The Rock 1.0 - Removal of Fascia

This evening, I worked with my little helper Sarah (i.e. Wreck-it Ralph), on destruction of version 1.0.  I removed one piece of fascia.  It pulled off pretty easy with no tools.  I had used 1" finishing nails to install originally.  I then commenced in removing all the fascia for the entire layout.  It went really fast.  Sarah worked on gathering up trees, bushes, signs, fencing, etc.  She has been a big help.  I failed to mentioned yesterday, I was training Sarah on how to use the drill.  She may be young, but she can learn.  She was using the mentality of all or nothing with the trigger.  I taught her to use control and ease the screws out of the fascia.  She has done really well with it.

I also removed some track from West Ottawa this evening.

Here are some photos of the carnage...

The preserved fascia boards after removal.

The graffiti has once again been exposed.

The ROCK 1.0 - Destruction Continues...

Destruction continues on v.1.0.  Today, my daughter and I worked on removing items from the layout. We removed all the trees, gathered most buildings in one section, removed all items screwed to the layout (throttle holders, throttle jacks, car card boxes, etc), and removed all street signs from the layout. It was pretty productive for how little time we spent working on it.

Joliet is looking abandoned.

Rock Island

Franklin Farms

Gathering vehicles at the former site of Heartland Coop Grain.

The top level is a staging area for buildings.

The Rock 1.0 - Liquidation Mode

The ROCK Management is in full liquidation mode now.  There's no turning back.  :-)  I was happy to see many of the DPM city structures go to the neighboring Charleston, Roanoke & Eastern (CR&E) layout. Those structures were acquired from my friend Larry's Peconic layout.  It's nice to see them kept in the family so to speak.

I've been working at gathering equipment and such to store temporarily while I dismantle the layout.  Major destruction will begin in July.

NEWSFLASH: Changes at the ROCK

- NewsFlash –
May 31^st, 2013

On Friday, May 31^st, the Rock Island Railroad: Illinois Division officially shut down.

The notion to build the Rock Island Railroad: Illinois Division was conceived in April 2010.  By May 28^th, 2010 construction had begun.  In six short months, the layout was operational.  For the next two and a half years, the railroad operated eleven times, by eight different operators moving a total of 166 freight and passenger trains.

In late January this year, the CEO of the Rock Island Railroad began exploring ideas of building a new model railroad.  As research was gathered, it became evident that change was eminent. 

The Board of Directors met behind closed doors debating for some time the viability of a new layout, quickly nicknamed 2.0.  It was not an easy decision to make as it met great opposition.  In the end, it was decided it was best to focus on modeling the Rock Island prototypically verses having a larger layout that exhibited no real identification of the ROCK. 

- Newsflash –

June 1^st, 2013

Effective, June 1^st, the Rock Island: Ottawa Sands (2.0) has been created.  Steven Johnson, CEO of the Rock Island: Illinois Division has been nominated as CEO of the Rock Island: Ottawa Sands.  Steven will oversee the transition to the new layout.  The railroad expects to be offline for approximately one year during this transition period. 

There will be a liquidation of quite a few assets from the Rock Island: Illinois Division as they will not be required on the new layout. 

The CEO reports the following surplus equipment will be for sale.  Please contact the CEO if you would like more information:

·         Various DPM city/town structures

·         Other various industrial building kits (mostly assembled)

·         Union Pacific & Southern Pacific Wheels of Time passenger cars

·         Various Rock Island locomotives

·         Various vehicles and tractor trailers

·         (61) Various freight cars mostly from the late 70s era

·         Tunnel Portals

·         Kato Bridges

·         (22) Micro-Mark Car Card Boxes

Destruction of the Rock Island: Illinois Division will commence in early July.  The CEO projects that benchwork on the Rock Island: Ottawa Sands layout will begin sometime in August.

- News Update -

June 3rd, 2013

The blog is in the process of being updated to represent the new Rock Island: Ottawa Sands entity.  Some pages have already been updated as well as the overall appearance of the blog.

The ROCK: March 31st,1980 or May 31st, 2013?

Something is brewing over at the ROCK.

The ROCK's 3 Year Anniversary!

The ROCK's 3 year anniversary is today!  Three years ago this weekend, the initial benchwork was started.  Friends Marcus Neubacher and Larry Keller came over on Monday.  By the end of the weekend, we had the basic benchwork up for about 80% of the layout!

It's amazing what was accomplished in such a short amount of time.

The Rock Island v2.0 - The Rule Book

I've processed through four virtual operating sessions now.  I've come to the conclusion we need some rules for crews to adhere to while operating.  Here is what I have come up with so far.

ROCK 2.0 Rules

Rule #1 – All trains entering or crossing the mainline must obtain permission from the Rock Island dispatcher. 

Rule #2 - If your train requires to work on the mainline, you must contact the dispatcher to receive a work order via the rules of Time Table and Train Order.

Rule #2b – Upon receiving the work order, the crew must place flags and appropriate fusees in either direction to protect the train and crew.

Rule #3 – At no time may a locomotive enter or pass-through a building.  Crews must use spacer cars when such a situation arises.

Rule #4 – At no time may a car loaded with explosives be spotted or pass-through any structure. 

Rule #5 – A caboose will be required on all trains on all freight and local trains.  

I've been thinking too.  To add interest to the crew operating the #118 LaSalle Turn, passenger operations would be in affect.  I have found that when operating this train, you often have to leave a portion of your train out on the mainline.  This would limit the location and time you could store your train on the mainline.