Rick Stein (of Padstein restaurant
infame) is not involved that we know of. (UK joke.)
On the night of February 19, 2019 water
from a rainstorm two days earlier had backed up on the flat roof of
my townhouse and leaked through the roofing onto the sheetrock
ceiling of my office and train room. A 4 foot by 4 foot panel of
sheetrock detached from the ceiling and fell swinging down from the
paper coating slowly. It did not hit the 2 foot by 11 foot layout
based on the trackage at Padstow minus the long pier or my workbench.
While the layout and workbench were intact, I was informed that the
room would ultimately need to be cleared of furniture and fixings to
repair the damage to the ceiling and repaint the ceiling after the
external roof was repaired. It has been over 3 weeks since that
disaster and unfortunately we have not had enough dry days in a row
for the roof to dry out so it can be replaced by the roofers.
I have boxed and binned most of the
train stuff from the room. But, alas, the time has come to tackle the
rather poorly build layout. It was simpley a 2 X 8 sheet of fiber
insulation board on top of supporting 1X2 boards supported by 3 wood
TV tray tables. There was an 3 X 2 extension with a shallow manual
turntable and locomotive storage tracks that did not exist at
Padstow. Any actual storage or shedwork was done at Wadebridge where
there was a Southern Railway sub shed.
The design really only afforded a place
to pose or switch either my English prototype collection of postware
Southern Railway and related 4 mm scale (00) scale or my growing
collection of US 1947-54 US Southern Pacific passenger and freight
equipment. It was built from an assortment of Peco Code 100
Streamline turnouts going back 15 years and older Atlas code 100
track with wider thicker ties. I have ripped out the turnouts. Much
of the wiring was from a previous pre-DCC Great Western Brixham
branch line terminal layout from 2003-2010.
It is not really a great loss and I
feel no real regret at its demolition. It is almost and air of
exultation that comes with an out with the old in with the new
anticipation. The turnouts have been saved although their future is
in doubt as new layout(s) when built will use more modern trackage
components. If it is totally British in outline it will use new Peco
Code 75 “bullhead” rail components when they become available. On
the other-hand the first to be rebuilt could be to North American
prototype track with Micro Engineering and new Peco Code 70 USA line
components. I also have some Peco Code 75 flat bottom European HO
track turnouts on hand now that have not really been used and may be
used to augment the newer track. Flex track would be Micro
Engineering code 70.
All the buildings from Padstow station
area have been saved. If I get the energy I will build a separate 3
2X4 modular layout that can be stored when not in use to show of
English Southern modeling efforts. This will happen only when there
is a full range of Peco bullhead rail components available.
I am also thinking about how I can
rebuild so that I can model the Walnut Creek station area on the
Southern Pacific San Ramon valley branch and maybe the branch
interchange at Avon Contra Costa. If I had the space I would start
with the small engine terminal at Port Costa, the Sacramento/San
Joaquin junction at Martinez and then the Avon yard with interchange
to the US Navy Port Chicago terminal railroad as will as the San
Ramon branch. Unfortunately this would probably depend on winning a
substantial lottery prize. At my age (75) it is probably just a dream
goal.
A more realistic proposal for my small
11 foot by 11 foot area is to remove the book cases in the office and
put a new Avon/Port Costa shelf layout along the north wall at a 45
inch height. My office desk, PC and printer would go under the
layout. The big chair will have to go and only a single roll-around
office chair used. The office has to stay here as this is the
location for the high speed ATT phone/data connection and the WiFi
router. This modular shelf layout would have two tail tracks. One on
the short 5 foot west wall and another extending 9-10 feet over the
work bench on the east wall. This would be at the 45 inch height.
Along the South all in front of the
built in cherry bookshelves, a new Padstow Mark set of modules would
be built with a curve at the east end to get to a pair of
storage/staging tracks in front of the windows and below the SP
layout staging. The workbench desk would have to be replaced and move
out.
As I do not anticipate full
re-occupancy of the train room/office before the end of April, this
construction effort will take place over most of the rest of the year
with the goal of full operational track work by December 2019.
