This is going to be a sort of random update of what has been going on with the layout over the past couple of months. I have been working on two expansion sections for the layout that total about 11-1/2 feet. This was just too big to handle as one section so it got split into an 8 foot section with the town of Carlin and a rail yard and a 3-1/2 foot section which goes from the east portals of the Palisade tunnels to the beginning of the yard.
I had gotten quite a bit done on the big section when I ran out of ballast and my local hobby shop did not have what I needed. I had ordered some directly from the manufacturer in late January and while waiting for it to arrive set the big section aside and worked on the smaller section.
The photo below shows this smaller section at this point. The basic bench work and track layout had been completed last fall. Recently I got some bridge abutments done and installed, and built up the river banks.
The bridge at the rear was kit bashed from an Atlas girder bridge. I turned one of the girders around so that the detailed sides are both facing the viewer with the blank sides hidden. I also made the deck a bit wider so there is room for a slight curve to the track. I have found these Atlas bridges a great starting point for some bridge projects, sometimes finding used ones cheap at train shows. Here are a couple of examples of projects I have done this way. Bridge 1 , Bridge 2
The basic structures of the tunnel portals were done some time ago and I am now finishing them so they will be ready for the east end of the Palisade tunnels. In this photo the wing walls are being added to the Southern Pacific portal. When done these will be a close match to the ones on the west end of the tunnel.
After a 2 month wait for the ballast it finally did arrive a couple days ago so things should get moving on the big section again.
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