And then Let there be Track

 

Modeling the AT&SF - D&RGW Joint Line through Colorado Springs from Milepost 70 to Milepost 80 circa 1978-1979

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Post 28: And then Let there be Track

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It's been a long time coming, and I'm sure some of you may well have thought I would never get there, myself included at times, but I have actually reached a true milestone in building this layout:

 

The first track and turnouts have been laid, wired and tested!

 

True, so far it is only the three coal trainset storage tracks, 42 feet of code 83 flex track and three Micro Engineering no. 5 turnouts to be specific, but the Pueblo (south) staging yard ladder is also well under way, with all necessary holes drilled for the wiring and spring wire throw rods for the MP8 switch motors that will power its no. 6 turnouts through a diode matrix.

There was even a pleasant surprise along the way when I discovered that the three storage tracks were almost long enough to hold a full trainset, but not quite. I originally planned to split two trainsets up among the three tracks, but thanks to this happy accident and a little tweaking they will now hold a full set each with ample room to spare, so I'm very pleased with that bonus feature.

So what made me finally get cracking on completing the benchwork and start laying track?

My good friend Nick Molo will arrive next week for a visit, so not only did I need to have some visible progress to show since his last visit, I had to set up some work for us to do while he's here. I hope to have at least the yard ladder in and working, along with the mainline track up to the door and across the swing gate so we can start working our way into Kelker.

 

Once some staging and Kelker-Drenan is functional we can then actually start limited local operations, which will be a real motivator to keep going, and for Nick to keep visiting.

Here's hoping we make good progress.

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