The Big Test!

 There comes a point in any big project where it's time to give it a go - 'kick the tires' so to speak, or give it a try.  Well, we got to that point here with our new lift bridge - time to see if it actually works.  I recorded a video of our first opening - Here we go!

Well, alright!  Not bad for a first test, and while we have some adjustments to make I am thrilled at the progress.  Now, we get all-rail access to the new storage staging at Peat Street Yard, and we do it without the need for a duckunder.  Instead we have an actual, functional lift bridge!

As you can see here, it's powered by a cordless drill with a 3/4" socket wrench, and can easily be moved up or down as needed.  This will allow a walkway to stay open but also occasional all-rail access to the new staging area.  

Plenty more to come, but this is a game changer for us here on the Onondaga Cutoff.  Lots of new variety coming soon!

A big project? Work step by step

The bigger projects in life can seem overwhelming, even if you'd done something similar before.  The only way to get something big done is to get started with something small.  

This lift bridge is indeed a big project.  Recently, hobby time has been dedicated to moving forward by making progress as often as feasible on the smaller steps to bring it to completion.  These steps take time.  Adding a lift out bridge would be enough to push the envelope, but making it a mechanized vertical lift bridge is pushing the limits beyond anything I have tried to date on this railroad.   We are trading longer, more intricate work for a more operable and less cumbersome feature.  

First, that involves fortifying the edges of the bridge and the layout that will support it.  I removed track for the new switch in the background as seen above, and adding PC board strips to the edge allows a surface to which we can solder the rail ends directly.  This will be an important effort to strengthen the gap areas.  Construction adhesive was used here for a tough and rock-solid cure.

You can see here how this area is right over the location of the dispatcher, and the management desk for sessions.  Someone sits in this spot below.  Therefore the idea to have a longer permanent track extend out to meet the bridge does not work.  The bridge would need to include the long curved approach, and the ladder tracks.  

With the edges in place, it was time to lay track and cut in the new switch for the Teddes Street Lead.  Gapping rails on a curve is, frankly, not a good idea in model railroading.  And yet there is no option here: if this bridge is going to work, a gap must be on this odd angle, and through a curve.  Yikes!  

Cutting in a switch is something we have done before, but building track over a gap to a moveable bridge is not.  Essentially, this is a mitre rail sort of connection, with guard rails installed as well to help guide wheelsets over a curved, gapped rail.  First, though, those great PC boards can be soldered to the rail directly.  Plastic ties are removed as needed, joints made with the switch, and now the whole assembly is tough.  The photo above shows the area just before the rails were cut.  

You can also see the bracing designed by Jim Harr that supports the masonite side girders on the bridge.  The curve required a series of small wooden angle glued in place.  The straight areas, seen below, allowed longer runs of 1"x2" cut at a 45-degree angle.  Adding the girders really stiffened up the bridge, as was intended.  

While the track on the curve cured, it was time to move to lay down the ladder tracks for Peat Street Yard.  I used a compound ladder to help maximize storage track length.  This was glued in place.  Once cured, the rest of the track was added, allowing rail to be continuous from the Island all the way to the bumpers in Peat Street Yard.  

Now, to run power, and to finalize the lift mechanism!  Those projects too will take some time, even to the point where we have to cancel the May operations on the OC.  And I never like to miss an operating session.  

This illustrates a larger point, though.  This wild idea of Jack's is the right solution to the new storage yard.  I am confident it will work out for the long term improvement in the operations.  And, it is a fact that big opportunities require big projects to be completed.  The way we get there is by handling a steady stream of smaller steps to keep the project moving.  

A wild idea

Leave it to Jack to provide a different point of view.

We were staring at the progress last weekend while having a drink, and suddenly he says "you should just make it a lift bridge that gets pulled up by cables and stored against the ceiling."

I had to pause, and consider it.  It is a valid point that it is long, longer than originally thought about, so as to not have permanent piers in the way of the group when we operate.  It is light enough to lift out by hand, but would require twisting and storing away by the wall around to the left of this image.  That is cumbersome now, before we have people standing by.  

Jack also made the point that by having a vertical lift, we could much more easily open and close during a session, so perhaps we could use one of the tracks in the new yard to the left to store Amtrak or a short regular freight train as needed, freeing up an Island track for more consists.  The bridge itself will not have trains on it for storage.  

And after a night spent painting the sides to match the fascia and the underside to match the ceiling, I had to concede this was a better plan.  More work now, but less chance of damage later.  Thankfully, the side girders are sturdy and plumb, which will allow vertical cable attachment without an issue.  And the apparatus should fit above the drop-in ceiling, with simple holes cut to allow the cables to extend below and be affixed to the bridge.

I checked online for lift systems and found a good one normally used in garages.  I think this one is going to work out.  

Stay tuned!  Tracklaying is next, and will be its own adventure with PC ties at the joints and a new ladder track assembly with Walthers switches.  I am hoping in a few weeks to be ready to test run this thing.   

A Comfortable Space

There is a lot to be said about a space being 'visually comfortable.'  We have touched on this on the Onondaga Cutoff before, but it bears repeating now and again because it's an ongoing effort. If we want people to be part of what we do, it is our responsibility to do what we can to make what we do enjoyable and comfortable.  

As we proceed with the new storage, while the bridge is finalized we continued with operations.  I wanted the area to be seamless and so I decided to finish the existing project first.  The cap on the support girders proved a perfect spot for something we can all use more of: drink holders on the layout!

The switch ladder and storage tracks have yet to be finalized, but adding this little plywood cap is a great way to get use out of the new construction at every session.  The cap is removeable and into its place the removable bridge will sit.  

This was also a chance to re-hang the skirting along the bottom of the layout, and to do it in a way that looked seamless.  Tom's suggestion to use staples and a strip of cardboard was a good one and created a nice straight edge.  

The overview shows it all: a visually pleasing finishing job for new construction.  

We can see the bridge to the left, which is waiting for girders, an official keeper stand, and track.  The girders are next, this week; track and wiring will follow.  Our hobby is based on trains but trains are built, moved, and maintained by people.  Making our layout spaces a bit more comfortable for them and for us will benefit each of our experiences along the way!

Halfway there!

We are just past a few weeks that are a nice illustration of the balance required to keep things moving on a layout when there is a full life going on aside from the hobby simultaneously.  Somehow it is nearly a month since the last post though it feels like a week!   Between activities for the kids and family commitments on nights and weekends, all the layout progress had to be crammed into moments when time was available.  

And yet there is progress, because even small steps over time add up to a whole. The new storage area off the Island is coming along well, now wired, mounted and painted up:

The end piece is made from leftover plywood to create a small drink shelf that can also hide the protruding supports for the new lift out bridge.  Holes will be cut to support beverages.

And it can be removed, allowing for installation of the bridge.  Here's an earlier test fit of the new bridge, cut from Gatorboard.  Gatorboard is a specialty structural foam product with an even surface and it is quite rigid, while being very light.  

Many thanks are due to Tom Schmieder and Jim Harr, who both have helped me bring this vision to life.  It was threading a needle in many ways and while there is a ways to go, we are getting there.  The bridge will get Masonite girder sides and needs track laid and wiring completed.  But in the meantime, we need to clean up in order to host an operating session for guests this coming weekend.  Building a layout like this sometimes means having to build while accommodating operations - a lot like the prototype!  

Spring has begun and the race is on to get this project set ahead of the May and the start of many outdoor activities.  And we get it done completing each step along the way.  

Equipment - and where to put it

 With all of these spectacular new models from the manufacturers, we have amazing opportunity to recreate railroading in scale.  In fact, the only real downside to this is the fact that each of our railroads has only so much track, and for most of us, even less storage and staging.  It requires some creative solutions - like a new storage area beneath Euclid Yard!

While I have added cabinet shelving for storage of equipment off the layout (see https://onondagacutoff.blogspot.com/2024/01/making-spaces.html ), the process of building the long-awaited office car special train got me thinking that we need a shelf yard where trains can be stored without having to manually add them to the layout trackage.  

Brackets were added to allow for a new level.  That process is well underway now, with the yard largely assembled as well down on the floor. 

The tracks are glued to plywood, which was assembled and painted up.  This maximizes clearances and won't adversely impact operations based on other projects with track glued directly to a wood surface.  One key is to leave some room for seasonal expansion and contraction of the lumber by ensuring the joints are just hare loose.  

Wiring for track feeders will be next before installation.  And a final challenge will be a long lift-out bridge to connect the yard to S&I track 2 on the Island.  

Good progress!  And having a place to store these new trains will greatly add to the joy of running - some more variety will help with the illusion of the world outside, and we can all enjoy that.  

Weeks passing blink by blink

 You know it is a life full of opportunity when you're handling more than you thought you could, and still have things you haven't started yet.  It really does make me hope I am not making any repeated mistakes, because there's no time to check to see what the results have been.  

This is when the hobby can be most satisfying to me.  Competing priorities and the demands of relationship, work and volunteer responsibilities all comes from the same well of time and energy.  Making the effort to get to the workbench or layout and make a little progress is always one more thing, but it almost always is satisfying and in any case, it is one step closer to something else off the plate.  

For example, somehow we are almost a month past Springfield already.  Between new leadership at work pushing hard on items I control and the ongoing process of husbanding a young family with excited, involved kids time takes on different weights.  Of course a minute is a minute but when doing two things at once, that minute feels different than when we are relaxing.  

'DemClams', however, are a constant - they keep getting bigger.  I love an easy Sunday morning coming down to find all three watching cartoons.  They get along about as well as a family can, which is both a blessing and fun.  It is awesome to be part of raising these kids, and I am grateful to be able to be home as much as I am.  And I am especially grateful to Kristen who fills in the gaps and keeps the wheels on the car as we bump along on this journey.  

Onto the next moment!

Springfield Show Wrap-up: 2025

The big Amherst Society Railroad Hobby Show at Springfield, MA was January 25 and 26, 2025, and by all accounts was a great success again.  More than 27,000 attended the show and it was the usual intersection of model trains, operating layouts and displays, manufacturer booths, vendors, hobby media, craftsman, exhibits, and photographers.  Importantly, thanks to Rich Wisneski, Teddy & Pete were able to join with him this year for their first time!

Photo courtesy Dennis A. Livesey

It is hard to describe how wonderful it is to see the boys doing their thing, and learning to walk a tradeshow like this one.  They were fantastic!

The boys were amazed at the scope and scale of the event, held in 4 warehouse sized buildings.  The OC table had books and shirts for sale, as well as stickers and pins and a chance to talk to customers and guests.  Sales were good and much better than last year! 

Sharing the hobby has never been more fun, and that the boys will have these memories going forward means a great deal to me.  It is a major effort to make this show happen despite all the headwinds at work and the constant effort that life in my 49th year can take, but it is worth every ounce of effort for rewards like this.  

Lots of fun to come - just another part of this amazing hobby!

More new arrivals: Big Dash-7s from Rapido Trains

Things are getting better and better for Conrail modelers!  A variety of great products arrived right during the holidays and it's been busy enough that there hasn't been time to even dig into them right away.  But, here's a first look:  

Right off the bat, it is clear that these have been worth the wait.  Wow!  A handful of small issues were easily corrected - steps had some loose on a few of the end wells, and a few grab irons were bent by packaging.  But for models that travel 9000 miles across an ocean in a shipping container I have no complaints.  The dimensions, mechanism, detail, decoder, lighting and sound are amazing.  

Rapido is working on a C36-7 and rumor has it the second run of C30-7s is going to include a coveted model for Conrail guys: the C30-7A.  So much good to come.  Stay tuned!