West End Extension Continued: Trains Running and Next Steps

In the last post about the west end extension, I decided to keep it simple by focusing on it being a "scenery break." With that decision made, I have progressed on my to-do list over the last few weeks. In the listing of the steps, I will provide links to the initial "how-to" posting of my approach to that step. After attaching the plywood top and creek bed to the grid frame, I painted the underneath with white primer and ran the DCC bus. Then I positioned the west end extension, now to be referred to as the James Creek Canyon, in place. I drew a center line for the track on the plywood and glued the cork roadbed in place. In attaching the legs with carriage bolts, I found that I needed to use a Forstner bit to recess the bolt heads to later attach the four foot staging. With the James Creek Canyon extension bolted in place, the track and feeders installed, and the staging C-clamped in place, a five-car eastbound freight left staging and headed into Willow Springs.

Now that the James Creek Canyon section is operational, the scenic challenges and some "infrastructure" (as Mike Hauk calls it) questions remain. By notching and tapering the end of the valance hardboard I was able to bend it into a parabolic curve and tuck it into one of the sloping roof rafters. I now have a concrete tunnel portal and a Micro-Engineering girder bridge kit to start the scene. Extending and bending the existing backdrop into the scene and creating realistic terrain with the benchwork up against the ceiling remain as a challenge.

The attic trap door and stairs are the "infrastructure" challenge that initially started this whole extension project. Renee, my wife, has made several suggestions to make the train attic safer. One is to create a drop-in floor panel or cap for the top of the stairs. Another is to, in addition to replacing the rope in the pulley system with wire cable, add a second safety cable that clips in place when the trap door will be open for a while. I am also thinking that some form of warning or caution paint could be applied to the upper edges of the trap door. Unexpectedly stepping backward into the abyss of the stairs, having the heavy trap door slam shut, or just banging into the trap door with an elbow are all events I would like to prevent for myself or guests.