Easton & Potomac

Did I hear the White Hall yardmaster moan?

2009-07-05T10:34:00.000-07:00

Hood Brother's Packing informed E&P management that they expected their business to expand by the end of this year and they would no longer be able to rely on pool refers to meet their shipping needs. Therefore they have ordered 10 Hood Brother's Packing refers. The delivery date is not available at this time. They also told E&P management the railroad would need to acquire stock cars to handle the increased livestock traffic. As a response E&P placed an order for 5 E&P stock cars. The delivery date is not available at this time. An order for 5 additional E&P box cars was also placed at the same time with the understanding their priority was lower than either the refers or stock cars.

All of this will result in increase storage of E&P cars at White Hall and Hood Brother's Packing cars at Hood. Neither location has much if any room for track extensions, so the job of the White Hall yardmaster will get a little more challenging with the arrival of these cars sometime this year. If storage space can not be found in White Hall then the E&P cars will have to be stored somewhere else and brought to White Hall as needed. That somewhere else will be the challenge for the yardmaster.

The Grassinator works!

2009-06-30T10:42:00.000-07:00

I tried out the Grassinator today and it worked. There is a picture on the website at www.easton-and-potomac.com of my first attempt at static grass. Other than being too thin I think the blend of colors looks about right.

I also started making some bottle brush trees. I made, or at least attempted to make, four trees one each of 15ft, 20ft, 25ft and 30ft. I might be able to keep the last one (30ft) but the rest are not that good. I believe to make the shorter trees I will need to start with at least the 30ft tree length of wire and cut it down to the size I want. More experimentation is needed. A picture of the first four trees is also on www.easton-and-potomac.com.

Scenery materials arrive!

2009-06-29T16:38:00.000-07:00

My first major purchase of scenery supplies arrived from Scenic Express today. Now to figure out what to do with them! It certainly looks easy on the videos but I have my doubts. And no I haven't tried out the Grassinator yet. Maybe tomorrow. There is plenty of flock and turf under all that Silflor static grass and Woodland Scenics Fine-Leaf Foliage. There is also a SuperSage value pack under the SuperTrees value pack.

The Grassinator

2009-06-26T12:37:00.000-07:00

Today I finished building my verison of the Grassinator. The instructions for building one can be found at www.ztrains.com/pages/tech/grassinator/grassinator.html. Now all I need is some static grass to test it out.

50th session is a wrap!

2009-06-20T15:27:00.000-07:00

Today we held the 50th operating session on the E&P with another full crew. Skip Barber assumed the duties of dispatcher and with the completion of this session became FQO (Fully Qualified Operator) #3. Mike Kipps had a nasty experience with the White Hall turntable which you need to go the www.easton-and-potomac.com to see.

There are only three slots still open for the July session so if you would like to attend please go to the website and sign up.

All Engines Named

2009-06-18T18:30:00.000-07:00

I finally bit the bullet and finished lettering the engines. I had already lettered the newer engines with E&P. But the older engines still needed to be lettered E&PSL. Since the layout is set in the time period just after the railroad changed its name from E&PSL to E&P I decided to represent both names as if the railroad was slow in repainting. Below is a picture of the two naming layouts.

Layout progress

2009-06-17T15:09:00.000-07:00

After three days of casting rocks I have decided I have enough (for a while) and need to start placing them on the layout. I have been working up my purchase plans for Timonimu next Saturday the 27th and hope to have some color (other than white) on the layout in time for the July session.

In addition to rocks I have also been working on a static grass gun and on the Forey & Co. background building. A picture of the current construction progress on Forey & Co. is on www.easton-and-potomac.com.

There is still one slot open for the June 20th session so if your plans have changed and you can make the session please go to the website and sign up.

Forley & Co. Construction Update

2009-06-12T14:33:00.001-07:00

Work is progressing nicely on Forley & Company's factory and office buildings in White Hall. The office building is almost complete and the factory building is in the process of having its windows installed. A picture of current construction progress is on www.easton-and-potomac.com.

Casting the first stone

2009-06-10T14:45:00.000-07:00

Today was rock casting inauguration day.

I took the molds Clint and Jessee loaned me and made (somewhat imperfect) full castings of each to get a feel for the finished product each would produce. I then went back and starting casting the areas of each mold I found interesting and thought would work for me. Towards the end of the day I was actually able to keep some of the output to be used on the layout. The picture below is early in the process and a picture is on http://www.easton-and-potomac.com/ showing some of the early pours. This process should continue tomorrow and for days to come.

CEO rejects Hood switch tower design

2009-06-09T17:26:00.000-07:00

The architects showed the Hood switch tower design to the CEO and she rejected it saying it did not conform to the character of the existing structure. Therefore a new bay window design was developed which was accepted. Of course this new design will require the scratch building four windows where the other design used all Tichy windows.

New bay window switch tower design for Hood.

Hood Switch Tower

2009-06-08T15:36:00.001-07:00

Today the architects completed the mock up of the switch tower to be built on top of the Hood passenger station. The hardest part of the design was determining which Tichy windows to use. Now that the design has been finalized the windows will be purchased at the Timonium train show on June 27th. A picture of the station with the mocked up switch tower can be seen on www.easton-and-potomac.com.

On another note, I removed the cover I made Saturday, trimmed the edges and added some more plaster wrapping to one gap next to the tunnel portal.

Worked also progressed on the office building for Forey Co. in White Hall.

And lastly I reviewed Frary's tape on Basic Scenery (which is on loan from Steve Robbins) in preparation for rock casting which should begin this week.

That's a wrap!

2009-06-06T13:27:00.001-07:00

That's right, plaster wrapping (for the most part) is complete! I finished it with the making of a cover piece for the helix lift out. This piece is needed to allow the lift out section to have enough play to actually be lifted out.

I still have a little plaster wrapping to do around the area where the HS Mining Company building will go. But that will have to wait until the building has been selected and built.

Now it is on to rocks. And thanks to Chris Jessee of Kingmill Enterprises LLC and Clint Foster who are loaning me their rock molds I should have a good variety of rocks to choose from.

A picture of the cover piece that marked the end of major plaster wrapping can be seen on www.easton-and-potomac.com.

Final Tunnel Liner

2009-06-05T14:27:00.001-07:00

Yesterday and today I worked on getting the final tunnel liner installed. Tomorrow should wrap up the liner installation. Then I can put the finished helix top back in place and make the final piece of plaster wrapping! You can see the progress on the tunnel liner at http://www.easton-and-potomac.com/.

Marlene caught me inside the helix working on the tunnel liner.

Extreme case of strip mining?

2009-06-03T14:59:00.000-07:00

Not really, just the helix top removed for plaster wrapping. This is a scene you will not see during an operating session. I hope.

Everything is setup and ready to start plaster wrapping. There is a picture of the finished product on www.easton-and-potomac.com. Tomorrow I hope to get the final tunnel liner installed and by the end of the week to have the helix top back in place.

Plaster wraping progress

2009-06-02T13:58:00.001-07:00

Today I finished all of the plaster wrapping excluding the removable section at the top of the helix. The new access road to White Hall station, all of the bridge abutments and the road tunnel just east of White Hall are done. A picture of the access road and tunnel are on http://www.easton-and-potomac.com/. Tomorrow I will remove the section at the top of the helix and start plaster wrapping it. While it is off I will complete the final tunnel liner.

Below is a picture of me plaster wrapping the bridge abutments for the trestle just east of Lacey Springs.

Below is the finished product.

The grading crews have been busy today

2009-06-01T15:14:00.000-07:00

Today the grading crews graded the new access road to White Hall station (picture on www.easton-and-potomac.com) and also completed the grading around all of the bridge abutments. Tomorrow is plaster wrapping. I hope to have all of the plaster wrapping completed before the next OPS session on June 20th which still has three positions open.

Construction crew finished Flat Top through truss bridge

2009-05-29T14:27:00.000-07:00

The construction crew wrapped up work on the Flat Top through truss bridge today and turned it over to the painters for painting and to the graders to finished filling in around the abutments.

A picture of the finished bridge ready for service can be seen on www.easton-and-potomac.com.

Plenty of projects

2009-05-28T15:26:00.001-07:00

Right now I have plenty of open projects on the E&P and I hope to have most of them completed before the next OPS session in June.

The oldest is the passenger station at Hood. I need to get some windows for the switch tower that will be located on top of this station and then modify the kit to include this switch tower.

Then there are two bridge projects underway. The through truss bridge which is ready to have its abutments installed. And the plate girder bridge that needs some abutment work and lettering on the back side. Both bridges have been removed to accommodate this work.

There is also new construction in White Hall. Rumor has it that Forey Co. is moving to White Hall and has started construction of their new plant and offices. A picture of this construction is on http://www.easton-and-potomac.com/.

And lastly, the survey crew showed up today and marked the grading work to be done at White Hall station. This will include installing an access road and parking lot. Below is a picture of the survey work. (You can see where the plate girder bridge has been removed and behind the station you can just see the new construction.)

More data available on website

2009-05-24T14:53:00.001-07:00

Today I added position summary files to the website. These files (one Adobe and one Excel) contain the history of every operator and the positions they have held. You can use this to see how close you are to being fully qualified on the Easton & Potomac or just for a look into the past.

Like the attendance information this information is also under the Operations section of the website. A direct link has been provided below.

http://www.easton-and-potomac.com/epops/epops_crew.html

Today also saw the priming of the through truss bridge abutments. They are now ready for painting and installation.

Rules, Regs, General Info and fully qualified employees

2009-05-23T16:14:00.000-07:00

The website now contains a section on Rules, Regulations and General Information. This should be reviewed by attendees before each session. This screen is under the OPERATIONS section of the website. A direct link to the screen is provided below.

http://www.easton-and-potomac.com/epops/epops_rules.html

E&P management is also now recognizing employees that are fully qualified on the railroad. To be fully qualified you must have held each operating position for at least one session. Currently there are two fully qualified employees. They are denoted on the attendance sheet with their names in RED. A direct link to the screen to display this document is provided below. Click on either the Adobe or Excel icon to display the document.

http://www.easton-and-potomac.com/epops/epops_crew.html

Through truss bridge abutments

2009-05-22T14:41:00.000-07:00

Today I finished the initial construction of the bridge abutments for the through truss bridge. Some final sanding, painting and installation and this bridge project should be wrapped up.

A picture of the bridge sitting on the new abutments is on www.easton-and-potomac.com.

Test fitting the throught truss bridge

2009-05-20T13:26:00.000-07:00

The through truss bridge was test fitted in place today and the flex track was fitted to the bridge.

Below is a view down the tracks of the bridge before the tracks were installed on the bridge.

Another picture of the bridge is on http://www.easton-and-potomac.com/.

49th session photos

2009-05-17T07:32:00.000-07:00

The 49th operating session was held on the E&P Saturday May 16th. Photos of the session are on www.easton-and-potomac.com.

If you would like to attend the 50th session scheduled for June 20th then please go to www.easton-and-potomac.com to sign up.

Through truss bridge construction update

2009-05-14T13:21:00.000-07:00

The bridge crew finished the metal work on the through truss bridge today with the installation of the bottom cross bracing. Now it is on to painting and the abutments.

A picture of the finished bridge is on www.easton-and-potomac.com.

Material shortages hault bridge construction

2009-05-12T13:19:00.000-07:00

Today construction crews had hoped to complete their work on the through truss bridge just west of Flat Top. However when they went to install the bottom bracing they learn they did not have any L brace material. Hopefully this material will arrive tomorrow and construction of the bridge can be completed. E&P management is expecting crews to arrive any day to start work on the bridge abutments.