Stage 1 (You're Not Going to Believe This) Part 2.....

Raymond received another parcel from overseas on the 23 December. This one came from EDM Models in York. It was a five-pack of wooden drop-bottom ore hoppers made by a new manufacturer in the US – Prairie Locomotive Works. A dozen or more of these vehicles on the layout will look exceptional. They are highly detailed and run well.
A PLW wooden bodied ore hopper. A nice model that runs well.

The five ore hoppers behind a Bachmann Forney.

Christmas Day came and went with lots of family activities. On Boxing Day, Raymond and I installed the remaining seven double-slotted steel tubing and brackets along the left hand wall.
The two double-slotted steel channel sitting close together just for those doubting Thomas's (alias Cassino). This is where two lengths of L-Girder meet.

All 14 double-slotted steel channels now installed giving a length of 23 feet along the left-hand wall.

A 7 ft square section will be added to the left hand end of these channels making it 30 feet along the left hand wall. This 7 ft square section will contain the helix to connect to the future lower level while on the top there will be a fork line and pssibly some other sidings.

On Monday 27 December we cut two lengths of the 4 X 1 pine and another two lengths of 2 X 1 from the 5.4 metre lengths into 2 X 2.9 metre lengths of each and then repeated the process with another two lengths of 4 X 1 and two of 2 X 1 into 4.16 metre lengths. We then used these pieces to make some L-girders for the top deck.


The L-Girders for the top deck in place

Another view of the L-Girders for the top deck from the right hand wall.

Tuesday, 28 December we cut up some more of the 4 X 1 to give us 10 X 750 mm lengths. We need another two to finish the requirements for the top deck.
Ten of the 750 mm long 4" X 1" cut and in place but still to be screwed in. There are another two of these required to be cut to finish this 7 metre long section.

We have a serious problem with black ants in the shed. These ants are slightly larger than the tiny hi-speed ants we have seen previously. They seem to be everywhere with a couple of serious hotspots with hundreds of the little ba@#%&*sds. They are crawling along the ceiling on the left-hand side of the shed in a massive convoy and then down to the floor behind the kitchen cupboard. We've found them on our work benches. They can get into the electronics and the formic acid they exude can destroy circuit boards. We had noticed a few ants around near the ceiling on previous days but Tuesday was very bad with the convoy up the wall to the ceiling then along before disappearing in a slight hole in the cornice. We also noticed many more ants "scouting" the shed. They were obviously very active because of the extreme wet weather we have been having.We will need to get our friendly pest exterminator to zap them.