April 11 Work Session

We're only a couple weeks away from ImagineRIT! More fascia was installed around the Rochester peninsula and painted green. Plans are to extend the fascia as far as CP 373 to the west, and up to High Falls to the east before work in that area will stop. The engine terminal in Irondequoit was ballasted by Matt, and Jimmy and Joe ballasted the mains leading into Irondequoit Yard. Charles continued his project to install cab jacks around the layout as needed.

We are also hosting the Niagara Frontier Region NMRA "Mortimer Junction 2015" regional convention with the Lakeshores Division during the weekend of May 16. We are looking forward to that event as well.

April 4 Work Session and Operating Session

Returning from Spring Break, we continued to prep the layout for our May events. The school year is quickly drawing to a close, with finals just a few weeks away.

Otto, Joe and Dave worked in the fascia surrounding the peninsula. Another 16 feet were hung from High Falls, working towards CP 373. The plan is to have fascia installed all the way around the peninsula by the end of the month.

Matt continued the work started by Elliot to relocate the switch for the Niagara Food Terminal lead. Alum and former club president Chris Stilson was in town and paid us a visit. He was quickly put to work soldering power leads.

There was an accepted students Open House on campus, so we had a fair number of visitors trickle in throughout the day to see what we were all about.

Otto helped prep the layout for the evening operating session. Our club advisor SuperDave came down to help. Trains were staged and a schedule was worked out.

The train schedules worked out pretty much as they have in the past with east and west mainline trains  dropping cars off at Irondequoit Yard. The BO-1 local (operated as a Rochester & Southern train with a real R&S crew) ran from Main Street over to Irondequoit to swap cars for interchange. The ABN-1 Albion local ran late in the day after all of its cars arrived. The NFL-1 Niagara Falls turn ran from Buffalo staging to swap cars. Meanwhile, the NFL and IRQ yardmasters were kept busy throughout the day. The commuter train made its scheduled runs to and from Rochester. A good time was had by all.

We are trying to get as much done on the layout before our May 2 Imagine RIT Open House. A couple weeks after that we will be hosting the Niagara Frontier Region NMRA regional convention the weekend of May 16, right around the time final exams hit. No pressure!

March 21 Work Session

RIT is on Spring Break right now, so the March 21 work session was somewhat quiet, with only Otto, E.J., and Matt participating (and only because his flight home was rescheduled). Most of the day was spent cutting, measuring, fitting, sanding, and priming the fascia panels in Niagara Falls.

 Portions of the fascia were made narrower so narrow shelving under the layout could be accessed easily. Gentle reverse curves were plotted by tracing around the perimeter of a roll of packing tape.

Matt applied two coats of white primer to the fascia panels in Niagara Falls. The next step will be the application of the final color... What will it be? Stay tuned... See more photos on our Facebook fan page!