February 6, 2011

Cam had an unexpected day off from visiting family and came over to do some minor bits of work with me on the layout. Chief among the things done was getting the helix base up off the floor and onto four 2×4 legs. I found some 4″ levelling feet and brackets typically used for Free-mo modules, but surplus to my needs and those went onto the legs for fine adjustment of the helix once we get more stuff built for it.

We also removed the masonite crossbracing from within the bulb at the end of the peninsula and replaced it with the start of a decent dispatcher’s desk. Several large scraps of 1/2″ Baltic Birch completely without use in the garage made their way into the basement to become the new crossbracing and start of a decent dispatcher’s desk. Height on the desk might be considered a little high, but works for either standing or sitting on a tall barstool. So far, all that’s installed today was the main sheet at the back of the desk, and a couple 2×4’s across the width of the area to support the desktop once I get it cut to proper shape.

The plan is for the most part still fixed, but we’re making more changes to the lower deck. Further thoughts by Cam, and agreed by yours truely was the deletion of the newly-added Tsable River bridge and replacement with the Trent River bridge towards the north end of the basement. Buckley Bay gets moved a bit towards the octogon and Union Bay gets the nod for an additional flagstop for the Dayliner.