Week 80

Week 80

Chronological order top to bottom

Sunday, January 31, 2016

I got motivated for some reason and started to do some station platforms. I also installed insulators in the train shed at Union Station.  Here are some pics to capture the moment.

Still need to add the overhang, but I did cut the platforms to compensate for the extra room.

Added the commuter cars to make sure there was enough clearance at the footwalk.

 The engine shed at Union Station. 

 Then I decided to add the platform at Geneva Station.

I did this last night.

 Here's the same station platform looking north.

I first had to add the base for the station platform.

 Removed the tacks and preparing for the station platform.

Then added the station platform.

I also tested with a commuter train and a freight train. 

No clearance problems.

We'll secure on Wednesday.

TRAIN DAY

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Missing Jordan and Carlos. Jordan not feeling well tonight.
Carlos, maybe back next week. Maybe...

Ed and Dean Working on the Railroad...

 Ed Nelson prepared the surface for gluing down the first layer of Styrofoam board.

 Another angle.

 Tonight, Dean Hatzis will fix all the track that has buckled for whatever reason, we don't know.
Go back to Week 77 to see the "Before" pictures.
See below for the "After" pictures.

 Wow! 

That was fast. 

Now that the first layer is glued, we need to put weights on the top to keep it secured.

 Another view.

 Back to Dean working out the "kinks".

 Also, on the elevated section.

 After the Styrofoam board was in place, Ed Nelson began working on ground throws for the switches in the Metra/WeGo Yard.

Good work, Ed!

Length: .17sec.

Some action videos of the men at work.

Length: .12sec.

More action footage...

Length: .18sec.

Final video for the evening.

 These next view pics show the corrected rails after Dean straightened them out.

The Elevated section.

 Proviso Yard Mainline down the center.

 Opposite view.

Nice work, Dean.

 Final weight bearing on the Styrofoam boards.

Yet another view.


Friday, February 5, 2016

Jordan stopped by this afternoon for some extra work.
He missed Wednesday's Train Day so used today as a "catch up" day.

Here's what we did...

We glued the top layer for the Industrial Park. Next up: track laying.

 Another view of the Industrial Park top layer.

 We ran an outbound Metra train and had some track "issues" at the WeGo back diamonds.
It actually damaged the air hose on the new Metra F40PH.
Our plans are to replace that coupler, with a used one without the "air hose".
The inbound Metra ran on schedule.

 We also glued down the platform at the Geneva Station.
We use what's available for weights.

Here's the ON TIME inbound Metra train arriving Chicago Union Station.
Note: we switched out the new F40PH locomotive with an older model of the same make.

Week 79

Week 79

Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Missing Carlos Baez and Dean Hatzis today.

Carlos still on 2nd shift for a few more weeks.

Dean traveling to MI to attend a funeral of a good friend.

And here's the rest of the crew working on the railroad tonight...

 Ed Nelson helped with input for the Industrial Park and Western Avenue.

Then he went to work to finish laying the end of the terminal tracks for Union Station.

 Jordan Osborn was our "main man" at CCT (Central Control Tower).

We reviewed the layout of industries for the Industrial Park.

We have 5 main industries: Manufacturing, Warehouse, Energy, Lumber, and Paper.

We also have 5 main locations to spot different cars for industry delivery.

Now we need to decide which industries to keep and which to discard.

More to come...

Length: .06

Jordan Osborn was our engineer clearing the GP9 and cabooses from the mainline.

 I printed a picture of the building opposite Global 1. We matched up current building models with the actual buildings on the picture (shown in pink). We will also take these same prints to the Train Show on Valentine's Day and see if we can find another matching building or two.

Jordan Osborn barely visible at the controls and Ed Nelson hard at work at Union Station.

Length: .33

Commuter Train coming down the line. It derailed once before. But not this time.

 Jordan Osborn taking care of some administrative duties.

Nice virtual office.

 Some action shots of Ed Nelson working at the base of Union Station.

Our final farewell for the evening.

Nice work, men!

We accomplished much tonight!

Thanks for your hard work and faithful labor.

Friday, January 29, 2016

I got up early this morning and finished cutting and laying the track at the Union Station Terminal.
I still have to pound the nails (Track 5), but since it was early I didn't want to wake Jan with my pounding on the nail heads.

Looks good, doesn't it?

I'm going to have Dean Hatzis put on an extension then buy some bumpers at the February Train Show and then we'll begin building up Union Station above the tracks.

Week 78

Week 78

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Brian Zielke's B-day

Back for more!

Here we are...working on the Railroad...

Curt Berg & Dean Hatzis working on the chair bumper at the Central Control Tower.

Length: .10
Love the sound of power tools.
Here's a video to prove it.

 Dean Hatzis putting in the finishing touches.

 Check out the monitors.

 Worked a bit at the Industrial Park (East Power District)

 The bumpers makes CCT look "cleaner".

 Another view, this time showing the monitors.

Thursday, January 21, 2016

I stopped by Home Depot today and picked up another 2" 4x8 foam board.
It's time to start working on the Industrial Park in the East Power District.

Week 77

Week 77

We're BACK!

I've been gone to Ghana for two weeks, but I'm BACK!

Here's a look at our first of the New Year 

Working on the Railroad...

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

 Dean Hatzis & Ed Nelson picked up where they left off at the Metra/WeGo Train Yard.

 I asked Dave Worley to stop by and see if he couldn't figure out how to switch the wires around to have the light locations match the switch box locations.

 At one point in the evening we had quite a crew in the basement.

My son, Ben, stopped by for a quick visit.

 Dave labeling the wires to match the dimmer switches.

 Ed Nelson continues the fine art of laying track in the Metra/WeGo Yard.

 Dave and Jordan Osborn finishing up the last minute adjustments in the control box for the dimmer switches.

Dean Hatzis and Ed Nelson working together to get the job done.

Special Note:

We had some track buckle again this week. Out of no where the track buckles and we're not sure why that happens. Next week we'll tackle the places where that has happened and force a gap in the rails to plan for expansion and contraction due to weather changes. Maybe that's the cause? Don't know.

 Just west of the WeGo Diamonds

 Elevated Track 2 EB overlooking Proviso Yard

Elevated Track 1 WB near West Proviso Yard
 

 Mainline Track 2 EB Proviso Yard

Mainline Track 1 WB West Proviso Yard

Also, I copied a link to the spreadsheet where I capture the weekly train activity. I keep hours and cost by person in this spreadsheet. You may find it interesting or TMI. Either way, it's here if you want to view the details of this grand project.

Train Project Spreadsheet