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Directions#155 July Status Report
July 23, 2020
In last month’s report I introduced the Cliff-Top Restaurant, which is the destination for customers of the EnterTRAINment Junction (EJ) Aerial Tramway. The restaurant has now been installed, initially as shown in Figure 1. However, it was decided that this location didn’t give the building the visibility it deserved, and so it was moved farther […]
Read More >#154 June Status Report
June 18, 2020
Most of these recent reports have focused on the new Aerial Tramway at EnterTRAINment Junction (EJ) with only cursory mention of what its purpose is in the world of the layout. It’s there to transport customers from the main level of EJ’s Middle City up to a cliff-top restaurant. That linked their development schedules, their […]
Read More >#153 April Status Report
April 30, 2020
The previous report (Part 152) looked at the track wire and haulage rope connections with EnterTRAINment Junction’s (EJ’s) Upper Aerial Tram Station. In this report, I’ll show how those connections transition their functions through the station’s structure and how the external building interfaces with that structure. Figure 1 is just a reminder of what the […]
Read More >#152 March Status Report
March 28, 2020
As we transition the EnterTRAINment Junction (EJ) Aerial Tramway from development to operation, the time has come to document the system as it is in its “final” form, primarily so that future maintainers will know not only what it’s supposed to look like, but also why it is the way it is. Saying, “It […]
Read More >#151 February Status Report
February 11, 2020
The EnterTRAINment Junction (EJ) Aerial Tramway has at last been functionally tested on the layout, and by the time you read this, it should be hooked up to the EJ computer control system and functional for visitors to operate at the touch of a button (which has also already been installed). Like many systems that […]
Read More >#150 January Status Report
January 24, 2020
The EnterTRAINment Junction (EJ) Aerial Tramway has at last been installed on the EJ layout! While more remains to be done to make it work, Figure 1 is very close to how the tramway will look when it’s fully operational. Figure 1. Aerial Tram Installed The first step in the tram installation process was […]
Read More >#149 December Status Report
December 7, 2019
The EnterTRAINment Junction (EJ) employees and volunteers have outdone themselves again this year in setting up their gorgeous Christmas holiday display. This is an open-to-the-public no cost exhibit in EJ’s expo area. The central feature is the massive multiple-track, multiple-level G-gauge holiday layout, this year surrounding one of the main roof support columns in the EJ building. Figure 1 is a […]
Read More >#148 November Status Report
November 24, 2019
This month’s report describes the finishing work done on the lower tram station access stairs and roadway. Also, I’ll share some lessons we learned during assembly of both of these items. Figure 1 shows the assembled stairway with the lights installed. The objective was to make this item a single unit that could be moved […]
Read More >#147 October Status Report
October 28, 2019
This month’s report describes the work underway to provide lighting for customers of EnterTRAINment Junction (EJ) aerial tram on the paths to the tram stations. After constructing the stairway described in Report Number 146, the Tram Project Team realized that the restaurant, which the tram serves, would very likely operate beyond just the daylight hours. […]
Read More >#146 September Status Report
September 24, 2019
This month’s report describes the work underway to prepare the site for installation of the Lower Aerial Tramway Station on the EnterTRAINment Junction (EJ) layout. In preparing last month’s article, I realized that there was no reasonable way for pedestrians or trolley riders in the Middle City to get safely down to the Aerial Tramway’s […]
Read More >#145 August Status Report
August 27, 2019
This month’s report describes the planning and beginning preparations for the installation of the Aerial Tramway on the EnterTRAINment Junction (EJ) layout. As different as the upper and lower stations are in appearance, so different too are the characteristics of the two sites on which they will be located. Figure 1 shows the elements of […]
Read More >#144 July Status Report
July 23, 2019
This month’s report looks at the final details of the EnterTRAINment Junction (EJ) aerial tram uninstalled system in its test fixture: the tram cars. The finishing touches for the tram cars were painting, adding doors, adding passengers, and balancing the cars. Balancing was necessary so that each car would consistently avoid having unintended collisions with […]
Read More >#143 May Status Report
May 30, 2019
This month’s report is a bit of a hodge-podge, covering three very different aspects of the EnterTRAINment Junction layout. The first subject is the status of the aerial tramway. Both tram stations are finished, having received their interior lighting, platforms with railings, and figures of tram customers. Figure 1 shows the lower station, its lighting, […]
Read More >#142 April Status Report
April 30, 2019
This month’s report is even more different form the usual than the previous one. It reports on the 2019 Scale Model Expo, which has become an annual free-to-the-public event held at EnterTRAINment Junction. Its objective was to showcase the various forms of scale modeling practiced by miniaturists from areas in and around Cincinnati, Ohio. This […]
Read More >#141 March Status Report
March 5, 2019
This month’s report is a bit different form the usual. We’ll be looking at some of the interesting vehicles that liven up the scenery on the EnterTRAINment Junction layout. As is usual the order of most of the pictures is as a visitor would encounter the scenes while following the layout aisle. Located in front […]
Read More >#140 February Status Report
February 28, 2019
This month’s report provides an update on the progress made in the construction of the EnterTRAINment Junction layout’s Aerial Tramway. The previous report about the Aerial Tramway, Report 136, still showed the tram station models in their bare Gatorboard® form. Since then, simulated wood plank siding and simulated slate roofing have been applied and painted […]
Read More >#139 January Status Report
January 11, 2019
As promised in Report 137, this month’s report provides a closer look at the completed installation of the canal lock in the EnterTRAINment Junction (EJ) layout’s Early Period. Limited for some time by leaks in the canal bed, the lower portion of the canal (near the appropriately-named “Canal Town”) has finally gotten the canal lock […]
Read More >#138 December Status Report
December 11, 2018
This month’s report is about the 2018 Christmas layout in EnterTRAINment Junction’s (EJ’s) display area. This “snow-covered” layout is an annual free-to-the-public feature of the “Christmas at the Junction” celebration that runs from the weekend before Thanksgiving until January 2nd. The layout has a unique design each year and is constructed using a basic […]
Read More >#137 November Status Report
November 11, 2018
This month’s report provides an update on new additions and improvements to the EnterTRAINment Junction (EJ) layout. As usual, the items in this report are in the order a visitor would encounter them while progressing along the EJ layout’s aisle. The first item is an introduction to a long-awaited improvement: the addition of a […]
Read More >#136 October Status Report
October 11, 2018
This is the fifth installment in these articles about the development and construction of the Aerial Tramway for the EnterTRAINment Junction (EJ) layout. This time we’ll look at the passenger stations at the bottom and top of the tramway. The purpose for the station buildings is to provide some degree of protection from the weather […]
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