Kiss HOMER Goodbye

If Juniata is to double as a staging yard then I need some way to route trains in both directions from both ends of the yard. At the west end ALTO serves this purpose. At the east end, however, there is no interlocking. In an effort to add an interesting scenic feature and eliminate a number of turnouts I chose to model the flyover at HOMER...

HOMER

Now that trains are running the arrangement at HOMER presents a few problems. There's the 2% grade in both directions. It spreads the mainlines apart causing them to rob space from the Blair Furnace area. Overhead clearances are tight, I had to replace the foam overpass with plywood to get a thinner cross section. Even then I had to raise the structure to make room for an L1s to pass underneath. This resulted in a slightly steeper grade, so on and so forth.

The end result is that I decided to eliminate HOMER and go back to the ANTIS interlocking instead. Thanks to the styrospline I was able to make the change quickly and cleanly. First I removed some of the track. Then I removed the overpass and the anchors that hold the spline to the benchwork...

Removing Anchor Screws at HOMER

I had to separate some sections of the spline so I could realign the tracks but for the most part I simply cut the spline and slid it to the new position...

Rerouting Track 1 and 4

I did have to create a new section of spline to fill in the gap left by the overpass. Because this section is straight I did not have to stagger the joints like I might on a curve. There was also enough overlap with adjacent sections to ensure a solid glue joint...

New Section of Spline

In less that an hour I had the roadbed realigned...

Rerouting Tracks 2 and 3

I have to realign the eastern end of the Juniata bypass to match the new spline position. Once the glue sets I can relay the track...

ANTIS

This change will provide greater flexibility moving in and out of Juniata and allow the yard to function as staging if desired...

ANTIS Reborn

It does make things a tad harder for a single operator but that can be dealt with in several ways. Lenz makes DCC accessories that allow the control of several turnouts at once, essentially creating an interlock. I'm visulizing an operating scheme for a single operation that utilizes automation for the through trains. I've learned that the Atlas/Lenz system I use is compatible with JMRI a computer program written exclusively for model railroading. Still working on the details.

Scenic interest out, operating interest in.

Regards
Frank Musick
Chief Engineer and Section Hand

Allegheny Eastern Railroad