Page 11 - September October 2015

A start has been made on building the tower, and this was documented on the Region’s website for an online structure building contest and will be the subject of a separate article. The tower and the diamond it controls are both on the middle board of the original five, and this one is slightly wider at 2 feet 6 inches to accommodate the curve away of the BNSF line.
All modules are generally constructed of 18 mm birch plywood, 4 inches deep, with detachable legs and adjustable feet, topped with plywood. The exception is the wider “Tower” board, which is planed pine from a local DIY store and topped with MDF. The curved boards are built from 18 mm plywood frame and MDF
tops. All of the trackwork is Peco code 83 with the exception of the diamond which is Shinohara. I have modelled the BNSF siding that runs alongside the main for its journey east from the diamond, and the three­road SP/UP yard on the south side and the siding to the west of the diamond from which there is access to an aggregates industry that was there temporarily (while the bridge was built, perhaps?). The boards were to be wired for Lenz DCC for the group setup but I have Digitrax. It is unlikely that these boards will now ever be connected to the Thamesiders setup, so it is now wired for Digitrax with a liberal placing of their universal panels to allow operation from anywhere.
The fictitious parts are, to the East, a connector back onto the SP/UP from the BNSF, a small loco facility to accommodate crews working the locals, and a high fructose corn syrup transload facility inspired by Jim Lincoln’s article in MRP 2010. To the West, I devised a triangular connection to the Victoria Sub and a runaround track from the yard. I also wanted an excuse to showcase some BLMA products, the overhead adver­ tising sign and the yard office, and additionally some scratchbuilt and kitbashed industrial buildings inspired by Lance Mindheim’s “Downtown Spur”. These boards are better known as Lonestar and Two Rivers. They got built and have been used in Thame­ siders setups but ultimately did not fit into the cabin, so no longer feature as part of the layout. What I built next also got incorporated in the setups – Dillon, a whole quarter of a layout – but at least I did manage to incorporate that. See Part 2 to read how and why I achieved that and where it all is today.
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