What's going on with the logging layout; an amazing tour of the Richmond Pacific; and a friend joins the blogging world

Hi.

It is good to be sitting at the keyboard, again. Since the December post life has been a whirlwind. The Bay Area Layout Design and Ops SIG meet is now in the rear view mirror. It was a lot of hard work and a lot of fun. A couple of things to catch up on. The latest with the logging layout, a very cool tour of the Richmond Pacific Railroad and a good friend joins the blogosphere.

Let's start with an update on the logging layout. I dusted off the layout with the expectation that I'd have it ready for ops or at least an open house during the SIG meet. As I mentioned before, I'm not giving up N Scale. 

All of my N Scale projects -- the B&OCT and Takadanobaba -- were halted by some kind of speed bump or another. The solutions were beyond me.

I needed a win. I got that with this project. The track was in good shape. I have two Shays, but the layout can only handle one. 

The time spent working in a different scale was not wasted. It was an opportunity to dust off old modeling skills or work on new ones. This included: scratchbuilding rolling stock,

Scratchbuilt flatcar carrying an AHM Barnhardt loader

kitbashing structures and throwing together small detail projects.

Scratchbuilt loading dock at Monroe Bros. Milling & Lumber

Coal and sand house with rack of spare wheels adjacent to the engine terminal 

Penstock on scratchbuilt platform (a re-used flatcar that didn't turn out quite right)

All of this has proven that I have the skills needed in other modeling projects. I also learned that I don't have to be afraid to jump into the unknown.

A fundamental premise of the logging layout is that it will be "good enough". It has to look good, but doesn't have to be perfect -- except for the track. This layout has to work. The locomotive and rolling stock need to stay on the tracks -- unless yours truly goes against a switch. Hmmph!!

Here are a few pictures of the layout in its current state (some have been previously posted on Facebook):

Testing the Shay. It came back from the repair shop with a hitch in its git along. Seemed to work fine on the loop of Atlas Snap Track. 

Here's the Shay crossing Humberson Lane. 

The Shay has crossed Humberson Lane and is creeping onto Bizjak Bridge, which crosses Zadroga Creek. Need to glue the abutments and add rocks to the creek bed. Also need to add a couple of guys fishing in the creek.

Here's the Shay and bobber caboose approaching Bizjak Bridge. Note the bridge planking. Boy, do the Shay and bobber need weathering!

Trees flanking Humberson Lane. More scenery to be added. 

Here we are at the right end of the layout. The shell of Monroe Brothers Lumber looks forlorn. A roof and more structure are still to come.

Wow, Humberson Lane really looks like it curves behind the trees on the left.

On the Saturday night of the SIG meet, the layout was open for visitors. The weather was kind of crappy and only three people showed. It was a good opportunity to get a few projects done. 

Speaking of the SIG meet . . .

It ran from Friday, Feb. 3 to Sunday, Feb. 5. Friday's events included an ops session, a tour of the Richmond Pacific Railroad (RP) and a dinner in Richmond. 

The Richmond Pacific tour was amazing. It was the first time that the railroad had been open for a public tour. They rolled out the red carpet. Our host gave us a 45-minute overview of the railroad in the Headquarters' conference room. 

The Richmond Pacific system map in the Headquarters conference room

They then took all 19 of us on tour of the railroad via caboose hop. 

The train awaits

As we approached the train we were told that there was one space (one open seat) in the locomotive cab and everyone else had to cram into the caboose. Who should go? I was pleasantly surprised to be nominated by the group to take the locomotive spot. I didn't waste any time climbing aboard. 

The view from the front porch of Richmond Pacific GP-15 #424.

Manny, the engineer. A very cool dude, who was willing to tolerate a model railroader and railfan in his cab. I was not allowed to blow the whistle.

The view looking forward from the cab. Very cool.

Were I not interested in Chicago and the B&OCT, I'd be a Richmond Pacific modeler. That is left to my friend, Steven Cox. He's been interested in the RP for a long time. Its got a lot of appeal: busy industrial switching, connections to two class 1 railroads (Union Pacific [UP] and BNSF -- if you backdate its the Southern Pacific and Santa Fe) and lots of Amtrak and Amtrak California traffic on the UP tracks.

Steven's inspiration is Stege Interlocking and Stege Wye. This is the interchange point between the RP and UP.  Stege Wye is elevated and two of the legs cross Interstate 580. The interlocking is compass south of the Wye.

Here's a photo from the cab of our train on the north leg of the wye. 

A big thanks to our train crew and host, Jeff. This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

And finally, welcome to the blogosphere -- Ken Koren. Ken is a friend from when I lived in Chicago in the 1990s. He build a series of layouts first in his house in Berwyn, Ill., and later in LaGrange Park, Ill.

 Last year he and his wife left Chicago for Rockville, Ind. He's starting a new layout The Rockville Western and blogging about his experience. The Rockville Western is a division of his previous layout the Chicago & Western Illinois. Good luck Ken. So far, you've been far more prolific than me.