Well it has been one year since the narrow gauge Horseshoe & Cottonwood was started.

Productive weekend on the H&C with the town of Carroll Creek mostly in place:
The town of Carroll Creek is basically on a canyon ledge above the creek.  I left room for a little depot and some cabins, perhaps even a few on stilts in the front?  

Still working on the narrow gauge H&C.  In two months it'll be one year since construction began.

Hard to believe it has only been three months to the day I started to H&C.  And lots new since update #5! 

Quick update from eastern California in 1911:

Finally some trains actually running on the new layout!!  Even if it is just a test train.

H&C engine #23 emerges from Tunnel #1 and begins climbing Lubkin Canyon westward towards the Sierra Nevada mountains.

I roughed in the scenery below the bridge to minimize the number of times I need to remove the trestle from here on out.

As usual I'm too busy building the layout to blog about it!  Some new stuff this week:

Starting to rough out Lubkin Canyon and the tunnel that gets the railroad into the canyon. The standard gauge to Mojave runs off the edge of the layout at bottom right.  The elevated line on the inside of the canyon is one of the switchback handles.  More:

This weekend was another whirlwind of construction on the H&C.  The second peninsula went in and subroadbed was graded up through the first switchback in Lubkin Canyon. 

On the plus side:

I was able to keep the grade down to 2-2.5% which seems to be about it for blackstone HoN3 locos with any decent size consist in tow.

Layout Update 7/11/15 - Things are starting to come together quickly now. 

The first peninsula and lower deck is in place now. Time to lay out the track plan! On the right will be Owenyo and on the left, Lone Pine, CA.

It was a very productive first weekend on the new layout! 

First step: completed the hidden reverse loop that will be under the first level.