Report of the Chief Engineer: Q4 2022

Still no operations. Still no Lewistown Yard control panels. But that's about all that didn't go well this quarter. The Middle Division is going gangbusters these days!

On the matrix controllers from Barrett Hill for the Lewistown Yard, I plan on cornering the vendor at the Railroad hobby Show in Springfield and again a week later at Timonium. This is holding up restoration of yard operations and is a hurdle for operating sessions. I have a holiday on January 16th and, on that day, plan to cut the panels themselves.

Early in October I went to Lewistown and flew a drone above the Granville Bridge to capture video for creating a photographic backdrop for my modeled Granville Bridge. From the photos below, you can see where I am going with this.

I presented a clinic on the Middle Division at the Mid Atlantic Railroad Prototype Modelers meet (MARPM) in Timonium in October. I also held a second open house on November 12th as part of the DE-MD-NJ-PA Model Railroad Open House.

In November I started a kitbash for the Spanogle & Yeager mill off of Electric Avenue in Lewistown. To date I have only found one prototype photo (below left). I kitbashed a Walthers Flour Mill kit by cutting it multiple ways and creating a shallow relief structure. It remains incomplete at present.

Also in November I replaced two 20" displays with a single Samsung 32" display (3840x2160) that displays my entire JMRI/CATS panel without the distracting break in the middle.

In December I replaced the lighting above Roundhouse Road with strips of LED lights from MicroMark and extended them above the Granville Bridge and to Ryde beyond. I like them so much I am going to replace the lights above Lewistown Yard. See photo below.

I also started a kitbash of an LCL warehouse for Everett on the Pennsylvania Midland. It is two Walthers REA Transfer Buildings cut in half for shallow relief. It is four feet long and will be super detailed. See photo below.

Finally, I've started scenery at Yeagertown, Milroy, Ryde, and LEWIS, including the Granville Bridge. It's really coming together!

Granular weekly progress shots are posted to the FaceBook page, so there is a lot more there. Enjoy!

Till the next train out...

LCL warehouse for Everett.	Milroy.
Lower Mann.	Yeagertown.
Yeagertown crossing.	LEWIS.
Granville Bridge.	Ryde.