SWITCHERAMA

To change the pace of the standard LVN operations plan, I introduced the Friday Night Group East Enders to my Switcherama.  This operating concept involves giving each aperator a locomotive and caboose.  They are then given a switching job consisting of a pick up and drop off from either an industry to yard or yard to industry or yard to yard or industry to industry.  This layout has over 15 industries and three yards so there is lots of potential action.  To control the flow, I dispatched by handing out one of 32 strips of paper, each describing one move to each operator.  This controlled the traffic density in any given area and ensured each operator was not doing the same type of job over the session.  So in a two hour period each operator had about 6 to 8 orders.  With thirty-two orders and six trains there were 192 possible combinations. Obviously not all got done.  After the session we retired for Christmas goodies, cheese curds and beer.  Ron, Mike, Mark, Jim, Dave and Joel had a great evening.  Thanks guys...It was fun. Give it a try on your model railroad.  It is a blast.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERY ONE

New Trackplan

Here is an update to the layout track plan.  Joel Racine was kind enough to build this using railcad and then photoshop.  Joel is a fellow operator of the FNG eastenders.

New Video of November Ops Session with the Eastenders

The gang was over for another operations session.  Lots of action and banter.  Enjoy 

Got a chance to work on the Roof

Well today was roof install.  There are three individual roofs on this building complex.  Each had a laser cut template which you laminate your roofing material on.



The two outer roofs are tar paper.  The middle are shingles.  I did not use the shingles from the kit.  Instead I used Bar Mills Brown shingles.

 The rafters were applied to the shed on the left and the main roof above the office.

 Then the roof was applied to the shed rafters.  Then individual strips of tar paper were applied.  These were pre-weathered with Bragdons.

Finally two tires were added to give it character.  The tar paper hangs over the roof edges for proper drainage.

 The main roof was shingled before gluing.  Started at the base of each side and worked up to the top.  The crown of the roof was finished 2x10s.

 The warehouse roof template was glued in place.  Then the tar paper was added and weathered.  The weathering technique was to paint the material black.  Then spray one side with dullcoat and finally streak bragdons on with AI wash.   Looks like one line is to dark.  Will have to fix.

The loading platform is not glued in place.  As the instructions suggest, you should wait until you put some ground cover down and set it into the ground for realism.  Everything is glued to the gator board base.  That way the height will be just right when I set it next to the track on cork roadbed.

 The backside shows a number of boards at the doorway.  These were glued right to the Gator board.  Nice spot for doodads.

It always amazes me how much stuff you need close at hand to build a kit.  This portable workbench does help keep everything close.  However the rest of the table seems to gain stuff as you go.  I think I will do a little cleanup today.