New, News and Good News. The top deck is back up. The bad news is my camera quit working. Tomorrow, a visit to Walmart for batteries and pictures later.
What do you say when the camera won't work? I messed with it yesterday and think I may have the problems resolved. I'll give it a go today and then hope I can download them to my computer. Wish me luck!! One picture and only one picture, bearly turns out. Here's the mending bracket's I'm using to re-install the top deck. The pictures I took of the two young men that helped me didn't turn out. I will try again later.
I love the way my computer hides things and then reveals them to me. I said sarcastically. George a certain optimizer played a big part in finding the lost pictures. Here we go! Above: You can tell this is new because of the TV sitting above the layout. You can also see a L Girder, I put in to support the lower deck. It doesn't sag anymore. You can also see a camera that will monitor train movement in the Hidden Staging Yard. You can also see the risers for the mainline. I will have to rebuild said main. Above: A view of the Hidden Staging Yard. Almost in the picture is the yard ladder. Another look at the camera. Above: If the curves in the HS look a little out of alignment. They are. This was an add on after I got the mainline up and running. Difficult to build when you practically have to crawl into the layout to make it happen. Above: The top deck as secure as I can make it. Above: A look at the track work on the top deck. Some of this will need to be replaced. I have a few Kato switches are stuck and I don't think I will be able to fix them. Mike and Robin at Fiffer Hobby Supplies might be getting an order from me. The flash on the camera lit up everything and this is what I call a bleached out picture. Well, I've got work to do. You won't mind if I get back to it. See you later. Later!!
Someone is bound to ask me why all the rerailers. Is my track work so poor I need rerailers? I'm tempted to say yes and make them feel as smart as a whip. No! I wanted to portray M.O.W. or Security in yard access. A way for the car inspectors to get in and out. If you get my drift. It didn't quite work out that way. A bunch of the maintainers quit saying they weren't needed. What? They were supposed to install the signals. Just because there isn't any. Oh well, it is what it is. Sigh!
Now you are catching on. More about BarstowRick. Oh no not more!! In the world of Victorville, Big Bear Country and most of San Bernardino County, Barstow, the location, summer heat, and living arrangements. To refer to Barstow is not a compliment. it's considered to be the Arm Pit of San Bernardino County. I could think of a few other places in the county that would apply. Landers, Twentynine Palms, Rice, Cadiz, Earp, Kelso, Death Valley to name a few. Of course I won't mention them here. I'll save that for another time and place. So the nick wasn't given to me as a compliment. What the high school teacher who gave me the nick was referencing. A old High-school football rivalry between Victorville and Barstow. Big Bear and Barstow experienced some outright fist fights and some cars ended up in the canyon along Hwy. 18. The back grade to get off the hill. Although he was kidding. He couldn't possibly of known I spent the first years of my life growing up in Barstow. After my parents up and moved to Hollister, Ca. My grandparents remained there working for Santa Fe, until they retired. It became in my mind a home away from home. To put it bluntly, I think the world of Barstow. With Union Pacific and Santa Fe coming through town, how could I miss. So it is the guys in Big Bear Country decided to call me "More Track Rick". Then they wouldn't have to sit at Carl's Jr. and listen to stories about Barstow, Ca. Or so they thought! Well, whats new in Nampa Country. Appears a lot of Californians are moving here. We get together at Walmart to swap stories and compare notes. Eventually the conversation turns to why we left the most progressive state in the country. I don't mean that in a good way. Taxes, taxes, taxes. As well as a stack of other complaints. Long story and no time for it here. Getting back to the layout. My Number Board Valence, is in the process of getting mended and hung back up. I cut the wood strips yesterday. I'll attempt to paint them today and maybe attach them to the face. Build a hangar box and throw some lights in. Get it hung up and I might just feel like I can call this home. I hope. Later All!!
The number board is back together again. Finished? Not quite I still need to secure a place for it over the layout. I will work on it today. Here's a glimpse. Surprise the camera is working better. Interesting what can happen when you read the directions. Who reads directions? Don't tell anybody but model railroaders do! No, I didn't really say that. The number board broke right in the middle of 0 and 6. You can still see a gap there. Not sure how I'm going to fix that. For now it is sitting on one of my many dressers. The VHS storage for railroad 1X1 foot scale and all kinds of model railroad videos. I have three or four players. Hopefully one of them will stll work. Back to the number board. To mend it, I couldn't come at it from the back side. Instead I cut some fine strips of a 1X3 into less then 1X1's. Mounted them to the front to create a picture frame of sorts. Now, on the backside, it's time to create a mount or hangar for the number board, add some lights, and wiring. Always with the wiring!! Then mount it to the wall, up and over the window. At that point this project should be finished. Good to go. If the camera keeps this up, behaves itself. I should be able to share some more re-build shots as the layout comes together. Later!! It may look like junk now but wait until you see what these hands can do. A little creativity, imagination, minor engineering and look out.
Almost forgot. The number and why that number. My granddad worked in helper service out of Williams, Arizona. Allegedly this is a number on a locomotive he operated. A 3000 class locomotive. Sorry, I can't prove that but I do take claim of the story. By the way he or his associates, never called a diseasel a locomotive as far as he was concerned those F-units were Motors. More trouble then they were worth. The F stands for exactly what you might think it does. I knew you'd figure that out. Fun, isn't it!!
It happened, my camera took a fairly decent picture. Elder Thompson and Elder Cunningham both helped me install the top deck. Oh there's more work to do. That should be obvious. The thing is I'm set-up to make it happen. In this selfie taken by a cell phone they captured the three of us. Am I showing my age or what? Thanks to both of these youn men, for their willingness to help and do the job right. It doesn't get any better then this. Sadly they will be leaving this area for missions elsewhere. They will be missed. Later All !!
It's Friday. The end of the week. Not that any day is all that different from any other day. I still look forward to the weekend. Last night I finally got my lighted number-board hung up. Added a light and stood back to look at. I made a hangar and anchored it to the wall. None of this drill a hole and put in a plastic "Watchamacallit". Three inch deck screws right into the 2X4's. Solid as can be. You know, maybe, I can hang another train deck off of it. Hummm, do you think? A closer look and here you can see how I mended the break. The trim around the number-board is less then a 1X1". Some ripping, painting, glue (Tight Bond) and screws in from the back side. Curing time and it's as solid as I can make it. That darn gap between the 0 and 6. Not sure how I'm going to fix that. Ignore it and hope it goes away? No that wouldn't be like me. So, why is this important to me? I set her eating breakfast this morning wondering the same thing. The valence itself is something I made back in high-school Shop Class. It was first hung up in my dorm room. A parochial religious sponsored worthless bit of my history. I didn't like it there and wanted to be home playing football with the guys I grew up with. Something most likely the rest of you got to do. Harrumph!! Lucky Sons of a ...!! No! Come to think of it, that was my luck of the draw. The not so lucky part and a momma to blame for it. ... Sorry, they don't like words like that here. I see you figured it out. By now it looks pretty rag-tag. Weathered, beat-up, holes punched in it. Just like me!! Nobody has tagged it, yet!! Catching up with myself. After shcool, it's next home was as a florescent light fixture that hung on a wall over my HO train layout. What does all this mean? Well !! It's all good news. Now, I can concentrate on the layout and get the main line back in. It also means I can tear out and repair damaged track. I've already spent a number of hours under the train table with the wiring. It will mean more time doing the same. Once I get on a roll it will come together quickly. As quickly as I'm able. Instead I just roll under the table and then roll back out to prove I still can. Sigh!! Yes, I need to put the rail signs back on the ends. Still debating whether or not I want to take it back down and fix the gap. The annoying one between the 0 and 6. Pondering!! More later.
Rick my friend... Go to Ace Hardware. Get a squeeze tube of 'black latex caulk' Squeeze a bead down the back side of that break. Let it set...good as new !!
Rick...David and I where talking and we can't decide if we are "The Three Amigos"..."The Three Musketeers"..."The Three Stooges"...or "The Three Blind Mice" !!
LOL Now that's good. Well played!! I don't know for sure. Let's put it up for a vote and see what the other guys and gals here think about it. I like the "The Three Amigos" There is a movie called "The Three Blind Mice". Those guys were covert. You'd never suspect the trouble they could cause, working together. An 007 movie. If memory serves me correctly...
THE WIFE laughs and says we three are all of the above !! Her words>>>>>> Three Amigos...I have met you both and we are 3 great 'friends' Three Musketeers...We all are n scaler's and are passionate about the hobby Three Stooges..because we 3 always make her laugh so hard ! Three Blind Mice... Because welllll..........the blind leading the blind !!!!
Haw haw haw. We could put them all to shame. Well played Jean. Time to head off to my daughter's house for lunch. Catch you all later.
