Arrived yesterday - N Scale Enthusiast Membership Car - Technically not the latest purchase since I actually subscribed in November but still counts, right?
After about a 3 week delay, got the LocoBuffer and Hiawatha decoder. What bugs me, is the Hi doesn’t run very well at all! Seemed to run MUCH better on DC, last time I ran it! Been on display shelf since! Running now, it goes OK through curves, but stalls and jerks when it reaches straight track. Consistent through curves. Straight sections, it’s a crap shoot. Might run just fine one time, then jerk it’s way across, needing a nudge to get it going again at times. Not sure if I need to clean pickups. Pulling latest dozen TrainWorx Rio Grande quad hoppers. Nice cars, weighted nicely with metal wheels and body mount MT couplers. And the removable coal load! Also got the LocoBuffer. Don’t know anything about it yet! Not hooked up at the moment! Now, just waiting on a couple other things. The Hiawatha Story book, Bachmann 3 truck Shay, G Scale, and of course, the 3 rail Rio Grande Krauss Maffei. Those will be here July sometime.
The Locobuffer is my favorite way to interface my Digitrax command stations to JMRI. Personally I think it works faster than the PR3 and it gets its power from the USB and you don’t need a second power supply. Just make sure your JMRI knows which version of the Locobuffer you are using or it won’t talk to it.
I acquired 4 DS64s for the low price of a Benjamin. They were involved in a house fire but were not near the heat or flames, but they did get sooted up from the smoke. I took them apart and gave them a good bath, cleaned the housings and used some MAF cleaner and a soft tooth brush on the circuit boards. Now they look almost brand new. I should have gotten a before pic, but I got too deep into cleaning mode.
BNSF FAN, you did it right. My "latest purchases" are whatever was received recently, regardless of when I paid for it !!!
Another classic steam locomotive added to my collection. Sadly this was a bittersweet present to me as my dad lost his battle with cancer March 9, 2021. Much of the previous 5 months have been spent working and taking care of my dad. I was surprised that a major online site still had a few of these in stock for a very nice price. Nothing can replace my dad, but a hobby can help to take our minds of troubling events for awhile.
Rich, I'm so sorry to hear that. Hopefully he didn't suffer much and went in peace. Maybe you can use this locomotive as something to remember him by. (I was wondering where did you go.)
Sorry to hear about your father. I watched alzhiemers slowly erase the father I knew. I'm sure your father appreciated your love and care.
So in my attempt after many, many years is to actually make a layout, or base, that I can actually try to turn into something that actually looks like a smal 2' x 4' layout. So I bought the 1x4x8 pine ( I think ) lumber today at Home Depot, got them to cut it for free, the 2' x 4' board or piece for the top, ( not sure if I am gonna keep it, might return for something else ), and 4 pieces of 2' x 4' pink foam. Very happy they had items the right size already or cut them for me. Forgot the center supports so have to go back and get them to cut a 1x4x8 into 2 foot sections for me. I'm trying this time to do a better job. I hope it works out? Although I have doubts about my skill's! But gonna give it my best shot. And the 2 folding tables I bought in a post in here somewhere, are awesome, and I love them. Also, showed my bad work on my bases I made 3-4 years ago, as they warped over time Oh well, live and learn. Also, made out of 1 x 2's which tend to be warped when you buy them. Thus the stronger 1 x 4 this time.
Hi Mike, When he was first diagnosed, he was assigned nurses from Concordia and they were a godsend. Everyone involved made sure my dad was not suffering. After we were no longer able to care for him at home, he was admitted to Good Samaritan Hospice house and the nurses there were fantastic. Even though we are still in the middle of this pandemic, we were allowed to be with my dad at the hospice house any time of the day or night and one person was even allowed to spend the night. The nurses kept us appraised on his condition and I was holding his hand when he passed. It will be some time before the hurt truly goes away. Sadly I still wake up in the morning thinking I should give my dad a call just to chit chat, my dad would often say we never had a problem finding something to talk about and that was very true. Thank you Mike for your kind and thoughtful post. Sorry to hear of your loss, please accept my condolences. Sadly I lost my mom 5 years ago to Alzheimer's disease, so I understand what a horrible disease that is and it's effect on the family. Again my condolences for the loss of your father. Thank you George, the past 5 months have not been easy. I'm just glad I had the ability to spend time with my dad during this whole ordeal and I was with him when he passed.
Depending on the thickness of your pink foam, you may be able to save some money and not use the 2x4 board on top. Just use the 1x4 to build a grid and lay the foam on top. I used 2" foam and it was more than stiff enough. I did this years ago. Size is approximately 3' x 5.5'. BTW, all the wood was hand cut on a miter box. I didn't have a miter saw at the time.
Not actually N scale related. I just received the old cartoon book Fiddletown & Copperopolis in the mail today. It still has the original $1.95 price tag on it! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I'm doing it the easy way. Foam board goes on top. Since it is so lite I don't think I need the 1/8" whatever I bought top. Just gonna clue it directly on top of the 1x4's. It will also be lighter to lift, and it will be in heat and air conditioned room 24/7. And will be on FLAT tables now, so it should not warp? Plus I don't have to drill though extra wood to install lighting etc... Latex Caulk will not eat through FOAM right? Guess I should have put this in another thread?
It shouldn't. When in doubt test it on a small spot. I'm enjoying following along. Thanks for taking the time to post your progress.
Latex caulk, specifically DAP ALEX does NOT eat foam -- works beautifully -- I bought a bondo spreader (cheap plastic at harbor freight) and cut it to the desired width, then used a pair of Pinking Shears to cut across the bottom making a ridged pattern like a grout spreader, and use that to spread the caulk, gets just the right amount so that if I need / want to pull up track or roadbed its easy to slip a thin knife blade (I use a snap off knife) under the track or roadbed and slide it along and it pops right off TIM
@logging loco and @Tim Holmes Thanks for the info. Gonna create a NEW thread on the C&L Layout ( Cheap Layout, NOT anymore ), as to not get off topic here! Sorry everyone!