Our train sits ready for its short trip to Oakridge on Eugene Staging Track 5. Our train consists of Gevo 5450 and three cars. Above our train the wiring and benchwork for Oakridge yard can be seen. The unconnected feeders are for the yard which is still unpowered.
On the (very) new JMRI panel, our train can be seen in the occupied (yellow) block. Turnouts are aligned and we are ready to roll. The panel is a work in progress and will eventually control both staging yards and the mainline. Signalling is in the works, the electronics are on hand, just not installed.
Our train enters the modeled portion of the layout after crossing the lift bridge spanning the entrance to the room. This area is the most recent edition to the Cascade Sub, and will be one of the first seen when entering the layout room. The spur nearest the aisle has yet to be laid.
Our train moves in the siding at the north end of Oakridge. This track was wired and laid in the past week. The track is left over from an old layout. Working with the track hasn't been as graceful as working with brand new track but works, and saves cash.
We roll past the yard at Oakridge. The local switcher sits on the cork of the engine track. Turnouts are on order. The yard is next on the list of projects.
Our engine comes to a halt on the south end of town before the grade turns upward. This is where work on the mainline ends, and will resume in a few months.
Over the course of the past few weeks, the railroad has finally progressed out of staging and into the modeled portion. Additionally, all of the major benchwork is complete, the only major woodworking projects left being the spline subroadbed, fascia, and backdrops.
The most time consuming aspect of the build thus far has been the wiring. With detection and soon signalling, the process has been tedious, and I have spent hours running wires for each detection section, soldering feeders, and making connections to the BDL 168. The staging yard was the most time consuming, but I now have a good process down to efficiently bring Klammath Falls staging to operation. With wiring, I have also made a foray into JMRI and a panel to bring the railroad to life. For now I am just using a temporary panel on PanelPro, but will eventually set up a modern panel on using CATS.
This will be the last progress post for the winter work session. Look for more work to come later in the spring as we complete Oakridge, push the mainline further uphill, and continue with the wiring and electronics of the empire.
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