Playa Desnuda Branch of the Pacific Electric

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Hell yeah!!

[johnb]

Hell yeah!!

you're excited....

[Ed Kapuscinski]

you're excited....

I like seeing people use this time to move projects forward.

[johnb]

The Pacific Electric MOW department has been very busy. They have tore out the Playa Desnuda junction, and are reconfiguring it into a real junction.

While nothing is nailed/glued down, here is the basic layout of the track geometry.

I am not worried about the tight radius, the track that runs off the front of the layout is not going to have any power. The switch is going to be permanently set to head into the yard. The main track will lead run to the back to be a staging track. Operationally, an op session will start with either the Playa Desnuda switcher going to the staging track and bringing the cars in, or a Southern Pacific train pulling it in.

The Pacific Electric named branches off of their destination, the yards are usually named after the streets that they are next to (except for Delores)...and the junctions were either named after the location, other than Oscar's Junction....

We have the Playa Desnuda Branch and The Washington Blvd yard....but what should the junction be named?

[Ed Kapuscinski]

We have the Playa Desnuda Branch and The Washington Blvd yard....but what should the junction be named?

Thigh gap?

I'll see myself out.

[johnb]

Thigh gap?

I'll see myself out.

um.....

[johnb]

While the wife ran out to pick up dinner, I had enough time to go out to the garage and cut some flex track to fit. I nailed the track in to place, and I plan to start gluing the flex down tomorrow morning.

[johnb]

So, I fixed the kink and the junction is glued down.

So I am using #4’s to get the yard tracks to fan out quicker. The yard feeds off of the interchange track. There are a pair of #6’s on both ends of the interchange and PE mainline with enough room for an old Rivarossi 2-8-2 and a Dimi Trains Vanderbilt tender to make a run around.


I was able to find a spot for the very first laser cut kit that I ever built.

[johnb]

Back in October when I went out to Shawmut to chase the Big Boy, I picked up a pair of spikes from the old Sunset Route mainline. They have been sitting on my tool box since.

Today, I decided to put them to a good use while working on the far end of the yard. I took my four foot rule and marked straight lines from one end to another. I then took the old Atlas Mikado with the Dimi Trains Vanderbilt tender, added an inch or so to the length and decided that is how much room I needed at the end of the run around. I put the #6 crossover in place and laid the track to the egde of the layout. I put glue under the flex track, and used the spikes and a can of acetone for weight. Tomorrow I plan to ballast the switches and lay the track between the two sets of crossovers.

[johnb]

The Gandy Dancers from Laguna de los Borrachos worked on the Washington Blvd yard tonight and Rule G was quickly broken.



They got the job done quickly and got the two sets of crossovers connected. They plan to come back in the morning and work on laying track in the yard.

[johnb]

I realized that I need to relocate the arrival track and drill track on the other side of that crossover...too close together.



I am going to place the engine house where the Dremel is and I am thinking about putting my freight station between a spur and the drill track. (Where the Atlas station is sitting)

[johnb]

[johnb]

This afternoon I laid the rest of the track in the interchange yard. Eager to see how it works, I grabbed 6 MTL/Kadee Southern Pacific Lines and a Great Northern wood boxcars and assembled a simple train to push and pull through the switches by hand. It was rather rewarding to see that it was working the way that I wanted it to. Next up, laying the track to the soon to be relocated freight station, followed by wiring and painting the track…

Here are a couple of railfan pictures of the junction.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Heading on through to Thigh Gap yard, eh?

I like it!

[johnb]

Heading on through to Thigh Gap yard, eh?

I like it!

The Washington Blvd Yard...

Finally, I have finished laying the track in the yard. All of the track from for the extension has been recycled from my scrapped Pacific Coast Railway and from T.H.E.R.R. that is in Showlow, AZ after it was rebuilt with Unitrack.

After the track was laid, I assembled a 9 car train of 40 foot boxcars and snaked it through the yard, and a 3 car train through the junction since the staging track isn’t laid yet.
Next up on the hit parade is wiring. Joy.



The two tracks in the yard can hold 17 40ft boxcars, not sure about the team track in front of the relocated freight station.