We Have Weather

Have to laugh sometimes...Blogger statistics show no hits for the latest entries and lots for "Autunite". The one that gets the most hits is "Bending Space and Time".  Apparently there are more people interested in radioactive ores and Einstein than I thought. Hope it's not a disappointment to end up reading about a model railroad.

Be that as it may, I'm having a discussion with the folks over at Railwire on what direction the layout should be taking from here. While there seems to be general agreement on the generic approach and the Average Eastern, the actual application is a whole 'nother box of rocks. The major question for me is "Do I rip up the completed roadbed and start again?"...

Current Layout Plan

I forget exactly how many times I have started over. Every phase of the design up until a few months ago has been build, tear down, rebuild. In some cases this meant all new bench work. There were also some extensions and modifications. Most of the later mods were roadbed, including at least four major overhauls. Once I got to the overall design shown above I was sure this was what I was looking for. The only thing that has changed aside from a few realignments has been elevation. Currently there is none, the roadbed is level.

Is there a way to add the Average Eastern to the existing trackwork. Aye, there's the rub...

In previous entries I have shared plans that cram the AE inside the four track mainline. I tried to separate the two railroads with rivers and streams. There are quite a few real instances where competing railroads share the same river valley. On the layout, however, there isn't enough space to create a sizable river like the Lehigh.

It appears that I might have to bite the bullet yet again. Based on the discussion thread at Railwire the latest track plan looks like this...

Average Eastern Revised Track Plan

I tried to reuse the existing spline where ever I could, shortened the mainline and tried to hide it without burying all the trackwork. There are three interchanges. At Average the AE connects with a four track C lass 1. There's an interchange with a two track Class 1 and the Quotidian Company Railroad at East End. I incorporated suggestions from the discussion thread like the industrial center at Quotidian and the number and spacing of the AE passing sidings.

While doodling I also drew up an idea for the Quotidian Company logo. The Shay is short with very little room for lettering. I thought a prominent logo might work. The black diamond is a pretty common symbol in the anthracite region, used by a number of railroads...

Quotidian Company Shay

Then I played around with a drawing of a Consolidation like the Allegheny Eastern might have owned around the turn of the century...

Average Eastern 2-8-0

In this case I was able to use lettering and the logo because of the tender length. The locomotive drawings came from The Railroad Paintshop. I've used their drawings several times when designing paint schemes.

I added this to the garage/wall...

"Meteorology Center"

I had this hanging in the front hallway and realized it would be more useful in the garage. The temperature was in the teens (or below) outside when this was taken. The temp in the garage was 45 degrees. The humidity was 70%. It was still too cold in the garage to work comfortably. I'm thinking the humidity made it seem even colder, but I'm not a meteorologist.

Regards,

Frank Musick

Building a dream layout on a nightmare budget

The Average Eastern Railroad