Chasing our tails.

Photo courtesy of club secretary John Dye

I thought about calling this post going around in circles but thought that might be too close to the title of a precious post.  As I have stated before I am a member of the Yuma Model Railroaders and we recently decided to put our modular layout in storage and build a semi permanent layout in its place. 

Well construction has begun and for the last 2 weeks we have literally been chasing our tails. We started our layout by building the stacked double track helixes that will go on one end. So for the last week we have had work sessions of three to six members working on the helix performing various tasks.  Now for those who have never built a helix, it is easiest to do it layer by layer. 

Tonight we had between 5 and 6 members working on the helix, two or three guys were on the subroad bed crew, one guy putting down cork and another laying the track. My job was the solder monkey and I was tasked with dropping feeders and soldering rail joints. Needless to say some jobs go faster than others and many times I was rushing to solder something so that the next section of subroadbed could be put in place. And like a dog chasing his tail occasionally he nips it. 

As for a progress report as of quiting time tonight we had started the last turn of the helix and should finish it next work session. Then we can move on to the lower level staging yard.

So all this actual layout construction has taken time away from the planning of the YPG Lines, however that does not mean that it is lost time. As stated I have been doing a lot of soldering and as expected my joints are getting better as we progress.  Now I am not a stranger to a soldering iron as I have built a turnout, and in the past done some layout wiring and repair as well as my own decoder installs.  This was however the first time I have soldered rail joints and feeders to the rail (previously my dad soldered the feeders to the rail and I soldered the feeders to the bus).  The biggest thing I have noticed is everyone has their own idea of how to do the these tasks and everyones ideas are different.  But hey its a club layout and while I wouldn't do things a certain way on my personal layout if it works in this setting why not.

The biggest take away however has been in helix design.  While I have built several Plywood and Pacifics in the past, none of them were complex enough to require a helix, so this is new territory for me.  We are using the threaded rod approach and it seems to work adequately.  I see many positive aspects of using this meathod but there are some draw backs such as threading nuts is a pain in the ass. Protip: use a drill with a wire brush wheel to speed things up, unless of course you have a group of kids who like fidget spinners readily available to do it for you.

Luckily in the Million Dollar Layout plan phase 1 and 2 of the YPG lines do not have a helix, however phase three most likely will include a helix. Now the designfor that helix is still up in the air, however I am considering some non traditional designs. Moving forward the insights I have gained working on the helix for club's layout should pay dividends when the time finally comes to build a heilx on the YPG Lines.

In other nonlayout news I finally got an area cleaned in the spare bedroom that has been set aside for all things me. Currently it is only 33 percent Storage Room B and I have managed to set up a folding table (one of the six foot long ones) for a work bench.  Of course I immediately cluttered it with models as I am currently looking to better organize all the models I have acquired over the years and those I am still acquiring.  I am also looking for ways to better store the office supplies that go in that room as well.  

Needless to say I have been spending more time than I like on the Rubbermaid bin aisle at Wal-Mart, however once I get this mess sorted out perhaps some actual modeling can occur, or atleast some upgrading of the locomotives and rolling stock. In the end I feel it will make this journey more enjoyable and thats the whole point isnt it.