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6
Up the Creek Column - 4
6: This view of main staging may give a better idea of
its size. There are nine tracks here and there will be
10 more on the other side of the peninsula's spine.
Tony Koester says you should determine the number
of staging tracks needed by estimating how many you
need, then doubling that number and adding one. We
hope the BC&SJ will have enough. 7: This photo is one of the rarest of the rare. The busi-
est man in Woodburn, Oregon, MRH publisher Joe
Fugate (black shirt) is holding the throttle of the Bear
Creek Hauler East, one of the first trains out on the
layout. Joe loves to operate, but the magazine produc-
tion schedule all too often keeps him glued to his com-
puter. Joe and I live about 50 minutes from each other.
The BC&SJ is a south-facing layout. That is, whenever
you're standing in front of it you're facing south. Which
means east and west are reversed from standard map
directions – east is left, not right, and west is right, not
left. The station plates on the fascia all have East and
West nomenclature to help crews keep track of which
way is which.
7
trains ran without issue. There were a couple of hold-out
locos, though, which needed their wheels cleaned before
they behaved themselves, but that's been the case forever.
We had a pretty good time running the trains and nearly all the
brownies were eaten – an important consideration so I wouldn't
be finishing that job myself after the session ended.
What's next?
Finishing the main (lower deck) staging areas is high priority. It's
not that the extra capacity is needed yet – there's plenty of space
already (5 and 6). But I want to get those tracks and turnouts
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MRH-Mar 2013