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2003 Progress - Year two >  Jan. 2003 | Feb. 2003 | Mar. 2003 | Apr. 2003 | June 2003 | Q3 2003 | Q4 2003

This page also links to the original progress pages of 2003 - above.

January: Over Christmas Paul relaid the main lines and much of the yard track according to the Templot plans, leaving spaces for the pointwork (switches) except on the main lines which where temporarily laid through to allow us to run trains.

Paul and Chris cut up the temporary Flagstaff mountain so that it could be permanently mounted - the gaps are over the baseboard joints. A tunnel has been introduced to allow the track to run off the modelled area at left.

Steve started tracing photos of Susquehanna Street on his computer - using Adobe Photoshop to "straighten out" the images and PowerPoint to trace the outlines. They were then printed out on card.

Chris, Ian and Steve have been working on a permanent version of Mount Pisgah in February and have made a wonderful mess sawing up polystyrene sheets.  Paul has been finishing Flagstaff Mountain and playing with the trackwork - reconfiguring the fiddle yard.  Steve has continued tracing photos of Susquehanna Street on his computer. We have all had a go at weathering our rolling stock and some coal hoppers can be seen below. 

In March, Chris finished smoothing off Mount Pisgah and it looked pretty good.  Paul again repositioned the trackwork - this time at the end of the fiddle yard to allow for stock on the westbound track to cross to the eastbound. 

Steve started tracing photos of other buildings on his computer - Hooven Mercantile and the Navigation building - and card mock-ups of these appeared. We acquired a large number of freight stock items from a neighouring club (Chester) at a knock-down price.  Finally, Ian started work on building out a couple of the walls on the river, preparatory to adding the stone facing and has cut the culvert through the river wall.  
    

In April Chris reshaped Mount Pisgah as it abuts onto route 209, introducing more polystyrene shavings!  Steve started to lay sidewalk from 3mm MDF in Susquehanna Street.  Ian and Chris used brick plasticard on the river wall and Ian added the capping stones to the wall at the side of route 209. Paul started to permanently lay and wire the fiddle-yard track which continued in May and June.

   
                       
Paul carried on cutting holes for switch motors and completed wiring the switches in the storage yard by the end of June. Steve carried on laying sidewalk and Ian carved a tunnel mouth, required to get the track off the LH end. Chris and Steve cut away some of the riverside wall as in the prototype and Chris planned out the bridge and built the buttresses.
   

   
Steve started building the first store on Susquehanna St. from plasticard on a perspex frame as we used on the Woodside model.

Progress over the summer was exceptionally slow, mainly as a result of vacations and having to spend time on society business. Chris was also very busy building lighting gantries for the MMRS.

During August and September Steve finished the first two buildings on Susquehanna Street:

Paul was busy too, building switches (pointwork) for the front of the layout.
   

During the rest of 2003, progress was also slow, mainly as a result of spending time on society business. However, the pace  picked up in November and December and progress was more obvious.

These Open Day photos taken in early November show that the outline buildings have now been completed and rolling stock has continued to accumulate.
     

Paul continued to build switches (pointwork) for the front of the layout and was been joined by Chris in this. Chris started on the pilings that hold back the track after the wall has collapsed.   Steve finally started on the next (third) building on Susquehanna Street and, finally, we have acquired an RS3 and S1 to add to our F3 and SW9. The year ended with some substantial progress made - but much still to do!
     

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Last modified:  4 November 2011