Finally – I have some pictures! The new building for Picard Packers is more or less finished. I still need to do some weathering and scenery work around the building, but here are some pictures of it as it sits now.
The main structure is made from sections of a DPM bulk pack. The rear of the building is just plain matt board since it will “never” be seen. The loading dock shelter is a modified Pikestuff car repair shop.
In an effort to try to make operations as stress free for operators as possible I am trying many different things on the BS&T. In these images you can see two of these things. The first is the multi colored sheet that lists the towns in each direction (East & West) as well as the expected order of trains through the area. The other new item on the valance is the track diagram showing the industries and sidings and their intended purpose. These items should help acquaint new operators with the layout and operations.
Speaking of Operations….
The BS&T saw it’s first operations since I completed service on the nearly 140 freight cars on the layout. The maintenance identified that almost 90% of the freight cars had wheels that were out of gauge, quite a few with trucks that were too tight to the bolster, only a few underweight cars, and a lot of dirty crud. There is a large pile of old wheelsets outside Fixum Car Repair as a result of this process.
As a result of the maintenence process there were certainly fewer derailments, especially at one pesky little spot on Daredevil Ridge. I think the new rule about stopping at the start of the grade and proceeding slow helped there as well. Part of the problem on the ridge was a turnout with points out of gauge. There were a few other derailments in Stevenville with the same cause. I’ll check those turnouts as I install ground throws on them before the next operating session.
The first operators to arrive last Sunday noticed a strange smell in the air. I had just completed wheel cleaning on most of the locos and the smell of rubbing alcohol was fairly strong. Dirty loco wheels was one of the things that caused problems during the last op session and I left it to the last minute, of course.
Well, that’s it for this update. Later!
Scott