Final track plan ... Look, a squirrel!

I always laugh at how easily we can be distracted and the old joke, "I don't have ADD, I...look a squirrel!" No offense intended, since I think we all suffer from the distractions like this at times. Case in point ... this week I settled on the final design of the new PRR Irwin District as conceived by my friend Bruce.

The new PRR Irwin District track plan .... maybe

Bruce was very patient with me, listening and incorporating nearly every single Given & Druther I had. Key points in this version of the track plan:

• Both east and west bound staging yards outside the train room in the garage
• Staging track for P&LE 
• Interchange with P&LE
• Irwin yard
• Coal mine on a hill in Herminie
• Several sidings for operations

I have complete disassembled the old layout except for E. McKeesport which probably won't survive today. I can reuse some of the benchwork for the staging yard but most will likely be used in the firepit! With the elevations on this track plan, Bruce and I decide that L-girder would be best for seamless rises. 

Well, I can start with the staging yards in the garage and work my way into the train room, except...

There is still not very much room in the garage. We don't have a shed (yet) so the table saw, 4 bikes, shredder/chipper, power mitre saw, camping gear, 4 step ladders cover every spare inch that is not set aside for parking the car. Plus the garden tools are hanging from the peg boards right where the staging yard will be. 

So, maybe I should just have an L-shaped switching layout in the train room and keep it simple. Ah, distractions! 

NMRA Division 3

I used to be a pretty active member of the NMRA Mid Central Region Division 3 group back in the 90s but work and family took a lot of free time and Sunday afternoons were just too busy to stay involved. I still keep up with what the group is doing, mostly following the website and Facebook pages. This past Sunday, they were having Allen McClelland talk about the V&O Railroad. Allen wrote a series of articles for Railmodel Craftsman that later became the book, The V&O Story, that set the standard for creating a model railroad with a purpose. He, along with John Armstrong, Bruce Chubb and Tony Koester, were strong influences on how I developed my operating scheme.

I was able to attend the meeting and the presentation was very enjoyable. Allen talked about the original V&O (I did get a chance to tour this amazing layout once during an open house!!!) which had a last run a few years ago and he showed the new layout in progress. Excellent presentation. I also ran into several guys I knew from my past involvement with the group - Dave Reid, Teri M., Wil Davis, Merv and a few others - many of whom remembered me.

I think I will have to get involved again!