TourDeChooch 2010

We held the first open house for the layout as part of the 2010 Tour De Chooch. Ernie, Dan and Peter helped keep the trains running and answered peoples questions. Even with there help, I had a sore throat by the end of the day.

We had 109 and nine people sign the guest book. Everyone seemed to enjoy the layout even though it is far from complete. I took pictures after the show as a record of what was complete at the time.

We did quite a lot of work to get ready for the show. We started to rush in September and worked on the layout for two nights a week through November. Ernie Poole, Dan Boudreau, Peter Wisniewski, Jim Whitehead and Paul Azevedo were a great help in getting everything looking good and running. Our goal was to get three trains running and have the following two areas sceniced.

The only issue we had was with the 2 auto reversers. We were using a 2.5 amp power supply and the reversers would occasionally trip at about 3 amps once they were warmed up. Just a little push got things going again.

Michele Completed Law School

So it has been a couple of years since I started the layout. My goal was to finish it before my wife finished here law degree. It looks like she beat me. So I will just give an update on where I am.

At this point I have a complete loop on the lower deck extending up the grade to the upper deck. The only track on the upper deck is a loop at the top of the grade to send the train back down. The Oneonta yard is currently my work area, so there is a quick loop to avoid the area.

This is the gravel plan as built by Jim Whitehead. The upper tracks are the grade from the lower deck to the upper deck. The trestle bridge is from Micro Engineering. I kitbashed it to be a double track bridge by chopping off the top of the trestles and the gluing a "steel plate" on top of the bent. The bridges rest on this "steel plate".

This shot shows how the grade transitions from the lower to the upper deck. The track wrap curves so that the trees hide it.

The next image shows how it comes out on the upper level. The rocks are the shale rocks made by Cripplebush Valley Models. 

This is the junction that leads to Binghamton (to the left), Oneonta (to the right) and Scranton (to the rear).

More photos.