Well the weekend is finally here. Time to dust off those weekend projects and finish those we have started as well as start new ones. This weekend, I'm enjoying a nice cup a coffee from my hotel room in Milwaukee Wisconsin, getting ready for Trainfest. I put in some work on my two T-Trak modules this past Tuesday in anticipation for this weekend. I set up my Rick's Place Cafe with small LED lights so now all the interior detail work can be seen and fabricated a sign for the building. Anyone who knows the band Cheap Trick should enjoy this module. Barricades and some trees were added to the module as well. I also did some work on Maywood station by adding trees based on Google Earth and some people. The module looks done but I really need a set of those fine NJ International highway and pedestrian crossing gates to help complete the scene. My T-Trak modules will be at Milwaukee all weekend along with my club's modules so if your up for Trainfest, please check out the T-Trak display as we are fortunate enough to have a lot of talented modelers. As much fun as trains are, I will be working however for my employer, Carstens Publications. Stop by our booth to say hi and check out our books and magazines. We have a new book on the Lehigh & New England that is brand new for the show you might want to check out. I'll also be spending some time with friends for dinner and discussing some future projects. All in all, a busy weekend! So how about you? Are any of you planning to be at Trainfest? Perhaps you are here already. Let us know who is here, who you are with, what you are running or what you plan to do. Perhaps you have your own club open house or show, let us know about that. And perhaps many of you are just staying home to work on the layout. Whatever your plans are this weekend, let us know. We'll come back on Monday the 11th and see how we all did. Until then, from a cold Milwaukee Trainfest... High Greens!
In New England, Train Show Season's not quite here yet. Two more weeks, and then a flurry of activity leading up to the holidays. I got an e-mail announcement from Trainworld about a sale on Classic Metal Works vehicles, so I picked up some cars and trucks for my roadways, particularly the tannery. Last week's spreadsheet exercise to catalog all my rolling stock showed me I needed more wheels, so I ordered those, and also some truck frames from Tichy because I've got a lot of Tycos with metal frames that don't lend themselves to easy wheel replacement. But, I'll probably plug away on the tannery as my primary activity. The end of the project is in sight, so I hope to get the interior details done, add lighting to the remaining two buildings and maybe get the roofing on.
Wish there was a train show near my area. I feel like going.... But it is six months until the next one in this region.
I'm off to lurk about a hobby show tomorrow. Though it's a general hobby show, with all kinds of modeling displayed, there's a BIG room full of train stuff. Train pervert heaven...:teeth:
I'll try to catch you at Trainfest, Jim, with daughter in tow. We saw Cheap Trick at Ravinia this summer, so we'll be on the lookout for Rick's! Not sure if we'll be there Saturday or Sunday yet - likely not both. Otherwise, when I can steal away from Fall/house stuff, I'll be working on the mini-layout a bit, including wiring up the turnouts to the DS64, showing the kid the ropes of the Zephyr controls, and maybe taking a crack at filing some points and frogs. I need to look for some Loconet cables or at least connectors at the show - for some reason, I assumed the DCS51 would come with one. I'm itching to try out tablet control via JMRI. I have a hard time spending about a buck EACH for connectors at Radio Shack just on principle. Oh, I also need to trim down the DZ125 install on the GP40 - the LEDs I had on hand won't fit under the hood. Oops.
Our NTRAK club will be set up again this weekend at the Rosenberg Railroad Museum as part of the Fall Layout Tour sponsored by the San Jacinto Model Railroad Club. We had a great turn out last weekend and hope to have more this go around.
I'm out of boxes, so no more packing for now. I bought a lot of track on that auction site this week, won't make any headway on the garage loop until I can get my hands on some more 1x4's.
Well this week I was able to put legs on my peninsula extension, make and run loconet cables, run power wire for the UR91 and UP5's. I have on order a PSX-4 and PSX-2 which are due to arrive Monday. I also have some HOe track and two tunnel portals on order and those won't arrive until Wednesday. I picked up some more 12 awg wire and some wire tie downs. Mondays plan (my weekend): hang the rest of the lights in my track lighting, hang by way of piano hinge the extension, start to lay track on the peninsula, glue down the 4% grade, cut foam board for backing for the HOe track and a mountain. Tuesday: install PSX boards and run bus wires. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free
