Almost Operating

I keep trying to have an operating session.  What is holding me back is my trackwork.  I am still struggling with some of my turnouts causing derailments.

I procrastinate as any of you regular readers of this blog know full well.  I had volunteered to have the local model railroad club over for a Tuesday in April in the hopes that that would motivate me to get things done, especially track work.  I did some work on the tracks but not enough.  I had hoped to have two crews working for one train.  Southern Pacific, and now, Union Pacific ran trains to the diatomaceous earth mine above Lompoc.  Empty hoppers are taken up to the mine and fulls are brought down the hill.  I have included the mine on the layout and there is a discussion at an earlier post (August 19, 2010 <http://spsbsub.blogspot.com/2010/08/white-hills-junction-extension.html>).  I was going to have one crew take the emptys from the Santa Barbara yard west up to Surf and then off on the Lompoc Branch and then up the hill to the mine.

I tried running the train myself and it derailed so badly before it got to La Patera, I gave up.  When the club arrived they wandered around the layout while I gave a tour to one of the new people.  Then Bob Lyon took the mine job and switched the full hoppers to a track so they would be ready for pick-up.

Here is Bob working at the diatomaceous mine at White Hills

Since there was not going to be a train coming up the hill with emptys, Bob took the fulls down the hill to Lompoc.  This included going out onto the extension of Laurel Street and shoving back into the Lompoc yard.

Mine run emerging from behind the helix

Mine run on the extension

Mine run shoving back into Lompoc Yard.
 Note caboose left on the White Hills branch ready to shove up the hill with the next train

I still have hopes to operate soon but we are getting closer.

As a consolation, I set up an N-scale module and an HO-scale Timesaver inside the house, so some of the crew played for a while before watching a video and having refreshments.

Michael R running the N-scale module

Watching Michael

Watching videos