The current configuration consists of over 19,000 feet of 1-1/2" scale, 7 1/2" gauge track on 40 plus acres of undeveloped park land.
Here are two photos of our transfer table. The transfer table is 20 feet long and 6 feet wide. It can accomodate three strings of cars. One string on the bottom on each side and one string in the center on the top. Our five storage facilities have seven tracks in them, three on the bottom, two in the middle and two on the top. This transfer table services the bottom and middle tracks. There is a different transfer table just for the top tracks. As you can see, this table is people powered. When it is loaded with 6 or 7 cars and an engine it takes at least two and sometimes three people to move it.
This is our hoist. It is used for loading / unloading visitors equipment and for raising stored equipment from the lower level of the transfer table to the out track height. The hoist also raises high enough to retreive the cars stored on the top levels of the storage facilities. If you will look to the far right of the picture you will see the top strorage level transfer table. It is a lot lighter and easier to move as only light weight cars are stored on the top level.
We now come to the turn table. There is a lot going on in this picture. On the right side of the photo you see the end of the hoist. On the left end are the out tracks and in the fore ground is one rail of the transfer table. The top level of the transfer table, the turn table and the steaming bays are all the same height so you can by-pass the hoist with any cars stored on this level or with a hot and ready engine.
This photo shows 3 of our 16 steaming bays. Each bay is 20 feet long with air and treated water located on every other bay.
We now come to the end of the main part of the tour. You see before you the out tracks. This is the only way out of the compound and on to the main line. The three tracks merge together before you get to the main line. There are three tracks because after you get the train to ground level there's always something to do before departure. One track would cause a bottle neck. There is a small 5 track yard just to the right where trains are made up. The first thing upon arriving for run days is to get the cars out of storage and place them in this yard. Next we get the engine out and place it on a steaming bay (I always choose 13. Why tempt fate when you can attack it head on). When we have a full head of steam we get the transfer table, move down to the turn table and out the gate to make up our train.
Here is a stack of treated ties waiting to be assembled into track panels.
Here is the straight track panel building jig. The curved panel jig can be seen in the upper right corner. The jig has a series of slots just wide enough to hold pre-gauged pre-treated ties at the proper spacing of three per foot.
Here is a stack assembled track panels waiting to be layed. This shot also shows the relative positions of the turn table, hoist, transfer table and steaming bays.
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