Staging area upgrades (aka more space)

Most of the gurus of our hobby advise that one should allow plenty of room for staging area(s). In its latest iteration of Philip's Creek, I thought I heeded that advice. The two staging areas, representing locations north of Muswellbrook and south of Singleton, are much larger than their predecessors and my operating schedule has been set up to ensure some items of rolling stock are parked at various locations around the layout.

And yet, gradually over the past few years, the staging areas have become more congested. Of course, I only have myself to blame as I have succumbed to temptation when appropriate new items of rolling stock have come to market. I am not one to pack unused items into storage containers so I needed to find a solution to this dilemma.

Increasing the length of the staging areas is not possible as there is no opportunity for expansion in the garage. Therefore, I returned to a solution I had used in a previous iteration of Philip's Creek, a mezzanine level for each staging area.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The construction of both was fairly simple, a sheet of ply with a timber frame. The upper level mezzanine, Muswellbrook, was cantilevered using two large angle brackets. The lower level, Singleton, is supported by smaller angle brackets and hangers from the underside of the upper deck. 

The immediate catalyst for the construction of the two shelves was the refurbishment of the Mount Windeatt module. My most recent post included a photo which gave a graphical representation of the proposed work. 

 

 

Work has started with the removal of the existing scenery and track. A new sheet of styrofoam has been laid in anticipation of the new scene to be created. Part of the new work would take away a small portion the lower staging area. Of itself, the loss of this space is not significant, but when combined with the present overcrowding and my potential to purchase extra rolling stock, it makes the need for extra space more imperative.

 

As yet, no track has been fixed to the mezzanine storage areas; just some loose pieces have been placed in these areas until the reconstruction has been completed. Access to the lower staging is a bit challenging but hopefully, operations will improve with train movements being more focused on realism rather than the need to create space in a staging area.

So it's on with the reconstruction of the Mount Windeatt module. But then again, Joe at Casula Hobbies have just released an impressive new range of CX carriages!   

A Bridge Too Far or Moving to the next job - Mount Windeatt

No, this is not a post about the failed parachute operation in 1944 although, hopefully, I will be visiting that location shortly as part of our current travels.

Since my final post for 2024, I have managed to get the northern end of Philip's Creek to a point where it could be considered to be 'substantially complete'. This area is dominated by the flour mill and to a lesser extent the G1a type goods shed. Beyond these, the line disappears into the upper staging yard representing Muswellbrook and locations further north. Conceptually, this is the second “industrial precinct” of Philip’s Creek (the first is the coal mine to the south of the town). The main structures in this area are the flour mill and goods shed. A fettlers' shed and weigh bridge can also be found here. These two photos show the view of the approach to Philip's Creek from the north.

With an enforced absence from the layout, it's time to start planning the next phase of the work. A few posts previously ( https://philipscreek.blogspot.com/2024/07/the-biological-clock-is-ticking.html ), I had outlined the projects that I'd like to complete to get the whole layout substantially complete in the next few years. I had hoped to start on the quarry module but the failure of a point at Mount Windeatt pushed me to focus on those modules next. For new readers, Mount Windeatt is a fictitious location serviced by a branch line and provides sleepers and sawn timber to Singleton and locations further south.

It's a bit scary to say but it has now been over four years since I posted this photo of the two bridges linking the branch lines, Kingston Plains on the upper level and Mount Windeatt on the lower level, to the layout. Both bridges span the access to the main operational areas. Over the past four years, the upper hinged bridge has worked very well. However, I can't say the same the lower level bridge, a lift out section. Aligning the curved portion of the layout track and the lift out section has been problematic, and frankly, inserting and lifting the bridge has become an operational 'pain in the butt'.  So, dissatisfaction with my access arrangement to these modules has convinced me to take a more radical approach to the refurbishment of Mount Windeatt rather than simply replacing the failed point and refreshing the scenery.

The intent is now to create a self contained 'shelf layout' with a direct access to the Singleton staging area. This means that trains for Mount Windeatt will no longer travel on the lower part of the main line. Instead, the trains will now emerge directly from the staging area onto the Mount Windeatt modules. These trains will still retain a place in the Philip's Creek operating sequence but without the challenge of installing and removing the bridge each time. It will be a total rebuilt with the station area and sawmill being reversed. The proposed changes are summarised in the two graphics below.

 

But before I can start this work, I need to return home and that's going to take a few weeks yet!