Mountain Division

The Chubb system for the Hill mainline (Roseville to Truckee) is essentially complete with a few remaining electrical issues to resolve. Base shell has just been completed at Cape Horn (nylon mesh screen overlaid with a polymer) and we need to continue with rockwork and detailed scenery. Remaining work includes piers and installation of Shed 10 and Long Ravine bridges and surrounding scenery, design and construction of Towle Bros. lumber facility and a building or two more at Colfax. Colfax Hotel is being refurbished and repainted into the correct colors. The final phase of scenery will be the lowest slope between Cape Horn and the Sacramento River - this can only be done once the Cape Horn scenery has been completed due to access considerations.

This winter shutdown (Y2007/8), Chubb will be extended from RV/Sacramento to the west end of Altamont. Many signals are being installed as we prepare to run under ABS (Automatic Block Signalling).

Canyon Division

Scenery at Newark/Decoto, Fremont, and East Pleasanton/Radum is essentially complete with just the centerpiece "popup" of the town center at Newark to be installed (that is close to completion).

Hearst depot was relocated a few feet east and a new trestle bridge built over Arroyo Del Valle. An expanded base was added to accomodate the new town of Pleasanton. Several historical buildings in the area are being scratch-modelled.

Industrial spurs have been installed at Stockton and Tracy and several appropriate industries installed, including a village and station at Tracy. More needs to be done to complete the scenes.

Valley Division

We have plans to add more lineside buildings along the Mainline at Oakland Yard, and an industrial spur.

After many years of inactivity, local industrial trackage at Wood Street off the Sante Fe was rewired and is now fully operational. However the reliability of the trackwork is not optimal. We would like to completely rebuild this area sometime in the future. In the meantime, a model of the old club building at Halleck St, Emeryville is under construction and will be added to this area.

This winter, we plan to remove the Yolo Causeway trestles to refurbish and improve the backdrop; and relay the approach tracks to the west side of the Sacramento River bridge to reduce an unduly sharp vertical curve.

Background building flats of the Sacramento shops are (still) in the planning stage.

Trolley Division

The Trolley Division is responsible for maintenance work on the Oakland Mole building. They recently replaced the deteriorated windows with new acetate windows and substituted metal roof supports for the similarly deteriorating wooden ones in the original construction.

Narrow Gauge

Extensive rewiring and rebuilding of control panels continues to improve operations and DCC the system. The ambition is to dual gauge the mainline to Truckee has been abandoned for lack of capital funds, not to mention resounding objections by the Mainline engineers :-)

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