Holy necroposting, but I'm back! Since I've last posted there's been many changes. I'm back to working with 1:1 scale now out of Green River, WY, recently got my promotion back to conductor (out here a lot of junior guys start off as brakemen and switchmen which I was for two years until about a month ago), I've picked up a new project truck (a 1971 International Harvester 1210, which is a 3/4 ton 4x4 with the 345 and four speed manual... everything I've wanted in a project truck) and construction has started on the north end of the WRRY. While I do have a garage, it's only a single car where my beautiful 1973 Dodge Adventurer lives so the IH is on standby until either I can borrow some garage space to continue progess on it or warmer weather comes my way. So I've moved my focus to the basement where the WRRY has made its home.
Current progress has been building benchwork for the two northernmost towns of Tubbs and Rock Ridge, giving me something to create trains and move them with a purpose. As a refresher Tubbs connects to the Green Bay & Western at a fictional area near real-life Black Creek, WI and will have a small yard, wye to turn power, depot, coal and sand facilities for power and a three stall engine house as well as a handful of industries. Rock Ridge will be home to a box/barrel factory and a quarry which supplies the railroad's ballast.
On the rolling stock front I've been relatively behaved at not buying too many extra cars, largely thanks to the lack of train shows in the area and self discipline of staying away from evilBay. There is only three train shows a year near me, only one being within an hours' drive in Evanston at their neatly restored roundhouse. The others are in Salt Lake City or Ogden, which to make I usually have to lay off of work to attend. Nonetheless I did get a few more passenger cars to actually complete the roster, two new-to-me steamers (a MDC low driver 2-6-0 #49 and a Mantua 2-6-2 which I've yet to number but will receive the Mellor Consolidation conversion kit I found at a show), a handful of those AHM/Roco wooden double door boxcars that WRRY management seems to love as well as a few parts to eventually build into the railroad's odd bay window bobber that I've posted about many moons ago.
With the new house also came a Harry Potter-esqe closet in the basement, tucked neatly under the stairs, providing a home for the dispatcher's office. I'm still working on all of the 1930's period correct items but it already has the feel of a broken in office area.