Slow Progress

WELL, all, progress on the Onondaga Cutoff is always slower in the summertime, with plenty of other outside activities going on.  This post is overdue but I hope you'll find it informative; there will be another one shortly with some fresh 'action' photos of some of the recent train operations.

First, though, I have been spending any layout time on switch machines and track feeders.  Here is the underside of CP 280, the east end of Onondaga Yard.  Tortoise machines are all installed for the mainline switches on this interlocking.  My design guru, Jack, also worked with me to advise that the switches on the first track in the yard that lead to CP280 will ALSO need to be interlocked, and therefore will need machines.  That's $28 I didn't want to spend, but after thinking about it with Jack, that's the way it needs to be for operation.  The same will go for CP282, so another order for Tortoises will be forthcoming!  Anyway, here's a pic of the recently installed (and not yet wired) machines:

Once those were in, I began to install the machines for CP282, the other end of the yard.  282 is a 6-foot long monster of an interlocking, and so it was inevitable that some of the machine installations would be tight.  One thing that is nice about the Tortoise (can you tell I love these things??) is that it is reversable, so long as you reverse the wiring too.  This was a close call but it works perfectly with the machine turned backwards:

Also visible here are the mainline track bus wires, 12-gauge solid-core copper wire with 16-gauge feeders.  This little feeder setup gets much more complicated - this takes some time, but again, if done right I won't have to worry about stalled trains or 'dead' sections of track.  Here's a crappy, blurry photo of a major feeder junction on the back stretch.  You get the idea.  :-)

Action photos coming soon!