CC Progress (2011-06-26)

The push to connect Davis to Suisun has slowed. This is the general trend of a project whatever the size as the decals and track have been laid, and its now all in the "details". In my previous update I eluded that progress was going quickly because the terrain was level... well I spoke to soon. There has to be some elevation gain somewhere, and where else but in a yard (yea I was scratching my head on that one). There are a few along the line but all of them are smaller than what I found in Newark.

And then there is the elusive Google maps mirage of how the track is seemingly straight... but the reality is that its an ever so slight curve over dozens of miles. So when you lay out straight sections you end up welding them in odd ways to make them work. Which doesn't always work out.

I also came away with more to add to my 'to do' list. The concrete road inserts over the tracks are a bit too grimy for my liking. If I get a chance I will post real pictures to show how clean they really are. I will need to clone and repaint them. I will also be adding some new ground textures to my object list, which I will post as a follow up to my original entry on the subject.

Niles Junction also got some of my time. I added a few more signals and adjusted some of the track grades, but found more areas to work on. Some of this work developed from some new pictures I have seen of the area. Last Saturday I visited the Santa Clara Station which is home to The South Bay Historical Railroad Society (SBHRS) with my youngest son (my wife and older son went to watch Cars 2). While there I visited their extensive library. The librarian was out for the day, but I meet a gentleman who grew up around the Niles area, and happened to take several photographs of SP in action. This included several shots of Niles tower which are much more detailed than what I can currently find online. He offered to share his digital album with me the next time I happen to meet him there and had my thumb drive handy. I will make an effort to drive down this weekend and make good on his offer. With his approval I will share them online through my Picasa account.

What's next? After getting Suisun and Davis squared away track-wise, I will return to repaints for a couple weeks. Then I have my eyes set on running east from Davis to Sacramento.