Well, it's time for another layout update. I know what you're thinking: “Oh, Gawwwd, not ANOTHER one!”
Yup. Another one!
I got the roadbed for the inner loop and station siding laid down. The Peco curved turnout coming out of the station is installed.
I have the Tortoise for it installed, but not wired up yet. I don't solder directly to the pads on the Tortoise, I much prefer to use edge connectors. That way if something needs to be changed I can do so at the workbench. Plus repeated soldering and de-soldering can degrade the pads on the Tortoise.
I marked and drilled the holes for the Shinohara curved turnout, but I somehow managed to damage the turnout. Oops. It may be fixable, but it would be a job.
The Tortoise for this turnout wound up having to be installed directly above the rear L-girder. That wouldn't have been so bad, except it's also on a splice joint where two sheets of plywood meet. When I built the benchwork I installed a plywood splice on the bottom of the joint, screwed from above. So I can't really remove a section of the splice. What I wound up doing was to mount the Tortoise horizontally. Directions for doing this are on Circuitron's website.
I do have a few Tortoise remote mounts, so I could have used one of those, but I did it this way. There are going to be two more turnouts on this section of track, both of which will be above the L-girder. These two turnouts will each be part of a crossover, so I'm thinking I will use a remote mount and and extra cable and drive each crossover from a single Tortoise. I've never tried to do that before, so it will be a learning experience! I'll probably experiment with a mock-up before I try it under the layout.
As it turns out, this Tortoise will most likely have to be moved, anyway. I installed the roadbed based on the geometry of the Shinohara turnout, which I have decided to replace. Yesterday I ordered a Peco SL-E86 curved turnout from Midwest Model Railroad
https://midwestmodelrr.com/. It's already been shipped, should be here Tuesday. But the geometry is different, so if I try to install it on the Tortoise where it sits now, it's going to be way off on the roadbed. So when it gets here I'll decide where it needs to sit on the roadbed, and drill a new hole for the Tortoise. The other option is to install it on the Tortoise where it is, and redo the roadbed. Ain't happening, Jack!
While I wait for the new turnout to get here, I decided mock-up where the industries on this end of the layout would go, and what they would be. I want this end of the layout to be where the Town of Soggy Bottoms is located, so I don't really want the industries encroaching on that space too much. The turnout to the south of the double crossover will lead into an 18” radius curve
which will go the RustEze Medicated Bumper Ointment plant. There will be a #4 left turnout diverging to a holding track, and the straight route will lead to a wye which will service the shipping/receiving building. The three critics (Luigi, Guido, and Mater) are inspecting the mock-up. The Kadee uncoupling magnet will be disguised as part of a grade crossing.
The turnout just to the north of the double crossover will lead to a wye
which will service Rusty I. Beams Metal Salvage and Auto Recycling Facility. This is the “graveyard of the rusted automobiles” that Arlo Guthrie sang about. Maybe. The track on the right will be a holding track for empty gondolas.
I'm saving the Peco turnouts for use on the mainline and in the yard. I have a number of Atlas Custom Line turnouts which will be used in the industrial areas. It would be financially irresponsible of me to simply chuck them all, since they work well and I've never had a problem with them.
Once the Peco curved turnout gets here, I'll finish up the inner loop, and then hook the Big Boy up to the heavyweight passenger cars I have and send them around the layout, crossing over from the inner loop to the outer loop, and back again. That's the beauty of the double crossover!