A few days ago, I completed the trackwork and associated wiring for the remodelled Philip's Creek station. This means that the railway has now returned to approximately the same operational condition that it was in August 2020 before the downsizing move. Yes, there is a lot of scenery to complete but the core element of the layout, track laid, wired and operational, has been finished. Whilst there are a few more sidings to complete, trains can once again travel between the two staging areas representing Singleton and Muswellbrook.
This milestone was reached more with a sense of relief rather than achievement. By this, I mean relief that Philip's Creek has survived the downsizing albeit in a new configuration, relief that the layout fitted into the new space as planned and finally, relief that I still had enough energy and enthusiasm to make this happen in a reasonable time after moving.
The two photos below show both ends of the Philip's Creek station area. Philip's Creek itself can be seen on the right of the left hand photo. Incidentally, the astute observer will realise that the header photo for the blog can never be redone as that side of the module now abuts a brick wall.
Once again, 4856 got the honour of making the first run between the two staging areas hauling a rake of RU wagons from Muswellbrook to Singleton.
The obvious next question is 'OK, now what?"
Now that the layout has been reconnected, I'll operate the it for a while to ensure that the new track and electrics work as well as testing the hauling capacity of some locomotives on the helix. Once I'm happy with the operation, I'll start work on the scenery. However, in the interim, I'll start work on repairs on the other modules which sustained minor damage during the move and the reconstruction.
And maybe finally make some progress on the long stalled Hunter River bridge!
