Did you survive the last weekend before the Holiday? Did you sneak in an hour or more to work trains? Well I was assigned Christmas duty, I still managed to get a bit done by the way of N scale. Saturday morning I got up early and started working on my first of three modules that will replicate Galesburg IL in 1965. So far the main bus wires and end pig tails had been wired and secured so my next task was to lay my first turn out and the associated drops. I next added the first full length of flex and wired up a set of wire pig tails to connect from my Digitrax Zephyr to the modules and ran a test locomotive. Naturally I ran a CB&Q locomotive, in this case my GP40 #629 in the experimental Cascade green pre-merger scheme. It ran okay, but it needs to go to the shop for some fine tuning and cleaning. My old B&M GP9, #1715 ran great back and forth and no problems thus far. With that I switched duties and scales and set up a modest dog bone loop of MTH track and set up the MTH Christmas train which again is a Railking B&M SW 9 switcher, MTH CHristmas cars 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010 and a B&M buggy (caboose). Christmas Car #2014 is on the way and will be late this year due to just getting a job within the week. Sunday was my first day at work but I had just enough time to add the second turnout, it's associated drops and a bit of fine tuning before leaving the assembly to dry while at work. All in all, not a lot done but any time one can run a train, it makes progress that much better. And here we are, the last few days of Hanukkah and Christmas this week. We are also officially in the season of Winter now, which means if like me, you are in the midwest, the season of YUK. In another week, the year of 2014 will fade into history and with it all of the years successes and failures. Before we start off on that new year filled with promise, I would like to wish all our Train board Members a Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, Great Boxing Day and... ​High Greens!
I did manage to get a bit of work done this weekend. The salvage yard got some work done to it. Hydrocal was put down to level out the area and some ground cover was put down. A small shack will be put in behind the front loaded at the entrance to the yard and a scale. I have a number of brass castings that I won't be using that will be painted and added to the junk piles to make the piles mor euneven and some weeds added. Guess I'll have to come up with some kind of fence to put around the salvage yard too. Sure wish I had more available time to work on the layout, but too many irons in the fire.
I spent the weekend, between football games, hunting for an On30 loco I bought in June and was hiding from the wife. I couldn't find it. I looked everywhere???? Jim
I managed to get 10 of 14 decoders installed. OK, so they were easy drop ins. The remaining 4 will require some heavy frame mods. After Christmas fun!!! Woo hoo! Brian
