‘Tis September, and that means it’s travel and photo charter season in my world.  So layout progress has been slow.

On Sunday, I tore down the old helix, stripped away the ever-precious Atlas Code 55 flex track, and then cut the remainder up into little chunks that went to the trash.  I also hung the first two open grid frames, and they look good.  Very solid, very straight, and awesome to put roadbed and track on.  I think I’ll still add a couple L-brackets underneath just to give them some strength.

I also found a piece of plywood as I was cleaning that was perfect for an extension around my workbench.  I’d always planned to have a branch coming off the top deck (from the reversing loop at Nicolai Junction) around the bench so that I could test engines/cars/electronics without actually going out to the layout.  Plus it will make a decent staging track for trains coming on/off the branch.  So, that was cut out and installed last night, and I’ll add track to it in the next couple of days.  Last night I just laid two pieces of cork and a salvaged piece of flex on it, so that I could hook up the command station for the first time in years and actually see something move.  Actually seeing the SD60M that will become CRNW 600 move a few feet was a very rewarding and motivating experience!

No pictures this time, but maybe later in the week as I get more things cleaned up and put into place.