8-0 can therefore go past the mine.
June 2015.
At this point in time, you may have been wondering what I've been doing on the railroad. The answer is, not much!
What I have been doing instead is catching up on all the rolling stock that I have been contracted to paint. I have had to date, 2 articulateds, 3 mikes, 2 pacifics, 2 consolidations, and a santa fe, (2-10-2). I've also been dealing with several RSD crisis the past year, which has brought a halt to everything. This has really slowed me down on finishing off what belongs to others, without me being able to do anything on what is mine. I actually made the decision to retire from custom painting at that time, and have been contacting customers since.
I love to paint, and as I see it the more the merrier, but unfortunately, it has gotten to the point that I can no longer do these custom jobs. My hobby, is suffering. So in order to get back to the layout, and get the trackwork finished, and start on structures and scenery, I have to make a sacrifice. That sacrifice will be custom painting.
