Seaboard Central 2.0

[conrailthomas519]

Personally Dave, I don't know too many model railroaders get their track plans exactly right on their first attempts.

[Blazeman]

I'm sure that anyone following this thread is probably shaking his or her head at my constant reworking of track.  Unfortunately, despite my best planning, I learn best by actually operating the layout.  Sorry to once again clog up this thread with yet another track realignment project.

You sharing your revisions makes others think about their designs. We all get better as a result. Completing rework of some areas on my layout as well. Thank goodness the area on mine wasn't scenicked.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

I dig it. I like the Agile approach you're taking!

[Dave V]

I dig it. I like the Agile approach you're taking!

Aw sh!t, man, industry lingo!  I'm doing an Agile certification course this week, LOL.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

SCRUM? Something else?

[Dave V]

SCRUM? Something else?

Yup, SCRUM.

As a weather modeler, I work with software, so it makes sense for me to do this.  We used a modified SCRUm technqiue years ago when delivering our weather web services portal.  These days I'm mainly working with Fortran code (I know, I know, but that's what weather models use!) and have been teaching myself Python.  It's not altogether different than MATLAB or IDL other than the fact that it's free.

[mu26aeh]

Yup, SCRUM.

As a weather modeler, I work with software, so it makes sense for me to do this.  We used a modified SCRUm technqiue years ago when delivering our weather web services portal.  These days I'm mainly working with Fortran code (I know, I know, but that's what weather models use!) and have been teaching myself Python.  It's not altogether different than MATLAB or IDL other than the fact that it's free.

I don't think I know what SCRUm is but I'm pretty sure I had Fortran course/s .  I'm getting a headache just thinking about it.....

[John]

[wm3798]

That's how I ended up laying out the yard at Thomas.  I started out with stub tracks, and finally realized it would work a lot better if it could be worked from both ends.  Fortunately, I figured that all out on paper before I started cutting plywood!

Lee

[Rich_S]

I don't think I know what SCRUm is but I'm pretty sure I had Fortran course/s .  I'm getting a headache just thinking about it.....

Never had FORTRAN, But if you want a language that will make your head hurt, try assembler. I had a courses in Assembler, COBOL, C, ADA, and PASCAL. The last language I learned was PERL, the company I was working for wanted to load data into Informix data bases using PERL scripts.  I remember reading the article, or one like it, that John posted back when I was in college. It is true, the first computer bug was a moth 

[Dave V]

SCRUM is a project management technique for software development.

FORTRAN is a computer programming language.

I like trains.

 

[Rich_S]

Ta da!  Since this photo was taken, I even reinstalled the two slide switch turnout controls.  Finished!


What you're seeing in the following photo is the capacity needed per A&R train: approximately two locomotives and six to seven cars and a caboose.  That might seem like a lot of power, but remember that eastbound A&R trains, like the prototype, must climb the 3% Bethesda Hill out of Aberdeen:


Now, I will be able to take a train into staging, runaround, switch cars, and build a different train for running back westbound to Raeford and Aberdeen.

Have a great week,
DFF

Dave,
    I like it. This is the idea I had a few pages back, when I mentioned the cross-overs in the staging yard, so you wouldn't have to 0-5-0 anything.   

[davefoxx]

This weekend's progress.  I've been longing for a scene on the layout that appears finished, because I don't have one.  The scene near the lake has much base scenery in place, and, in fact, I just recently ballasted the A&R line in the background of the following shots.  But, the propane dealer has been sitting unfinished and an eyesore for many months.  That needed to change, whether I liked it or not.  However, I knew it wouldn't just involve some paint and weathering.

Here's before.  You can see the unfinished LP dealer as it's been sitting for a long time.  The problem is that I hadn't figured out how to shoehorn the pieces of the propane dealer into their final locations.  I need more room, so I'll have to cut into the hill and install a retaining wall:



Step 1: Deconstruction and installation of the retaining wall.  The larger area means the old parking lot won't work anymore.  Because I plan to install the new parking lot on top of the old pavement, I cut a chunk of the road out at the highway crossing, so I could blend the new parking lot up to the wood crossing timbers:


Step 2: The new parking lot with curbing installed.  I really like this being installed over the old parking lot, because it raises it up a little, which will blend into the surrounding scenery a little better, especially the wood highway/railroad crossing:


Step 3: The LP tanks with much of their piping are finally put together.  LP experts will cringe at my arrangement of the piping and pump house to make it fit, but, it's good enough for me at this point.  I now know the exact location where the railcar will be spotted, because I was able to figure out where the unloading rack will be placed and connected to the pump house.  I also painted and finished the details on the office building:



It's not finished by any stretch of the imagination, but it's really good progress.  I still need to blend in the scenery, e.g., hillside, ballast, etc., and do a lot of paint and detailing.  But, I'm satisfied enough to keep moving forward on this project.

DFF

[basementcalling]

Dave, do tell more about your slide switch controls and how you are securely mounting them in a foam & cork surface.

Soon, you'll be cooking with gas on the layout with that propane set up.

The prototype realign tracks all the time.

[C855B]

Soon, you'll be cooking with gas on the layout with that propane set up.

No, he's planning on converting his hot water heater.