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Louisiana Central Railroad Company |
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February 28, 2012
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I've done a revamp of the entire site in an effort to make it
look more readable on more platforms, primarily adjusting the
fonts. Many Windows users won't notice anything, but I'm
hoping the Mac and Linux folks will see an improvement. As a side note, progress is being made on the pre-benchwork tasks. The surface prep of the valence and view blocks is well underway and ongoing, and a new desk for the layout's computer system has been constructed. I will get it painted and the top covered in plastic laminate over the next week or so. The computer system is already in the room and I wanted to get the desk built so the computer equipment would be on wheels, and therefore easily moveable, for the benchwork construction. It will have a home in a specific spot under the benchwork. I also wanted my table back for use as a flat surface for holding tools and material during the benchwork construction. |
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February 5, 2012
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I've added a few new links to the Links
page. If you haven't yet been to the Model Railroad Hobbyist
Magazine website, go check it out. This free magazine (yes,
I said FREE) is in its 3rd year, and is now a monthly
publication. You can read it online, or download it as a PDF
file. Did I mention that it's free? Construction of the valence and the view blocks has been finished and they await only surface prep and painting for completion. I'll post photos of the completed train room at that time. This project turned out to be a booger...much more tedious and labor intensive that I would ever have imagined. Thankfully, it's winding down. Naturally, I'll post an announcement whenever I add new pictures of the layout construction. However, I'll be using the blog to keep a running commentary about the construction, or any other topic that comes to mind. If you haven't been over to the blog yet, go check it out. You can also "subscribe" to it while there so that you'll receive notification of any new post that is added. |
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August 22, 2011
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The Operations System Map has been
improved, with the route of the railroad line now appearing on the
map....a nice improvement to visualizing the route. |
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April 14, 2011
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I've split up the What's New page. As I looked
over the announcements made over the past four years, I realized
that most were likely of little or no importance to most
folks. They were basically just chronicling the train building construction, or new
features on the website. But now we're at the threshold of
actual layout construction, and this just seemed like a good time
to clean this page up. The announcements that were made
prior to the start of layout construction can still be found in
the "What's New" Archive. |
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April 13, 2011
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I've added a new BLOG
to the site. Actually, this is sort of an experiment.
My intent is to announce new additions to the website via
this What's New
page, but I'd also like a better vehicle to host my ramblings
about various things. I've never done this blogging thing
before (I've never even read another blog, per se...the closest
I've come is reading Joe Fugate's forum on his Siskiyou Line
website). We'll give it a shot; feel free to jump in there
and set me straight as to the errors of my ways :-) |
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April 7, 2011
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The System Map has been updated to
reflect changes made in the railroad's plan over this past year or
so. All of the L-girders have been fabricated. It's time for another trip to the lumber yard to purchase the material for all the bracing and joists. |
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March 30, 2011
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Work continues on the valence, but I've run into a bit of a snag
on bracing and trimming out the corner joints (at least those that
are other than 90 degrees). I'm trying to work out a satisfactory
solution to this. Much of the lumber for the benchwork has
been purchased and is acclimating to the conditions in the train
room. About half of the L-girders have been fabricated with
the rest to be completed within a week or so as time permits.
I'm chomping at the bits to start erecting the benchwork,
but will hold off until the valence and view blocks are finished,
and I'd like to paint a few clouds on the backdrop while they are
easily accessible. I've made a couple updates to the Track Plan, with the focus being on accessibility. I also managed to squeeze an additional yard track into the Willis yard. And I've added a bit of abandoned trackage to the Spencer operation, mainly as a scenic item. While not directly related to layout construction, I've moved my tools, supplies and junk into the new workshop and have it somewhat set up now to begin some modeling projects. I've several hundred car kits to be constructed, a dozen or so locomotives to be "decodered" and painted, and the usual myriad of things to be built or modified for use on the new layout. |
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February 10, 2011
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The valence panels have been added and primed, and their
trimwork is being installed. The attic is insulated, the
carpet is in, and the backdrop has the base coat of Sky Blue
painted on. Go to the Construction
Photos page to check the progress. Benchwork is finally around the corner. |
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September 16, 2010
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The Track Plan received a couple
updates. As usual, constant tweaking is in progress.
I'm continuing with my efforts to get the various industries
firmed up. The sawmill complex is the latest to get updated.
A work train storage track was also tucked into Monterey
just north of the mainline (adjacent to the T&P hidden
trackage). Actually, this track is optional depending on how
much room is available when the other trackage gets installed.
Maynard has also had revisions to its layout. |
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September 5, 2010
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The valence and light supports have been added and painted
and the light fixtures have been installed and
connected. Next, the actual valence will be installed.
Go to the Construction
Photos page to see photos of the lights. Also, now
that the electrical work is complete, the attic can be insulated. |
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February 28, 2010
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More photos have been added to the Construction
Photos page. Trimwork is done and most of the painting
is complete. Next is the layout lighting. |
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February 21, 2010
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I've revamped the photo sections to (hopefully) make them easier
to navigate. The lead-in pages are more compact now, and clicking
on any thumbnail will bring you into the "slide" presentation.
In the meantime, the final stages of construction continue
in the train room, a bit slowly, but at a steady pace. The
end of the tunnel is in sight! |
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December 10, 2009
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A couple photos have been added to the Construction
Photos page. I've started documenting the construction
of the Louisiana Central via this page. Initially, I'll cover the
final stages of the building completion, then cover the actual
layout construction. |
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September 16, 2009
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The Locomotive Roster page has
received work. I've added some tables showing the basic
roster information. I'll expand on this in the future. |
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September 15, 2009
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The Construction Photos
page has been started. |
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September 3, 2009
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The Locomotive Roster page has
been started. This will be a work in progress over the next
couple years, but at least now you can get an idea of what power
will be running on the Louisiana Central. |
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July 25, 2009
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The Track Plan continues to be
updated. Constant tweaking is in progress. I'm trying
to get the various industries firmed up. |
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June 28, 2009
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Check out the Tony Howe's new website. Tony has partnered
with David Price at their new Mississippi
Rails. There is plenty of good stuff to see here,
including Tony's railroad art gallery. |
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December 6, 2008
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I've updated the photo sections by adding the ability to go
directly to larger images and peruse them without having to back
up after each photo. Check out the Railfanning
Photos and the Louisiana
Central Right-of-Way shots. |
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November 1, 2008
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Added a couple more links to some
interesting model railroad websites. Uploaded a newer
version of the Track Plan ... yet
more tweaking and refinement. |
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August 20, 2008
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Added a couple new pages. The "Operations
Overview" page outlines the proposed operating theme for the
new layout. I'll be updating and refining it from time to
time. The "Waybill Program" page describes the car forwarding system I plan to use for layout operations. |
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August 14, 2008
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Added a couple links to some
interesting model railroad websites. I still am unable to
make progress on the train room, but there is light at the end of
the tunnel. The delays I've encountered have been painful,
but hopefully we'll be in there this fall to complete construction
and get the railroad started. |
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June 11, 2007
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Added a link to the Southern Forest
Heritage Museum. This is an unbelievable relic from
the past. Practically the entire sawmill complex is intact.
And wait till you see the Clyde skidder and McGiffert
loader! |
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February 24, 2007
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The Track Plan had been updated.
Constant tweaking is in progress. |
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February 19, 2007
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The Spencer Lumber Company is the largest single customer on the
line. I've added some photos of recently logged-over
areas in their timber holdings to the Prototype Photos page. |
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February 12, 2007
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I finally got to make another field trip this past weekend.
I've added more photos to the Prototype
Photos page documenting the rest of the proposed ROW. |
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February 8, 2007
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The trusty Minolta is back! And just in time. Former
SP Mikado No. 745 was in town for a short time during it's shake
down following repairs. I managed to catch her on her way
out of town, and recorded my first images on the restituted
camera. Check out the bottom shots at the Interesting
Real Stuff photos page. |
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January 17, 2007
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Well, there's nothing really new, but I thought I would post an
update. I had planned a field trip of the proposed ROW during this
winter while the trees are barren. I broke out the "trusty"
Minolta A1 digital back in early December, and it was dead.
It's still at the repair facility. Hopefully, I'll
have it back before spring! I'll be posting additional
photos of the proposed line route soon after my field trip. Also, due to some family situations, I've had to temporarily use the train building as a storage facility; therefore the sheetrock still lies in a neat stack in the room center. Hopefully this spring will see the room emptied, and sheetrock should start assuming the vertical position against the walls. In the meantime, I continue to review and revise the track plan. I'll post an update to that also in the spring. |
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October 14, 2006
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Rotated the track plan for easier viewing, and added a PDF
version. |
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October 13, 2006
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Added this "What's New" page. |
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October 12, 2006
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Wanna see my mug? Okay, go to the new About
page. |
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September 30, 2006
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Added some prototype photos
taken along the proposed right-of-way. |
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September 9, 2006
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Added the System Map page. | |
| © 2006-2019 Jack C. Shall - All rights reserved. | Last page update: 23 Jan 2019 |