Tehachapi, BC

[mark dance]

The C&W has the same problem: the dispatcher's view is inverse of the way operators view the physical layout...so I provide an inverted view for the operators.  Can you provide two "panel" views of the same data?

md

[GaryHinshaw]

Sure, it would be straightforward to make another version that stacks the two decks over each other, with the upper deck running right to left.  This is one of those things where it's hard to predict how the user will perceive it, so we'll just have to try it.  Fortunately it's a lot easier to change this in software than in hardware.

[GaryHinshaw]

Kern Junction update

Following VanRail in early September, school work kicked in with a vengeance and very little has happened on TBC since then.  I did mange to do some ballasting between Caliente & Allard, but almost nothing else until the holidays.  Then I finally got up the gumption to install the hand-laid 4-turnout assembly at Kern Junction:



The two straight routes are the SP/UP main to Bakersfield (staging), while the two diverging routes are the ATSF/BNSF mains peeling off the Mojave Sub.  (The two crossovers beyond the Junction are still temporary.)

Even more exciting to me are the corresponding Tortoises & block detectors that go with it:



Installing Tortoises is a pain (literally) so it's nice to have a few more done.  Moreover, we've been operating this trackage with temporary, hand-thrown Atlas turnouts for roughly two years now, so it's a great relief to have the Junction finally automated.   This will make life easier for both the yardmaster and dispatcher.  (Up until now, Kern trackage was dark, so the d/s could not tell who was entering his or her railroad until they showed up on one of the mains beyond the Junction.)

I also augmented the main Layout Editor panel with route buttons for the Junction.  Here's a screenshot of the panel the yardmaster would see:



With this configuration, any route into or out of Bakersfield can be selected with two buttons: one for the specific yard track (right column) and one for the specific mainline desired (left column).  I'm still thinking a bit about how to best manage the transition between dispatcher control and yardmaster control.  At the moment, the outbound signals at Kern are d/s-controlled while the inbound ones are y/m-controlled.  That mostly works fine, but there are uncommon situations where the d/s wants to use wrong-hand running, which can require the crossovers between the yard and Junction to be thrown.  That's a detail though.

For posterity, here is the first full train to navigate the new Junction trackage:



The trackage performed flawlessly, but the Scale Trains couplers on the loco kept disengaging from the Kato coupers on the first well car.

Thanks for looking.  Happy New Year!

[Santa Fe Guy]

Great work on those turnouts they look awesome.
Rod.

[Scottl]

This is a major step forward!  Things are almost ready for remote dispatching (evil laugh). 

[GaryHinshaw]

Thanks Rod.  Can't wait to ballast an weather them too.

Scott, we're very close to trying out remote d/s'ing.  All that's really required at this point is a network interface to the CATS machine, which probably requires a config change with my ISP.  I'd love to have you try it out some time! 

[GaryHinshaw]

Ballasting update

One of the tasks I do when I only have 45 mins to an hour available is ballasting.  (And that's about as much as I can stand at any one time.)  To that end, progress is being made in and around the future Tunnel 2 scene (pardon the weird angle and stray wires):



Crews are now working the siding at Allard.  Their tool kit is primitive:





In another thread, @ednadolski had asked about my ballasting methods.  Aside from patience, the best tip I have is to take two passes.  The following shows an in-progress shot where I have completed the first pass on the right and two passes on the left.  With the first pass I take pains to make the ballast between the rails neat and tidy, but I don't worry too much about the shoulder profile.  In the second pass I come back and add the over-tie layer between the ties (a feature of my specific prototype) and finish up the shoulder.  I find it much easier to get a neat shoulder when a first coat is down since there is much more tooth for the second layer to adhere to:



Weathering will come after the scenery, but I'm liking how it is starting to look.  Can't wait to get those searchlight signals with @C855B's custom heads installed at this switch. 

[Scottl]

So great to see the blob covered with first scenery.  It is really transformative.  The ballasting is pretty amazing too but my preference is to do it after the scenery is done so it blends easier.

edit:  nice fascia!

[CRL]

I prefer to ballast after all the base level scenery has been done. To me, it makes sense since the “ground” was there before the track was laid by the railroad in the 1:1 world, so our layouts should look the same, except for the final weathering to be done last.

[GaryHinshaw]

The immediate trackside scenery on Tehachapi is bare graded dirt.  It will be easy to blend it when the time comes.  In the meantime, I prefer to have relatively unhindered access to the track while I ballast so I can obsess over every grain.   Just personal preference. 

[CRL]

Obsess? A model railroader obsessing over something?

Say it ain’t so Joe!

 

[Cajonpassfan]

Your ballast looks so good. I hate you, Gary!
Otto

[ednadolski]

Looks great @GaryHinshaw !   Looks like I came back to CO too soon! 

What about glue? What do you use, and how do you apply it?

Ed

[basementcalling]

What's up with the dot of blue paint on the kraft paper? Are you using that to tint the ballast?

[C855B]

What's up with the dot of blue paint on the kraft paper? Are you using that to tint the ballast?

Thumbtack holding the paper down. Also in red and yellow. (See first picture.)