The town of Shady Grove has grown over the last few weeks. An engine shed was erected and more trackage was installed on the outskirts of town. A goods storage warehouse and small depot were built within the steep canyon walls of Shady Grove. Located just past the depot, the machine shed now houses a…

Whiskey and Easy Short Line engineers have initiated digital control of the Line’s switch points. Digital control means that switching the point direction occurs at a central station. The switches each have a decoder with a unique “address.” The central station tells each decoder individually whether to open or close the switch. The decoders are…

In preparation for a springtime garden celebration, WESL operating capacity has been tested at the current trackage maximum traffic load. The upper circuit, ground loop, and trolley line point to point were all occupied with transiting equipment. No interchange between the upper and ground occurs during automatic operation, since the trolley line intersects the interchange…

Whiskey and Easy Short Line’s daily passenger tallies exceeded available passenger services on the main, so a trolley line has been completed to service this excess capacity. The line runs between two terminal points: Promenade and Pascalis. There are a few trolleys that are on the WESL equipment roster. The main commuter trolley is a…

Ongoing improvement requirements on the WESL along with the advent of an upcoming garden celebration have dictated the necessity of incorporating lineside flora to accompany WESL’s mechanical fauna. Care in floral selection is key; plantings should remain in scale appropriate for nearby structures and other railway accoutrements. Above: toward the rear of this raised bed,…

The engineer of the WESL has entered into an annual model building contest called “The Mik”. Mik was the screen name of a gentleman named Alan Bupp, who posted on a web forum called largescalecentral.com. Mik is unfortunately no longer around; since 2009 his friends on the forum have held a contest each year in…

WESL needs some maintenance -of-way gear, including a motorized sweeper to help clear leaves, acorns, sticks, and errant ballast from fouling the line. The above video is the first iteration of the motor brush car. It started as an attachment made for a Dyson vacuum. The attachment wasn’t too wide, was inexpensive, and already had…

Mabel is a live steam locomotive assembled from a kit manufactured by Accucraft Trains. The model is a freelance design, not based on a prototype locomotive. This Mabel has been modified slightly by the addition of about 3 pounds of weight, which allows the locomotive to pull more cars.

After recently completing the main line of the new railroad, local operations dictated the need for the longest ever assembly of box, tank, and other freight-bearing rolling stock. Mainly used as a proof of concept, this giant 16-car assembly was led by an A-B-B-A engine team of F7 A & B units, from the New…

This elevated mainline was part of a complete garden line renovation, due to the necessity of having a level line for live steam trains. The curves on the mainline are all at least 8 foot diameter (LGB R3) for the ease of running larger trains that will not navigate tighter turns. Over 20 tons of…