Late May layout update!

Completed yard tracks.
Completed yard tracks.

It’s been a while since the last layout update. If you have been following along, you know the layout wiring is complete. All of the track has been painted and the fascia has been installed. The Wheeling Freight Terminal is looking pretty good.

 

Storage shelves and computer work station are below the layout.
Storage shelves and computer work station are below the layout.

The next task before plugging in the digital command control (DCC) system is to build and install the track switch controls. These will use Caboose Hobbies hand throws mounted on a small ledge along the fascia which will push or pull wire to through the switch points. The mechanical action will also activate the momentary contact SPDT switch to change the polarity on the frog. I have an idea or two that need to be worked out before installation. I want to keep it simple and minimize components and difficulty. I’ll share more as soon as I can.

There is another issue that has loomed since early April. My wife and I moved to El Paso last July and we have been renting our home. In early April, we finalized the purchase of a home here and contractors have been upgrading the kitchen before we start another move. The work is wrapping up now (end of May) and we have already been moving boxes and smaller furniture pieces into our new home. This will be our fourth move since the spring of 2009, but this move is only across a portion of El Paso and we look forward to living in our own home again.

I know a few readers have just rolled their eyes and may even be stunned. The best moving news concerns the hobby space. The new room is a nice 14 x 20 foot size that is ready to use. The current Wheeling Freight Terminal is about 10 x 16 and it will easily fit into the new space. As the layout is sectional and built to move, I expect to have it quickly assembled in the new space.

Below the freight house portion is the work bench and a shelf for tools and parts storage. It's a little barren as most of the hobby items have already been packed up and moved.
Below the freight house portion is the work bench and a shelf for tools and parts storage. It’s a little barren as most of the hobby items have already been packed up and moved.

As you can see in the images, the fascia and throttle plug in boxes have been installed. Click on any image to review a large size.

There is much more to share in the coming months as the layout moves to a new home. Railroad operations are just ahead as I narrow down the track switch control with testing and installation. I look forward to sharing the next exciting steps in my hobby adventure.

I welcome your comments. All comments are reviewed and approved before they appear.

5 thoughts on “Late May layout update!”

  1. Eric,

    The Wheeling Freight House layout’s looking very nice! Can’t wait to hear about upcoming operations. Also looking forward to your decision about the polarity controls.

    The new house and layout room should be a most welcome change to the past few years and some “stability” for both family and hobby.

    Tim Moran

  2. Very interesting and impressive work. I liked your reference to the Chagrin Falls and Solon branch. I was born in Chagrin Falls and grew up in Twinsburg which was connected to that line by Falls Jct in Glenwillow. I barely remember the trains into Chagrin Falls but I do remember the N&W coal trains crossing SR 91. I was always interested in modeling that line or portions of it, and like other MRs I am trying to research all I can. Do you have any further info on it?

  3. Thanks for your comment, Erick. I’ll contact you with more detail on the Chagrin Falls line shortly. I’m wrapping up a move to a new house. – Eric

  4. Ok sounds good. I’ve got some good diagrams of the route and of the terminal in Chagrin Falls-the one you have a photo of. I took that from the NKP website as they took over from the W&LE then turned it to N&W which is what I remember it being. I remember a feed store near the tracks but not much more. I can remember the N&W grade crossings around falls junction in the eighties, but I don’t recall when or know why the tracks that went on through Solon were abandoned. To my recollection there was a split in the branch out of Falls junction; one went off to the industrial park and one that crossed Solon road.

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