MRC DCC Control System

I have installed the main components of the MRC Prodigy Advance 2 "Squared" DCC System underneath the layout on the Sierra Railroad leg of the layout.  As you can see, it sits on a short wooden shelf.  Under the shelf, are the three circuit breaker modules and the PowerPax unit used for the programming track to program sound decoders in locomotives.

All of these items are from DCC Specialties and were purchased at Tony's Train Exchange.  The double module on the left is the PSX2 DCC Circuit Breaker, the module in the middle is the PSX-AR Auto Reverser/Circuit Breaker and the PowerPax is on the right.  One circuit breaker is for the Sierra side of the layout while the other circuit breaker is for the Southern Pacific side of the layout.  The auto-reverser is for the wye.

These two photographs show the complicated wiring underneath the layout.  You can see the red and black wires running the length of the layout.  These are the main bus wires for the DCC system and are made from twelve gauge solid wire.  The smaller feeder wires drop down from the track above the layout and I use the red and blue "suitcase connectors" to make solid connections instead of attempting to solder all the wires.

HO Scale Chateau Martin Wine Cars

My wife and kids recently purchased some HO Scale Chateau Martin Wine cars on ebay and gave them to me today for my 39th birthday as presents. The cars are older HO kits of these cars, but they do reflect the overall character of the real cars that actually operated on SP's Montpellier Branch.

For those of you who don't know about the Chateau Martin Winery, it was located in Waterford, California on the Montpellier Branch line. The company's wine cars were very distinctive and colorful in contrast to the standard boxcar red of most other freight cars seen in trains during the 1950's. Chateau Martin shipped their wine across the country to eastern markets. It was not uncommon to see the Chateau Martin Wine cars in large east coast citys like New York City.

Though my layout does not depict the town of Waterford, I knew that I needed to have a few Chateau Martin Wine cars in my fleet of freight cars. This way, they can be in the freight consists of SP trains passing through Oakdale. By having these cars on hand, I can model the look and feel of this historic industry to the region I model, without actually having to model it.