It has been almost Two years (lazy...haha) since I wrote a post to the blog and thought I'd better do that.
The town of Encino has received industry trackage and then redone once as I did not like the track plan that I had before. Unfortunately, I had not taken pictures to compare the before to the after. Encino will have a grain elevator, a storage spot for the grain elevator, a small propane terminal, a team track and an old chemical plant. The old track plan was laid out last winter and I spent a few months running trains to get the feal of car movements and get a feal for switching the town before track feeders were dropped, making the track plan somewhat permanent. I was not satisfied with the short siding and the placement for turnouts for the runarounds, as I felt they were too far apart. I had soon realized that I needed longer lead trackage that would handle more than just a locomotive and two cars at both ends of the town thus the turnouts had to be relocated for the one runaround, shortening the length of that runaround. I had to remove the dedicated storage track, which was next to the grain elevator track, to make more room for the grain elevator when I lengthened the passing siding. The storage spot and the team track share the same trackage as this track is long enough to handle cars for both.
The below photo shows the chemical plant that is placed at the north end of Encino. I bought this as a ready built structure from a hobby store in Houston Texas about 15+ years ago. The name of the small plant was the reason I just had to have it. I have since bought about 4 Spencer Chemical tanks cars to go with the plant.
The photo below shows the extended lead track needed at this end of Encino on the right, along with the chemical plant spur just photo left, and a lead track to help with movements to the south side of town to the left of that. When viewed from the isle the structure helps conceal the curved continuous run track somewhat, running behind the structure in this view. The rolling stock in this picture are sitting in Falagrady Yard.
At the same end of town is where the small propane terminal will be located where the tank cars are spotted.
In the photo below, on the south end of Encino will be a small grain facility just to the right of the three grain cars on the left. Also in this view is Salt Lake City and Denver staging tracks to the far right. The main, siding track, and the lead to the run around track to the left of them. The white spots under the siding track is where the original location of the turnout for the Encino siding was located coming off the main. The track to the left of the three grain cars is the extended lead track for helping with movements to the north side of town.
In the photo below the grain car is parked at the grain storage spot and the boxcar in the back ground is parked at the team track spot.
This photo is an overall north facing view.
This photo is an overall south facing view.
The next step for the layout after track feeders have been dropped for the trackage in Encino is to move across the isle and install trackage for the town of Duran which will include the interchange for the Yrbi branch line a possible salt mine and a small aggregate quarry.
UPDATE:
At the time of this post, track feeders have been completed for Encino and sub-roadbed and track laying has begun in Duran. Posts to the blog for this endeavor will be posted in the near future.... hopefully, if I don't procrastinate haha.... 😀
