Bring on the rolling stock!

The final tracks have been laid in the west end staging yard. All of the Tortoise switch machines are in and hooked up and feeders have been run to all of the tracks. The photo below shows the results.

There are twelve tracks capable of holding trains and a shorter track that can be used to store protection power. The LV 628 and EL SD45-2 in the background are sitting on track 13.

Changes have also been made to the east end staging yard in anticipation of future expansion out into the crew lounge. The biggest change was removing a section of the upper staging yard that was over the ladder for the lower yard. The picture below shows the results.

It occurred to me that I would never be able to get to those turnouts when they need some tweaking with the upper staging yard built over them. And they will need some attention at some point- I've already learned that lesson. The expansion plan calls for the upper staging yard to be approached from the other end, so there will be plenty of room to make up for the lost section above. The upper yard could also have the ladder start at the west end above as there is room along the far wall to extend the shelving.

Another addition to the east end staging yard can be seen above- an LED strip. During the last op session, Randy Seiler suggested adding some LED's in order to improve visibility. He was kind enough to give me a 4' section and the results can be seen below.

Given the intensity of the light, it's almost impossible to get a good shot with a cell phone camera. But suffice it to say that the strip will provide more than enough light for the crews to see their trains. Thanks again for the tip and the strip, Randy.