Frisco River Division - Cape Girardeau Southwestern

The wood ties (FastTracks Quicksticks) match the height of Atlas Flex Track ties.

 

Absolutely a beautiful piece of artwork in its own right.

 

Thanks for all the compliments guys, but the jigs and special tools make the expert.

 

Well, during the past week I have gotten on a kick about getting some work done on my layout. I'm on a roll to get all the track laid on the existing benchwork. Here are some pictures of the mainline, siding and yard for Cape Girardeau. In the open spaces at each end there is room for and will be some industries, a piggy-back ramp and a small, single engine house. Next I will complete the work on the curves at the far end of the pix and the lead to the MoP spur and the wye that was in the Shops area of Cape. More industries in that small area.

 

Previously I had gotten the tracks laid on most of the MoP spur, but I hadn't posted the pictures of the track in place. If anyone notices, the color of paint on the tabletop is different on the MoP spur compared to the tracks along the riverfront areas. That is because the dirt is significantly different, with darker floodplain dirt vs upland dirt.

 

The color is Valspar's Perfectly Blue. Kind of appropriate?

The color of everything below the layout is Valspar's Polished Silver.

 

Lowe's or Sutherlands. In Poteau, it is supposedly available at Ollies Lumber and Ron's Discount Lumber.

 

The ladder turnouts are all #4 1/2. The track spacing in the yard is 1 3/4". I know that is tight, but it is not a classification yard.

 

I cross the Bill Emerson bridge twice a day and see all the present day trackage. Occasionally a BNSF local or coal drag. Can’t wait to see more of your progress.

 

Well,,, After having laid the yard tracks I finally looked at spacing. OOPS! I had built the yard ladders using the Micro Engineering Yard Ladder switches as a template with #4.5 Fast Tracks switches, but I didn't verify what the yard track spacing would be. It turned out to be 1 5/8" on-center; it left only about 3/8" between adjacent boxcars.
So...I separated the switches in the yard ladders and used a very thin putty knife to remove the yard tracks. I had used DAP Dynaflex 230 Clear Adhesive Caulk and a spatula with a serrated edge to lay the track so it came up pretty easily. Over the past seven days I re-laid the yard and yard ladders to yield 2" on-center spacing of the yard tracks. Compare the pictures here vs in post #125 above.

 

Here is a look at the spacing with cars for reference. I wouldn't recommend any tighter than 2" on-center.