Fencing and Trees Added Around the Layout

I had a short week this week, by having Friday off.  So what better to do than do some work on the timetable.  As I have recently added an extra train to the timetable, I had to update the sequence numbers on most of my timetable cards.  So that was accomplished before lunch.  After lunch I went down to the shed with the plan of test running my Auscision XPT again.  I ran it from Grafton Yard to South Brisbane Interstate station and return.  Well it was just one big headache.  It kept derailing. Besides with many wheels under gauge, the main issue is that when the faster power car is behind the consist, it pushes the train off the tracks at various locations around the layout.  Very annoying.  I’m not sure there is an answer to this, except by setting up the reverse trim feature in the relevant decoders to see if I can slow down the rear power car when it is pushing.  I can’t remember what decoder brands I have in the power cars.  So I think I will have to take them to the Club next month and check them out via JMRI Decoder Pro and tweak the settings.

Saturday this weekend was Club day.  But I did not feel motivated to take the XPT power cars to the Club.  There is plenty of time to tweak them next month.  I can’t get over how soon after the meeting is held and raffles are drawn, the clubroom becomes a ghost town.  It is unbelievable.  The new 'N' scale clubroom layout is starting to take shape from the ground up.  This will look very nice when the bottom deck, which will be DC – DCC switchable, is complete.

Today I went down to the shed before lunch and started to potter around.  First job was call in the fencing contractors.  I added some chain wire to some of the fences around the Rocla Sleeper Siding.  So this is now about half done.  The further I go here the harder it is to reach the posts.  So next week’s efforts will be a bit back breaking if I continue on that path.  I also added fencing to the Lismore Shell Oil Siding.  Again I have the hardest part to complete next weekend.  These locations have sat with no chain wire added for quite some time.  I thought that with my upcoming Operating Session in a couple of weeks and an upcoming Tuesday Nighter’s meeting in two weeks time, that I should show some progress.

I then had the arborists come in to add a few trees.  About a 100 were added I‘d guess.  But you would not know where they were positioned.  They were out in about 10 different locations around the layout.  I started at Lismore, then added a few to the Lismore Shell Oil Siding, I then added a few around the Rocla Sleeper Siding.  I then added a few to under the Richmond River Bridge just south of Cassino and I then added a few between there and the Cassino platform.  I then added some At Kyogle Stock Siding, to give the cattle some cover.  I then progressed around to the Cougal Spiral.  Then Border Loop received a few, as did The Risk Crossing Loop and the perway siding between The Risk and Glenapp Loop.  The track between Fairy Hill Loop and Nammoona Ballast Siding near Ron and Marg’s B&B also got a few more trees, as did the Nammoona Ballast Siding itself.  I also broke out the various flower and weed packs that you can get from The Modeller’s Warehouse.  So about 50 individual flower/weed clumps were added to some of these locations and it did not make a dent on the layout requirements.

A few trees added to Border Loop around the fettler's camp.

Looking back in the other direction.  The rather large dead tree in the foreground seems to be the focus point of this photo.

A shot of the same area as the first photo from the opposite direction.

Cougal Spiral now has a few trees.

On the entry to Cougal Spiral a tree sits next to the Caution Sign warning trains of the track work just around the bend.

Just south of Fairy Lane, the rail crossing has a few trees near it as well.  A few weeds were also added here.

Some rather small trees have started to appear around the Kyogle Stock Siding.

At Lismore a few trees were also added along with some weeds between the tracks in the yard and the Norco Siding on the left.

Lismore Shell Oil Siding.  The fence has gone up on the outer siding.  The hard to reach inner side is still to be attacked by the fencing contractor on his next visit.

Just to the north of the previous photo, a few more trees have been added along with some weeds.

The fettler's camp at Nammoona has had some trees added along with some weeds.

Rocla Sleeper siding has had the fencing contractors visit.

This shot shows were we are up to with the fencing on the right.

The gates are also still to have some wire added, but the place is starting to get more secure.  Two new trees are also visible in this shot.

The Risk crossing loop has had some trees added on both sides of the track.

At the northern end of The Risk, the fettler's camp has had some trees added, as has the farmer's paddocks on this side of the track.

Another view of the fettler's camp and the Farmer's paddocks, just north of The Risk.

I’m off to Melbourne this week for a few days with work, so with a bit of luck, I might be able to get across to visit Hearns Hobbies and Metro Hobbies during a lunch hour.