RR-EAST EUGENE DEVELOPMENT – 6 - NABISCO BAKERY

Continuing to develop industry for the new spurs off the industrial siding at RR-East Eugene, I built up the core structures for the Nabisco bakery.  Photos and the SPINS (Southern Pacific Industrial Numbering System) diagram place Nabisco fairly near the Eugene depot.  That area on my layout has been occupied by other SP clients, also historically within that zone, so I chose to shift the location for Nabisco a little further away.  It occupies the closest industrial spur to the depot off the new industrial siding.

 

Core structure elements for the Nabisco bakery at RR-East Eugene.

 

Photos show the National Biscuit Company (the historic formal name of the company) as a concrete block structure with an office space facing a street perpendicular to the railroad.  My track layout has the spur at an angle to the backdrop, so I needed to deal with a partial building cut off at an angle along the backdrop wall.  I began by preparing a plot plan.  I laid out paper and then rubbed a pencil along the tops of the spur rails.  That gave me the space and the angle along the wall.  I used an NMRA gauge to establish building clearance from the wall.

 

Plot plan for the Nabisco bakery.  The near end is fixed at the end of the next industry spur and the rest of the Nabisco spur has been highlighted with a pencil rubbing of the rails.

 

I chose to use a Walthers “Magic Pan Bakery” (933-2915) as the core of my bakery model.  This structure kit is more modern than I would have preferred, but the core structure has the correct concrete block walls.  I used the modern flour silos which move product around with air pressure.  Consider this to be just one of several bent eras on my layout.  I chose not to use the kit office structure.  That kit section was just too modern for my intended model.  Instead, I fabricated a simple block wall structure for the face of the office section along the tracks.  My bakery consists of three main parts:  the flour silos and handling structure, the core bakery, and the office section.

 

The Walthers kit provides a quite adaptable set of modular walls for the bakery core.  One can assemble the walls in any configuration one might choose.  I chose to use the double freight door wall modules, but in retrospect, I should have chosen single door sections for the railroad freight doors.  I may revisit this core structure, but for now it fills the need.  I mitigated the door section oversight somewhat by extending slim freight docks out past the walls, spanning between the two doors of a wall section.  I cut a new base plate and roof from large styrene sheets, using the plot plan to establish cut lines for the back wall.  Similarly, I formed a new plain styrene back wall.  No detail is needed there!  I braced the walls with 0.125 x 0.125-inch styrene strip to maintain long straight walls.  I also installed three cross-braces as roof supports across the middle of the open span between the rail-side wall and the back wall.

 

 

Bakery wall sections assembly.  On the left is the next wall module.  Above the gap is the kit splice piece that fits into the miter joint along the ends of each wall module.

 

I used Pikestuff concrete block wall sections to form the walls of the office section.  The business “front” wall is only a small sliver.  I was able to use base plate and roof sections from the pieces cut off the styrene sheet for the core building.  That saved doing the angle geometry a second time.  This structure was built very similarly to the core building, albeit on a smaller scale.  

 

The flour silos and handling tower were built per the kit instructions.  The silos were formed as two halves with vertical seams joining them.  Much like joining model airplane fuselage halves as I did in my youth, I used tube styrene cement for the joints.  After this set, I applied putty as the joints were rough.  Fortunately, these silos have no weld lines or rivets, so sanding the putty to achieve smooth joints was relatively easy.  With the silo base painted a concrete gray and the silos white, I used canopy cement to mount the silos.  The doors and exterior stairs on the handling tower were painted a medium gray, so they too were added to the structure complex with canopy cement.  I found I needed to use gap-filling CA to add the piping, as I needed to have those joints solidify quickly.  

 

Nabisco bakery seen from the flour silo end.

 

I painted all major components white, as seen in photos that show pieces of the prototype bakery.  The roof sections were painted a dark gray.  They will receive weathering and additional roof top details when those pieces arrive on order.  Signs are planned, although the rail side of this complex normally would have minimal signage.  My operators will need signs, though.  For the moment, chalk this up as another major space filler in my developing RR-East Eugene industrial zone.

 

FIFTY FULL OPERATING SESSIONS!

I have now hosted fifty full operating sessions on my railroad!  In spite of Covid-19 precautions and limitations which significantly cut back on operating sessions over the past two years, I finally reached this milestone. 

 

Cutting the celebratory cake for my fiftieth full operating session.

 

Recounting how far I and my operating crew have come, the first test operations with more than myself took place on March 1, 2014.  Three of the four operators (other than myself) for that session were here for this fiftieth session.  That test operations ran from the Eugene Depot and classification yard through Springfield to Oakridge.  That was the extent of the mainline at that point.  

 

During that first test session, the Springfield Turn returned to Eugene with 28 cars.  That was way more than I expected for a local and was beyond the nominal design train length of a bit over 25 fifty-foot car plus power and caboose.  That immediately led splitting Springfield local services into two separate local turns.  A third Springfield area local was created for the Marcola Branch.  This pattern continues to today.  The fiftieth full session featured the “Springfield-B Turn” as the local serving that area.

 

The first operating session held on the full mainline was held June 6, 2015.  The Golden Spike marking completion of the mainline was driven on April 12, 2015.  The next two months 

were occupied by adding more tracks in the Eugene Arrival-Departure Yard and tidying up other details.  Once again, my original four test crew members were present as well as eight more.  Significantly added to the June 6 crew were three former Southern Pacific railroaders, from whom I learned a great deal.  Two of them came to me during that session noting I needed to “extend the WP Siding” into the Arrival-Departure Yard at Eugene.  That task finally was accomplished this past year as I dealt with the complex track-work (five double-slip switches!) and wiring.  

 

The fourth full operating session on my railroad was conducted on August 25, 2015 as part of the Operations Special Interest Group activities for the PDX2015 NMRA national convention in Portland.  Although my anxiety was high in advance of that session, the raw railroad performed well enough.  Helping that feeling was an experienced boomer crew of visitors from afar, half of whom were my former weekly lunch-mates from my working life near San Jose, CA.  I just made that deadline!

 

Since then, I have conducted nearly monthly operating sessions.  Our greater Portland area operating crew agreement has me taking the First Saturday slot.  That automatically eliminates July and September due to holidays.  This year I had to deal with the start of the new year, but I was able to slip a week to today’s session.  

 

The lock-downs of the past two years seriously delayed my reaching the fifty-session milestone, but we have figured out how to live with restrictions and health advice while still gathering to operate.  Viable vaccines proved a critical component, with all present being vaccine-effective.  A key adaptation has been reducing the crew size to as small as we can while still performing the normal required tasks.  The fiftieth session drew a crew of only ten, with several others dropping out in the preceding week with cold symptoms or other activities sprouting up with priority.  We had just enough crew to get the job done.  Thanks to the current health crisis, I have now tested the lower bounds of design crew size and found those design criteria were valid.

 

I look forward to many more operating sessions!

RR-EAST EUGENE DEVELOPMENT – 5 – Skillern Oil

My development of the new industrial district at RR-East Eugene continued with Skillern Oil.  Skillern Oil was a family-owned fuel oil dealer in Eugene for many years.  It was suggested to me by one of my long-term regular operators who lives in Eugene.  Skillern supplied their home heating fuel oil.  Good enough for me—an historic connection.  

 

I have taken considerable liberties in my development of Skillern Oil as a bulk fuel and oil dealer.  A number of these were along the tracks between the depot and downtown area and the main yard complex for the SP.  During the late 1960s and early 1970s I recalled seeing these bulk plants on my way into downtown Eugene.  They are long gone, as oil product distribution has taken a different form using pipelines and trucks these days.  Those petroleum product dealers were still a function into the 1970s.  I chose to have my Skillern Oil stand in for the several bulk plant dealers.

 

My Skillern Oil draws from two principal sources.  The warehouse and office flat were built from Walthers “Clayton County Lumber” kit (933-2911).  Other than turning the office into a building flat to be mounted against my basement wall, these were easily built.  The oil tanks and future details were from a pair of Grandt Line kits (#5907) for “Midwest Petroleum Distributors.”  Unfortunately, these Grandt kits are long gone, with reports the mold for the tanks suffered significant damage long before the Grandts retired and sold their business.  Still, I stockpiled these kits long ago, knowing they were very typical of oil bulk plant tanks nationwide.  It was now time to use them!

 

Skillern Oil under development with the major pieces in place.

 

The Grandt Line tank kit comes with three tanks that can be built as either vertical or horizontal tanks.  I chose to model a cluster of four vertical tanks and one horizontal tank.  A quick study of bulk oil plants showed this as a fairly typical arrangement.  I did not have space for a second horizontal tank, so I now have one spare.  I built the Grandt Line tanks per the directions.  The kit tank platform and ladders are designed for a pair of horizontal tanks, so I needed to scratch-build my inspection platforms.  This was done simply with Evergreen styrene, my go-to structure material.  

 

Inspection platform access ladders and tank clusters.  The ladders either face the wall or the modest space between the horizontal tank and the warehouse, but I know they are there.

 

I need to complete several details, all provided in the Grandt Line kit: a pumphouse, a tank car unloading rack, and the fuel delivery rack for loading tank trucks.  I still am trying to run down what major oil company Skillern was associated with, but it is not unusual for the tanks to have no signage.  I know they were not affiliated with Chevron (Standard Oil of California) or Shell, so no city roof sign on the warehouse.  For now, I chalk up another industry rendered into three dimensions for this developing area of my railroad.

 

Skillern Oil in the RR-East Eugene industrial district.

 

 

 

RR-EAST EUGENE DEVELOPMENT – 4 – EUGENE FREEZE

With track laid, wired and controlled, the next task in this area between the Eugene depot and the Arrival-Departure Yard was to begin populating the new industry spurs with industry structures.  First up was the nominally easiest structure—Eugene Freeze.  I chose to bash a pair of Walthers Cornerstone kits for their “R.J. Frost Ice and Storage” (933-3020).  I try to avoid using the very recognizable Walthers kits without modification.  In this case, all I did was extend the length of the building, leaving it very recognizable yet.  Still, I like the looks of this structure.  It fits most areas of the country, a common problem I otherwise have on the West Coast. 

 

Eugene Freeze ready for business.

 

The straight-forward modification for this kit structure extends it by doubling the middle pair of panels.  This was accomplished by making cuts on either side of the joining pillar.  Note to self—double-check which side of the pillar to make those cuts!  Dimensional control for the joints was achieved by measuring between the holes for the awning supports.

 

Building wall splices.  The caliper was set to the distance between holes for the awning supports in the middle of the pillars.

 

Once the long walls were joined, the rest of the construction proceeded per the kit instructions.  I needed to remember to prepare enough parts like the loading doors for the extended structure.  I also spliced parts for other parts affected by the longer side walls such as the roof, loading docks, and awnings.  The site for this structure on my railroad is not as deep as required for the full Walthers kit as designed with full awnings on both sides.  I chose to scratch build a narrower awning for the back side.  I may yet need to trim this awning and the rear loading dock.  

 

Rear loading dock and scratch-built narrow awning.

 

Structure finishing used various paint “rattle cans.”  The Rustoleum “Chalked” line is particularly useful as are various primers as they dry to a nice flat finish.  I followed up with AIM weathering powders.  Final assembly proved a challenge of maneuvering the structure and holding it as glue set.  A lot of the final assembly was done with canopy glue.  I remain undecided on the structure sign, so that will come later.

 

Cooling tower end of Eugene Freeze.

 

The first of the industries for the six new spurs has been placed and is ready for business!

RR-EAST EUGENE DEVELOPMENT – 3

The battle to add a half dozen industrial spurs and a siding at RR-East Eugene has finally reached a functional stage.  The track has been installed and now wired. https://espeecascades.blogspot.com/2021/08/rr-east-eugene-development-1.html

https://espeecascades.blogspot.com/2021/09/rr-east-eugene-development-2.html

Switch machines have been installed and now the control panels have been wired and deemed functional.  This last electrical push has been yet another “electrical war.”

 

RR-East Industrial Siding and spurs completed and in service.  Note the headlight is on for the switcher!

 

“Simply” adding track, switch wiring, switch machines, and controls has been yet another frustrating “adventure.”  I have been painfully and frustratingly reminded that my original goal to have all of the primary construction completed on my railroad by the time I reached age 70 was a valid goal, mostly met, but now verified whenever a “modest” addition to the railroad is made.  Now a couple of years beyond that landmark age, I find it more difficult to crawl under the layout—and get back up—while vision has become more of an issue.  

 

On the vision point, I had cataract surgery a couple of years ago.  This imposed the full brunt of presbyopia upon me.  Previously, my extreme near-sightedness actually worked in my favor, as I could remove my glasses and find all within my arm’s reach in focus.  Post cataract surgery, I now must use some vision enhancement, usually readers.  An issue for under layout work is selecting the correct reader correction for the task at hand.  I am now VERY conscious of focal distance!  I note the issues of body flexibility and vision as a warning to others as they embark upon layout construction.  Tailor your plans to your abilities.  I am doing ok, but frustrations show up now.

 

Once the track was laid for the new industrial zone, I needed to wire it.  I dutifully dropped feeders and attached them to the track power bus for this section of track.  Only after I had dropped all the feeders—but fortunately before I soldered them to the bus wires—did I finally attach my short circuit detector to the track or bus wires.  Argh!  I had a short circuit!  Best practice is to have that short circuit detector (it has a buzzer) clipped to the isolated bus wires as one starts connecting feeders.  That way one immediately identifies a short and can sort it out for correction immediately.  Instead, I was faced with after the fact trouble-shooting.

 

I was able to split the siding into two halves.  This greatly aided isolating the short.  I also pulled all of the feeders off the bus wire connections and started over.  I found the first of two shorts when I started hooking up one of the spurs.  Visual inspection did not locate the fault.  I then cut the pc-board ties used in this section in half, figuring I might not have gotten the proper gap cut into those ties.  That still did not remove the short.  I finally isolated the problem to a pair of feeders.  Closer inspection revealed I had used the reverse color code (red is supposed to be the rail to the rear in this area).  Instead of my usual practice of the past that connected feeders to the rails just beyond the frog of a turnout, I had moved further out on those now extended rails—to spacing that was very close to normal track spacing between a pair of feeders.  That is why I did not spot this fault when inspecting underneath the layout—it looked like all the rest of the normal track feeders.

 

The offending track feeders.  The feeder at the tip of the knife blade should have been a white wire.  The opposite feeder at the tip of the red sanding stick should have been a red wire.  I had reversed those wire colors.

 

I continued to reconnect feeders to the track bus wires.  In the second half of the siding, I found yet another short at a switch.  This time the solution was identified fairly quickly.  I had not gapped one of the pc-board ties around the frog assembly as completely as necessary.  This was evident from a close inspection from above and quickly remedied with a cutoff disk in my motor tool.  

 

Next up was installing switch machines.  I wire my Tortoise ™ switch machines with a tail leading to a terminal block.  I do this work at the workbench and then move to the layout.  In spite of needing to crawl under the layout and then check from above, I have found a system for installation that works for me.  It involves temporary installation of the machine using mounting screws loosely positioned and a double-sided tape pad on the machine.  Top side inspection reveals whether I must make any adjustments to the mounting or the throw rod.  Once satisfied, I tighten the mounting screws and move on. 

 

One of the switch machines required an offset mount.  Circuitron’s fulcrum plate for the Tortoise ™ has a center hole and offset holes.  My previous attempt to use the offset holes was not successful, so I developed an alternative mounting of that machine.  This time, I did not relish the thought of needing to rout out a longer slot for the throw rod—all from underneath in a tight location.  I decided I would give the alternate fulcrum hole another chance.  This time I was successful.  One change I made was to bend the throw rod back to a vertical orientation above the fulcrum plate.

 

Offset throw rod mounting for the left switch machine.  The right machine has the more conventional center fulcrum hole mounting.

 

Motivation for the offset switch machine mounting.  The left machine is part of the yard throat for the Eugene Arrival-Departure Yard—critical trackage.  This machine was NOT to be moved!  The machine on the right is the new machine, using an offset throw rod.

 

With the track wiring done and the mechanical work installed, I turned to the controls.  Yet again, I encountered a roadblock.  I installed toggle switches for track switch control.  I had to split them between two panels, as each panel corresponds to controls in a specific geographic area on the layout.  One panel’s switches proved straight-forward.  The other panel showed a short (not again!).  After trying several trouble-shooting approaches and consuming a couple of weeks thinking about this, I finally admitted defeat.  I removed the new toggle switches and their wiring and started over.  This time, I started wiring from the toggle closest to the connection to the twelve-volt supply for switch machines.  This approach worked.  No more shorts, but one machine would not throw.  After attempting to locate the fault, I finally just dropped the switch machine and replaced it.

 

Control panel wiring underway.

 

As seen in the first photo of this tale, the electrical gremlins have been beaten back.  I feel a bit battered and bruised and certainly frustrated, but it is finished!

RR-EAST EUGENE DEVELOPMENT – 2

I continue to work on the new industrial area at RR-East Eugene—just beyond the Eugene Depot area.  In my previous post, (https://espeecascades.blogspot.com/2021/08/rr-east-eugene-development-1.html) I described the primary track layout, fabrication and installation of switches and the track that completes the industrial siding.  The current effort might be described as, “Adventures in Track Laying.”

 

While the track and switches for the industrial siding were laid, more track work was needed to complete the track in this area.  Three tasks remained: filling in the blank spots in the tie blocks with pc-board ties, firmly fixing curves and transitions with spikes, and completing the industrial spurs.  

 

Track completed for the RR-East Eugene industrial area.

 

As noted in the previous post, I chose to extend the stock rails of the turnouts I fabricated, allowing me to complete all of the track needed for the industrial siding.  This replaced any need to fit flex track pieces between turnouts.  The rails for the turnouts needed to be trimmed to fit the space.  I used Fast Tracks QuickSticks ties to extend the track beyond the switch tie blocks.  These ties feature blocks of five ties separated by gaps intended for pc-board ties.  I needed to install those pc-board ties.

 

Before I installed the turnouts and their extended tie blocks, I removed the webbing between those blocks of five ties.  Unfortunately, I missed doing this for one of the turnouts—one with quite extended tie blocks.  That left me with needing to remove those webs after the turnouts and ties were glued (adhesive caulk) to the roadbed.  Ugh!  Fortunately, I remembered a Dremel cutter that could assist me.  Dremel High Speed Cutter 199 has a cutting teeth rim on a disk that is just under 3/8-inch in diameter and 1/8-inch thick.  These dimensions proved perfect for this job.  The cutter fit neatly between ties on either side of the gap and the thickness was just right for getting underneath the rail and above the roadbed.  Running my Dremel tool at modest speed, the cutter made quick work of the undercuts I needed.  Whew!

 

Dremel tool with #199 cutter used for removing the gap webbing between tie blocks after the turnout and ties were mounted to the roadbed.

 

Also done before I started mounting the pc-board ties was spiking of rails through the one curve and a transition section that connected to the double slip switch on the second mainline track coming out of the depot area.  The roadbed for my town and yard areas is composed of ¼-inch cork sheet glued to ¾-inch plywood.  I have found I need to pre-drill mounting holes for the Micro Engineering small spikes I use, as they need to penetrate the first resin-bond between layers of the plywood.  Once again, my Dremel tool with a #76 drill in its collet was used with the tool set to low speed.

 

As to spiking, in the past I have used needle nose pliers to hold the spike.  That often became a bit frustrating as spikes slipped and flew off to oblivion or bent in place.  This past year, I finally broke down and purchased spiking pliers from MicroMark.  The MicroMark Spike Insertion Pliers # 82839 feature T-grooves milled into the ends of the plier jaws that neatly fit and grasp a spike.  What a great tool!  I am able to place the spike in the plier jaw and firmly hold and guide it into position and then drive it into the roadbed, finishing by driving the head with the end of the plier jaws, just as would be done with needle-nose pliers.  The difference is that the spike cannot move around during the initial placement and drive into the roadbed.  This was a huge improvement for me!

 

With the rails held in place in the couple of critical spots and gaps opened up between tie blocks, I could proceed to mounting the pc-board ties.  Those ties are thinner than the tie blocks, so they needed to be held up against the rail bottom as I soldered them to the rail.  I also needed to ensure they had a dab or more of caulk adhesive on the underside to help bridge the gap to the roadbed and help hold everything in place. 

 

I have a handy pair of tools for holding pc-board ties up in this situation.  I had a cheap needle-nose tweezer set that de-bonded, forming two steel pieces with pints.  These two tweezer halves have proven to be very useful tools.  

 

Printed Circuit Board tie held in place for soldering.  Note the track gauges on either side of the tie being worked on.

 

As I cleaned up the solder joints between tie and rail to ensure the flange-ways were clear of solder, I used a track gauge.  Early on in this process, I noted the track was becoming tight gauge in a couple of spots.  That was quickly dealt with by holding the rail on either side of the pc-board tie with a track gauge and then applying soldering iron heat to one of the tie joints.  I quickly realized I needed to employ the track gauges in this fashion for all of the tie mounting.  

 

The final track laying task for this area was to extend the industrial spurs using flex track.  This was the easiest of the track tasks.  I used my standard technique of cutting and fitting the flex track and then mounting it to the roadbed using adhesive caulk.  With that, the track laying was done in this area.  Track wiring, switch machines and controls remain before this area becomes operational.

RR-EAST EUGENE DEVELOPMENT – 1

With the long-delayed mainline track revision in the throat area of RR-East Eugene completed, I turned to the open space against the wall hemmed in by the new mainline tracks between the Eugene depot area and the fanning-out of the departure end of the Arrival-Departure Yard.  I always planned to develop more Eugene industry in this area, but awaited the completion of the mainline track.

 

A new industrial siding parallels the mainline track through this area.  This track is accessed at the depot end via one of the double-slip switches installed as part of the mainline track effort.  The other end of the industrial siding connects to the “Halsey Branch” which runs along the wall beside the departure end of the Arrival-Departure Yard.  The RR-East turnout along this siding was installed with the access switch that helps form part of the Halsey Branch.  The remaining track and turnouts were left to be determined once I had a clear idea of the space.  

 

I left this part of the planning undetermined in my original track plan.  “There be industries.”  I have learned over time to leave some spaces of a layout undesignated to allow them to artistically “speak” to the designer (me).  I needed a sense of the three-dimensional space, aided by a couple of building mock-ups.  I settled on adding six industrial spurs off the siding.  

 

New industrial siding with six turnouts for spurs alongside the pair of main tracks joining the Eugene Arrival-Departure Yard to the Eugene Depot area (behind and to the right).

 

With space for more industry, the task of picking those industries proved both interesting and challenging.  I wanted to stay true to Eugene, but the second largest city in Oregon provides a lot of industry variety for selection.  

 

A couple of industries were identified throughout the long design and construction phases for this layout—a couple of decades now.  Nabisco had a bakery warehouse closer to the depot, but I could not fit it in there.  Still, I wanted Nabisco on this layout.  The photo above shows a Walthers “Magic Pan Bakeries” kit box (933-2915) just poking into the right side of the photo.  That is where something using those kit pieces will eventually emerge.  In the middle of the photo and industrial siding are sides from the Walthers “R.J. Frost Ice and Storage” kit (933-3020) that will become Eugene Freeze.  I have always liked this kit structure.  It fits well in many areas of the country, including here in Oregon.  Ordinarily, I resist using stock Walthers structures.  They appear on many, many layouts.  I hope I can modify these enough to at least show they are not stock, out of the box.

 

Another industry that commended itself to me is the partially-assembled Campbell plastics manufacturer—the olive-green structure in the photo.  I started building this kit many years ago.  Campbell designed this structure as a lift-slab (sides) building with a bow roof.  This is very common mid-century industrial architecture on the West Coast, so it fits well here. Little did I realize when I started this kit and picked a color scheme that the green would fit well in Eugene.  The University of Oregon (boo-hiss—I am an OSU Beaver!) colors are green and gold, so a lot of structures around Eugene pick up on that.  Maybe this is a plant making little rubber duckies!  <wink>

 

With three of the six sidings determined by both Eugene industry research and existing structure kits, the other three need something different.  From days gone by, I recalled a “petroleum row” north of the Eugene downtown.  Those bulk oil dealers are no longer there, replacing railroad service with pipelines and trucks.  Still, bulk oil dealers were a staple of railroading for much of the Twentieth Century.  With the bulk oil dealers no longer showing on SP (SPINS) track charts of 1977, I needed to look elsewhere.  I conferred with one of my regular crew members living in Eugene, a retired SP engineer.  He and his wife confirmed my memories and suggested a couple of dealer names and oil brands.  I subsequently found a Eugene City Planning Department historic document that added to my understanding of this now-absent industry.  One of the spurs will serve two or three dealers, just as they did back when they were rail served.

 

Another industry was identified when I consulted my model railroad “brain trust.”  I posed a question to several fellow modelers, particularly the few with strongly prototype-based layouts.  One came back to me with an excellent suggestion—survey my freight car fleet to identify if any car type had under-represented industry on my railroad.  That quickly led to my identification of mill gondolas as that under-used car type.  At least one steel fabricator was identified and another is either a fabricator or scrap yard feeding steel scrap to a steel mill near Portland.  I will place a steel fabricator on the spur at the RR-East end of the industrial siding, tightly alongside the wall.  

 

The final industry spot floated around in my head for a while.  I had a number of possibilities, including another bulk oil dealer spur or perhaps one of the many wood products mills in town.  I decided I did not need to add still more oil dealers, letting the single spur with two or three dealers suffice.  I disposed of the wood products mills as they consume a lot of space and I already have three large mills represented on my railroad.  Looking at the SPINS track charts again, I spotted the Bi-Mart warehouse.  Bi-Mart is an Oregon-based retailer much like Costco, but definitely local to Oregon. Home base is Eugene.  We frequently shop at Bi-Mart.  We have a funny story concerning our daughter’s “discovery” of Bi-Mart during her Freshman year at OSU.  Parents can’t tell a teen anything!  Bi-Mart has earned its way onto this railroad!

 

While I was settling the industries, I still needed to fabricate the turnouts and build the industrial spur.  I use FastTracks tooling for my turnouts.  This time, instead of confining the rails to that needed to fill out a FastTracks switch tie block, I chose to extend the rails on both ends.  I have noted with more recent turnout installations that I get better results with a bit more rail extending from the turnout, particularly on the point end.  This time, I chose to extend the rails enough that I could join them together and not need any additional track to complete the industrial siding.

 

I had some FastTracks flex ties from a prior project, but I needed more ties for this project.  Instead of the flex ties, I selected both fixed (straight) and flexible “Quick Sticks” tie blocks.  These have groups of five ties separated by spaces to insert and use a pc-board tie to maintain rail gauge.  This took some assembly planning on my part.  I needed to glue the rails to the ties, just like the switch blocks, but then cut out the connecting web to allow insertion of the pc-board ties.  I also needed to account for the gentle curve needed between a pair of the turnouts—an area using the flexible “Quick Sticks.”  

 

Underside of track sections extended from the switch tie block using “Quick Sticks” ties.  The upper track has had the gap webbing removed and the underside of the rail cleared of paint to allow insertion and soldering of a pc-board tie.  The lower track still has the webs in place.

 

I formed the curved track section in place, gluing it and fixing it with a hot soldering iron (heats and vulcanizes the Pliobond adhesive).  I used both three-point track gauges and “RibbonRail” curve fixtures to assist this process.  Once that set, I removed the turnout and track and removed the blank space webbing.

 

Once all the turnouts and extended tracks were mounted on their ties, I needed to mount them on the cork roadbed.  This was done with adhesive caulk, as with the rest of my railroad.  I marked all the gaps for pc-board ties and made sure the caulk was not present in those areas as I spread it elsewhere to fix the ties to the roadbed.  I chose to mount turnouts one, three, and five first, and then follow up with the other two, fitting them to the already installed turnouts.  

 

Initial dabs of caulk adhesive laid before spreading in place and then mounting the turnout and extended tracks.

 

The track is now installed for this industrial siding, although I do need to install the pc-board ties.  I move next to installing switch machines, controls, and track wiring.  I also need to install the rest of the spurs, for which I will use regular flex track.  I also can begin fabricating the industrial structures for this busy section of railroad.