cameras

 I have seen a number of videos made with cameras mounted in front of the train and one mounted on a car behind the locomotive.   One of the videos recommended a camera from Amazon for less than $20.  This is a link to one that I found there camera

This is a link to the video with the camera mounted behind the locomotive  California Central

There are several at this price range or less.

The next camera is more expensive, but has a four star rating compared to the two star ratings for the less expensive ones better camera

Decision made on Route

 I had been debating on which direction to take the railroad's loop around the hill.  The first choice had been to have the interchange and main both take the clockwise route around the hill.   This would have had the passing siding for both the interchange connection and the short line.   It would also have had a slightly less steep grade.  However, after plotting out the track locations using XTrackCAD I found that the mainline would intrude too far into the area for the yard and industries.   It would also have put at three turnouts outside of arms reach.  

This left the only viable option of having the main for the Modoc and Lassen loop counterclockwise around the hill before passing over the interchange track.  It appears that there will be a 3 to 4% grade for both tracks with only the Modoc and Lassen having a passing siding at the junction.

In both cases the interchange track will be heading clockwise around the hill before heading into the staging area.  With the second arrangement there will not be a turnout on the far side of the hill where the interchange would have branched from the main.   This will also keep a bridge out of the middle of the junction area.  There will still be one turnout on the interchange for the turning wye.

The second arrangement will also result in a less complex loop around the mountain for the line between the towns of Wendylynne and Brookevalle.  I still have to spend some time working out the location and track arrangement for those two towns.

I do have a preliminary arrangement for the industries, yard, and engine facilities for the junction area.  This will be finalized once I build the bench work and place the curves for both ends of the interchange line and the curve heading up around the mountain.  After climbing around the mountain and crossing the interchange the main will continue climbing along the back edge towards the other end of the junction and cross over the interchange at that end also.   This is to hide the interchange as it heads into the staging area and the continuous run connecting the junction and Brookevalle.

The plan is to build the benchwork and backdrop for Wendylynne, Brookevalle, and the staging area first.   The staging area will be behind Brookevalle and under Wendylynne.  The garage still needs some sorting and I hope to have the benchwork on the eastern half up by the end of February.