The plan for a "new" JJJ&E was originally formulated in November of 2007. My wife and I decided we wanted to be closer to either one of our two daughters and four grandchildren. The choices were Dallas Texas or Rochester New York. Having lived in Florida for the past fifteen years, moving back to the cold weather in upstate New York wasn't a consideration. So we decided to build a new home near Frisco Texas which is close to my daughter Amy, my son-in law Jack and two of our four grand daughters, Jenna and Jillian.(Half of the JJJ&E)
The move was a big one since at the age of almost 68, one doesn't move as quickly as when you are younger. Fifteen years is a big difference. That was the last time we moved from Massachusetts to Florida in 1994.
We built a house all on one story and a new train room was designed as part of the house. This room has a dimension of 20x12' and was located right next to my office. The room is completely finished with central air conditioning and heating. The floors are tiled and the walls are 12 feet high.
I've spent a considerable amount of time in designing the new train room and layout. I wanted the 'new" layout to be on one level as the original JJJ&E was a multi-leveled layout and completely graded. There was no level track on the mainline of the original JJJ&E. (130 feet of mainline track).
The "new" JJJ&E is to be "U' Shaped. The bench work is designed to be 30 inches wide around the perimeter of the room and 4'x4' in the two turnaround areas of the layout. This design gave me complete access to any part of the layout. At this stage of my modeling career, I didn't even consider a two level layout with a helix. I wanted complete control of working of this new layout on one level.
The "new" JJJ&E is designed to have a complete turntable area and switching yard on one side of the layout. That encompasses almost 18 feet of bench work on one side of the room. The turntable area will have 18 stalls in the Roundhouse and at least 11 more storage tracks off the turntable. The adjacent switching yard will have at least 10 storage tracks some of which will be used for staging. Steam locomotives and diesels will have full access to all of these tracks without too much maneuvering. Most of these storage tracks will be 12-15 feet long so the yard will have a large capacity for freight and passenger cars.
For track, I'll still be using Unitrack as I used the Unitrack on the original JJJ&E and experienced no electrical or track issues in nine years of operation. The new track will have to completely weathered, roadbed painted, feeders dropped to common bus lines under the bench work and completely ballasted. This will take most of the summer of 2009 to complete if all things go according to plan.The only change in track being used is around the turntable area. I will use Peco code 80/55 flex track for the storage tracks around the turntable and in the Roundhouse stalls. On the "original" JJJ&E, I use Atlas code 80 sectional track attached to the Unitrack and was completely unhappy with the Atlas code 80 sectional track.
I used Xtra-Cad track planning software to design the "new" JJJ&E. Since I've been a model railroader for 62 of my 68 years, I always used a pencil, ruler and graph paper to design a new layout. Using this program was a new experience for me , even though I am very computer literate, having worked with computers since 1981.
After 20 plans, I was able to finalize one track plan that I could live with and enjoy working with. I still wanted a double track mainline as I was used to this feature on the "original" JJJ&E. I also wanted several reverse loops to change direction of train traffic. I had four reverse loops on the "original" JJJ&E not including the turntable. Each reverse loop must have space for 50-60 cars plus motive power. On the original layout I had room for 28 cars plus four diesels the size of "F" or "E' units.
I also decided I wanted the "new" JJJ&E to be on one level with a minimum grade of less than 2%. As I said above, the original JJJ&E was completely graded, (2% grade) the highest point of the mainline being 7 1/2 inches above the lowest point on the mainline track. This grade severely tested most of my steam locomotives.
I want to run 50-60 cars trains on the "new" JJJ&E. With four "E" or "F" unit diesels in a consist this is no problem. With some of the steam locomotives as the "Challenger", "Big Boy" and "2-8-8-2" articulated mallet, this is also not a problem. Some of the smaller steam locomotives will be able to perform better on level track as well.
The town of San Marino will occupy most of the right side of the layout. The transition area between the turntable/yard area and the town of San Marino will take place in a 12 foot section connecting the two areas. Also part of the layout adjacent to the town of San Marino will be graded and mountainous. I plan to simulate higher country with judiciously placed cuts in the terrain. The grade will be less than 2% and will be less challenging for the steam locomotives on the roster. The height of the graded area won't exceed two inches as this height is manageable and some mountainous scenery can be cut into the terrain.
I started building the bench work for the "new" JJJ&E right after I "closed" on the new house on February 27, 2009. The bench work will be built in seven or eight modules so that it can easily be put together like a jig saw puzzle. I'll be using 2x6's as a frame for each module. The bench work will be 48 inches high. I'll use a plywood base on top of the bench work 3/8" thick. The plywood will be the highest grade with no knots. On top of the plywood will be three one inch sheets of "pink" foam board. Two inch foam board isn't available in this part of North Texas. The foam board will be glued to the plywood base using Liquid Nails except in the turntable area of the bench work which ill have to be cut out for placement of the turntable footprint. There will be eight add-on Roundhouse sections and one Modern Roundhouse. Each component of the Roundhouse has three stalls.There will be a total of 27 stalls plus a number of service tracks.
I'll be using Vinyl Roof Flashing for the back drop. The Vinyl Roof Flashing comes in fity foot rolls and there will be no seams on the back drop. The width of the back drop will be 25 inches and I'll paint the back drop a shade close to sky blue. It will be on the darker side so the sky back ground photographs well. I'll use back drop buildings on the turntable and switching yard side of the layout which is close to eighteen feet long. The right side of the layout will be a mountainous area on a section of the layout and the town of San Marino which now has tripled in size in land mass and population. (946 people).
The "new" JJJ&E is a Inverted "U" shaped layout. The bench work will be thirty inches wide except in the two turnaround areas which which be 4x4' for each turnaround. The turnaround areas will be shaped like a wheel in the isle areas for easy access. All portions of the turnaround areas will be accessible, so reaching into those diatnt corners isn't a problem.
All the wood of the bench work will be painted a flat black to"seal" the wood. I started to cut the wood for each module on February 24th. Each module will be assembled away from the train room and then quickly assembled in the train room.
All the bench work was installed in the train room on February 27, 2009. The Vinyl Roof Flashing was cemented to the walls behind the bench work using a Formica cement. The perimeter of the back drop was finished off with some wood moldings which will be painted the color of the room. I used a thin wood fascia that was 1/4" thick and thirteen wide. This was power nailed in place on the front of the bench work. It was easy to get a nice tight curve to this wood fascia in the turnaround areas of the layout.
It took about seven hours to assemble the bench work modules together.All that's left to be done at this point is give give the fascia several coats of a latex flat black paint followed by a final coat of a latex satin finish black paint.
There are three windows on the twelve foot section of the layout. I'm using Hunter Douglas Shades for these windows. I'm going to make a removable back drop for this approximately seven foot area in front of the windows which will be used for "photographic shoots".
All the bench work was finished on March 3, 2009. The only thing that remains to be done is to give the fascia a final coat of black paint and to paint the back drop. I placed some particle board and bricks on top of the new;y cemented pink foam. This added weight will stay on the foam for abound a week to ten days to make sure that the Liquid Nails completely sets up between the individual pieces of Pink foam and plywood base.
Here are some photo's of the finished bench work of the "new" JJJ&E. Again, the turntable area and switching yard will occupy the left side of the layout. The town of San Marino will be in the center and right side of the layout with a mountainous area in the turnaround area on the lower right side of the bench work. There will be a minimumal grade in that area which will be limited to less than 2%.
The bench work is 51 3/8 inches high, which includes inches of "pink" foam, a 3/8 inch plywood base and a height of 48 inches for the bench work frame. each module of the bench work is supported by 2x4" legs braced together.
Photo 1
Photo 1 shows the left side of the layout in the turnaround area with the bricks and particle board holding the recently glued foam board in place. The Vinyl Roof Flashing is used for the back drop which will be approximatley 44 feet long.The molding framing the backdrop will be painted the same taupe color as the walls.
Photo 2
Photo 2 shows the 2x4's used for the legs of the bench work with cross bracing for support. All the wood used for the bench work was painted indiviually before the modules were assembled.
Photo 3
Photo 3 shows the left side of the layout. This will house the turntable area and switching yard. The width of the bench work except for the turntable areas is 30 inches wide. Notice the Vinyl Roof Flashing in the corner of the room. Due to it's thinness, 1/8 inch, it can easily be wrapped into that corner to provide a continuous flow to the backdrop. The backdrop is butted against the window frame.
Photo 4
In photo 4 we see the 12 foot center section of the layout. The three windows span a seven foot area. I'm going to make a portable back drop to cover an 18 inch width of the window for photographic shoots of the layout in this area. The town of San Marino will start in this area of the layout and wrap around to the right side of the layout.
Photo 5
Photo 5 Shows the right side of the layout with the 4x4' turnaround area. This part of the layout is almost fifteen feet long. The main part of the town of San Marino will occupy this section of the bench work. A minimal grade of less than 2% will extend into the turnaround area will be mountainous. This layout will not have the extensive grades and elevations that the "original" JJJ&E did. I'll use cuts in the terrain to simulate elevation changes on the "new" JJJ&E.
Photo 6
In Photo 6, we see the right side of the layout and sweeping turnaround area. The turnaround area will house the 27 stall Turntable and Roundhouse.
Photo 7
Photo 7 shows the entrance into the train room from the utility room. The turnaround area on this side of the layout will have an elevated section and mountainous area. The radii used in the turnaround areas will be 19 inches. The empty wall adjacent to the doorway will be for my work bench and any storage areas.
At this point in the bench work construction, I had to decide on a color for the sky backdrop. I decided not to use any cloud formation as the main emphasis on the backdrop area will be the many backdrop buildings I used on the "original" JJJ&E plus some buildings I never used on the original layout.
I went to Lowe's and had them mix a sky blue paint that was a little darker for photographic purposes. light blue sky backgrounds tend to look washed out even if you don't use a flash attachment on the camera. Since I use a tripod and time for photographs, washed out sky backgrounds won't be an issue.
Photo 8
In Photo 8, we see the painted sky blue back drop in the turntable area of the layout. The wood molding framing the backdrop was painted the color of the walls of the room and disappears when photographed. It gives a nice finished look to the backdrop.
Photo 9
Photo 10
Photo 11
Photo's 9, 10 and 11 show the finished painted backdrop on the rest of the layout. I used a nine inch small roller to brush on the paint to the backdrop. The wood molding was hand painted with a 1 1/2 inch brush.
Photo 12
Photo 13
In Photo's 12 & 13, we have a closeup view of the backdrop wrapped into each corner of the room. The beauty of using Vinyl Roof Flashing is that it easily wraps into room corners without creases and that there are no seams on the backdrop. The Vinyl Roof Flashing comes in fifty foot and many width up to 24 inches. The Flashing readily accepts paint if you use the dull side of the product. Only two coats of blue paint were necessary to finish the blue sky back drop.
Looking back, I worked on the bench work design for over six months so it was easy to build the actual bench work. Using modular construction for the bench work made the entire job much easier to fabricate. I highly recommend modular design of the bench work if you have a larger layout to build.
While working on the design and construction of the bench work. I was using Xtra_Cad software program to design a track plan. Being from the "old school" of pencil, graph paper and ruler, I found it difficult to learn the Xtra-Cad program although I am very computer literate working on and with computers since 1981. It took me some time to learn the basic program which is all I wanted from Xtra-Cad. All I needed was a basic track plan that I could follow and work with as I went along laying the Unitrack.
Xtra-Cad has an excellent Unitrack library. I'll be using Unitrack on the "new" JJJ&E as I have a considerable amount invested in all the Unitrack I used on the "original" JJJ&E.
I plan to use 28 1/2 inch radii in all parts of the layout except the two turnaround areas which will be 19 Inch and a combination of 19 inch and 28 1/4 inch radii. This comes out to be between 23-24 inches for the radii in these areas.
When I completely dismantled the "original" JJJ&e I was able to salvage all the Unitrack except for eight pieces. The feeders were completely unsoldered from the track and most of the ballast was removed from the Unitrack with a stiff toothbrush.
At this point I decided to use "new" Unitrack straight sections. All the 28 1/4 inch and 19 inch radii will also be new Unitrack. All of the approximately 60 turnouts and four double crossovers will be reused on the "new" layout as well as some odd pieces of Unitrack.
I plan to use Peco flex code 80/55 track in the turntable area. I'll the flex track for all the track into the stalls and service tracks in the turntable area. On the "original" JJJ&E, I use Atlas code 80 track sections for these areas and looking back, I wasn't particularly happy with the performance of the Atlas code 80 track. even though it was confined to such a small part of the layout, the turntable area.
Before I post the final track plan of the "new" JJJ&E, I decided to paint the "pink" foam board a muddy greenish brown color. I always like to get rid of the pink color of the foam. This aids in landscaping especially if some of the scenery is sparse in certain areas. It took more time than I expected to cover the "pink" foam as some portions of the layout needed more than two coats of paint. If you decide to paint the foam make sure you se a latex paint as an oi; based paint will disintegrate the foam.
After the foam was painted and dry, (usually 24-36 hours), I unpacked my back drop buildings that I used on the original layout and set them out against the back drop in a randomly selected order to get the "feel" how the buildings would look against the newly painted back drop. I have more back drop buildings to add to this grouping which should finish this 18 foot section of the layout. These buildings will be added later. ( See Photo's 14 through 20).
Photo 14
Photo 15
Photo 16
Photo 17
Photo 18
Photo 19
Photo 20
Model Tech Studios in New Hampshire has a fine assortment of back drop building kits as well as completely finished back drop building kits. All these back drop buildings were weathered and finished by myself. Model Tech Studios also has a nice lineup of regular buildings kits and I highly recommend their products. Blair also makes one back drop building kit that i used on the "original" JJJ&E.
The plan of the "new" JJJ&E evolved over a period of six months. key features of a new layout included a double track mainline, a large turntable area for at least 24 locomotives plus additional service tracks, a very large switching yard that can be easily accessed from the turntable area and the mainline tracks, a diesel servicing facility, industrial sidings, reverse loops to change direction of travel, a larger area for the town of San Marino and a elevated area in the mountainous part of the layout. I also wanted to use 28 1/4" radii in the corners of the layout and a minimum of 19 inch radii in the two turnaround areas.
I think I accomplished all these features in the track plan below which is the final product of 20 track plans when this design process first started over six months ago. (See Photo 21) There is over 175' of mainline on this layout with several reverse loops. The town Of San Marino extends from the turnaround area on the lower left across the mainline and in front of the yard tracks and then wraps around the side of the layout.
Photo 21 - The "New" JJJ&E Track PlanActually working with the plan and laying track first hand allowed me to make minor changes in the layout such as additional sidings. That is the beauty of Unitrack. You can change a plan design easily. With the track temporarily in position along with the back drop buildings, I then unpacked twelve boxes of building used on the "original" JJJ&E. They made the 1300 mile trip from South Florida to North Texas relatively unscathed. Several of the buildings has loosened sections but that ws predictable, since many of these structures were nine years old and glue tends to loose its effectuvenes in that duration. In any case all those buildings were easily repaired.
I then placed all the buildings on the new bench work just to get a feel how the structures would look on the new bench work. I paid particular attention to the buildings making up the town of San Marino. On the "new" JJJ%E, the town of San Marino has tripled in size (population) and land mass. The town now sprawls on the lower part of the layout, from the mountainous areas of the lower turnaround to the right side of the layout below the switching yard.
Some new buildings will be added and placed in strategic areas of the "new" JJJ&E.
The turntable area will have 24 stalls in the Roundhouse plus a machine shop building adjacent to one side of the Roundhouse. I'm using Walthers Modern Roundhouse plus seven Add-On stall kits. Each Add-on stall kit has three slots for locomotives. It took me about three weeks to build the bases and framework for the 24 stalls. Working on eight kits at one time is fatiguing as many parts have to be cut from plastic sprues and separated into convenient piles. The Roundhouse base had to properly lined up with the Walthers turntable. Walthers supplies a paper template to use in order to get the proper relationship of the turntable to the Roundhouse stalls.
I plan on spray painting the Roundhouse base an aged concrete as I'm not too happy with the tan color of the Roundhouse floor. The supporting structure for the roof will also be repainted a very dark gray or grimy black as Walthers uses their traditional gray color for these structures.
The individual parts take quite a bit of time to trim properly. I now know why I'm happier building laser cut building kits. The pieces fit better and trimming has already been done.
After the Roundhouse was temporarily in place, I cut out the foam where the turntable was to be placed. When I initially glued the three pieces of one inch foam to the plywood base with Liquid nails, I avoided placing any of the Liquid Nails in the center of the foam where the turntable was to be placed. This made it very easy to cut out the foam for placement of the turntable on the bench work.
When you work on your layout, you must carefully plan out each area for what you intend to place in each area of the bench work. If all three pieces of one inch foam were glued together, the final placement of the turntable would have been extremely difficult.
After the Walthers Turntable was seated and firmly in place, I lined up the Roundhouse base and substructure. The front edge of the base must be 1 15/16" away from the front lip of the turntable.
Walthers provides a template of the turntable and its relationship to the Roundhouse base. It is very easy to line up the two structures to get the correct distance between the turntable and Roundhouse. If this isn't done properly, the automatic indexing of the turntable would be inaccurate. There is no need to use a reverse loop switch/module on the turntable as the system automatically senses any changes in the polarity of the rails and makes the necessary adjustments.
I was going to finish the Roundhouse at this point, but I changed direction and started to lay out the buildings that I used on the "original" JJJ&E. I plced them on the layout in temporary positions, paying particular attention to the town of San Marino which has now tripled in size as we speed forward to the "new" JJJ&E.
I also placed all the backdrop buildings in temporary positions on the layout as well. I used many more back drop buildings than those that I had on the "original" JJJ&E. (See Photo's 21 -30) The beauty of using Vinyl Roof Flashing as a backdrop is the fact that there are no seams anywhere on the layout.
Photo 21
Photo 22
Photo 23
Photo 24
Photo 25
Photo 26
Photo 27
Photo 28
Photo 29
Photo 30With the track and buildings in approximate and temporary positions, at this point in the layout construction, I started to weather the rails of the Unitrack, first with Neolube #2, and then with Polly Scale Grimy Black and Red oxide water based paints.
The Neolube # 2 is a blackening and conductive agent. I used my 18/0 sable brush to paint the Neolube # 2 on the sides of the rails. If some of the Neolube finds its way on top of the rails, it isn't an issue as the Neolube # 2 is a conductive agent as well. It can easily be wiped off the tops of the rails with a small cloth. Neolube # 2 can only be purchased here in the United States at Micromark, (www.Micromark.com) as it does have alcohol in it and can only be shipped by land. A two ounce bottle runs $14.55 USD.
Painting the rails of the Unitrack with Neolube # 2, and then with Polly Scale grimy Black and Red Oxide paints is a very slow process but well worth the effort. On the "new" JJJ&E, I have over 500 individual track sections to paint. When the track rails are weathered, it produces a nice aged look. I still have to handpaint the ties with a Polly Scale Rail Tie Brown.
When I just about finished the turntable area, and switching yard side of the layout with the weathering of the rails, I decided to wire each section of Unitrack with a Pair of 22 gauge feeders. The 22 gauge feeders will be attached to the two 14 gauge common bus lines under the bench work with black Posi-Tap Connectors. Each Posi-Tap Connector can hold four 22 gauge feeders. This eliminates the need for soldering the feeders to the common bus lines under the bench work. I've used the Posi-Tap Connectors in the Switching Yard and Turntable area's of the "original" JJJ&E. The Connectors worked admirably till the layout was dismantled in February of 2009. (See Photo 31)
Photo 31
Photo 31 serves two purposes. It shows how 22 gauge feeders are attached to the Black Posi-Tap Connector and then to the common 14 gauge bus lines. In this photo seven feeders are attached to each Black Posi-Tap Connector. The Posi-Tap Connector is then screwed into the 14 gauge common bus line. The double wire(black and red) hanging down is the power wire to the Unitrack turnout. The turnout will either be connected to a stationary decoder or a Lenz Accessory module which can control four turnouts. Also in this photo you see the three paths of the common bus lines. The common bus lines rae positioned six inches from each side of the bench work and in the middle of the bench work. The bench work on the JJJ&E is 30 inches wide except in the two turnaround areas of the layout where the bench work is 50x50 inches.
The second major point to consider is that all rhe wood of the bench work is painted with a flat latex paint. This seals the woods and prevents expansion or contraction of the wood in temperature changes. In the Train room where the JJJ&E is located, the temperature of the room is kept to a constant 78 degrees. The room is air-conditioned in the summer and heated in the winter. I do have Hepa filters attached to the Air conditioning system which removes most particles from the air, so there is no dust in the house or Train room.
If the wood of bench work isn't sealed or not completely sealed, one will probably experience expansion and contraction of the track roadbed due to thermal changes. So it is very important to seal all exposed wood surfaces including the wood under the bench work.
It will take me over three months to wire each section of Unitrack with a pair of feeders.There are over 500 sections of Unitrack to wire with feeders. Some might say this is "overkill", but it really isn't. If one uses flex track to build a layout, it is customary to wire each three foot section of flex track with a pair of feeders. The same can be said for sections of Unitrack. If there is a problem with any Unitrack rail joiners I immediately want to know where the problem is, If you drop feeders every ten sections of Unitrack as I hear that many folks do, one would spend hours finding the problem. By also wiring every section of Unitrack with a pair of feeders, a constant voltage is always maintained on any portion of the layout.
On turnouts you should solder three pairs of feeders to each turnout. One pair of feeders for each leg of the Unitrack turnout. On double crossovers and the 15 degree crossover, you use four pairs of feeders. This will give you optimum conductivity as a train passes over a turnout. There will be no interruption in power.
The voltage can be measured with a RRampmeter that measures voltage and amperage anywhere on a layout. The RRampmeter was developed by Tony at Tony's Trains (www.TonysTrains.com) and is a valuable diagnostic tool for me if trouble arises anywhere on the layout. By wiring each section of Unitrack, you've also created an individual block for that track section. So, if a train stops dead on one track section, you know where the problem is.
The 22 gauge wire is soldered to the sides of each track rail with an electronics solder that can be purchased at radio Shack in various diameters. The flux is already incorporated into the solder. After a pair of feeders were soldered to a section of Unitrack, I drill a small hole in the plastic roadbed for the feeder to pass under the Unitrack. The feeder and small hole will be covered by ballast and some clump foliage if needed.
Speaking of ballast, I'm using natural rock ballast from Arizona Rock & Mineral. I'm using a Mauve ballast for the mainline and a black yard ballast in the turntable area and Switching yard. Arizona Rock & Mineral has the best ballast on the market and is readily available if you call Phil Roth who runs the company.I ordered 25 bags of Mauve ballast and 8 bags of black yard ballast for the layout. I already had six bags of mauve ballast and three bags of the black yard ballast that I already purchased at Discount Model Trains in Addison Texas. This should be enough ballast to do the entire layout.
Now onto the Turntable and Roundhouse. The turntable is 10 3/8 inches in diameter and I'm using a walthers Modern Roundhuse with 24. Each Add-On stall kit has three stalls. So in building this Roundhouse, I was working with eight kits at one time. I decided to build the base and sub structure for the roof of the Roundhouse at this point in the construction. The front edge of the 24 unit Roundhouse has to be positioned 1 15/16 inch from the front lip of the turntable. Walthers supplies a template for you to get the correct position of the Roundhouse in relation to the turntable.Once the tRoundhouse is in position , I cemented in plans the pit for each stall. The foam has to be removed from each pit position in order to reseat the Roundhouse. This took some trial and error before all 24 pits seated properly in the foam base.
I've decided to use Peco code 80/55 flex track in each Roundhouse stall to the lip of the turntable. The ties of the flex track have to be removed in each stall as the rails slide into runners about the pit area. Ties also have to be removed on the flex track that sits ontop of the lip of the turntable. This couldn't be accomplished easily with Unitrack as it sits up too on the road which would have to be completely removed. I'll place the flex track in the stalls after the Switching Yard is wired. Two tracks from the Switching Yard will be Peco Flex track as they approach the turntable.
The Walthers Turntable is a unique piece of equipment. It is auto indexing and there is no need to use a reverse loop switch/module as the Turntable senses polarity changes and makes the necessory adjustments in the track of the bridge.
In Photo 32, you can see the Roundhouse base and supports for the roof and its relationship to the Turntable. The two run-around tracks are part of the double mainline of the JJJ&E. The outer loop is 23-24 inch radii. I used the easement technique to arrive at this radius using 28 1/4" radii, 19 " radii and some straight sections. The inner loop is about 21 " radius using the same method. The double track mainline has been completely wired and the rails have been completely weathred.
I've tested the track work as I went along with an Atlas Train Maste and a BLI_PCM SP E-7 "AB" unit with sound. Both locomotives ran flawlessly on the track that was completely wired and weathered. On this photo you can also see the back drop buildings that are temporarily in place. The Unitrack will be completely ballasted when all the track is wired.
You can also see the Walthers machine Shop which is adjacent to the Roundhouse.
Photo 32
In Photo 33, you see an aerial view of the Turntable area and Roundhouse structure. This shows the relationship of the run-around tracks of the double mainline in relation to the Roundhouse and Turntable. You also see some of the Switching yard tracks as they approach the turntable.
Photo 33
In Photo 34 you see the sweeping curves of the double mainline as it leaves the turntable area of the JJJ&E.
Photo 34To be continued as work on the layout progresses.......