Better Late Than Never

I know it has been more than a week since my last update. I'm sorry, okay!? Life has been a little busy lately.

I finally got to the basement on Saturday and spent about 6 hours there. I went down with the intention of working on cars - checking weight. wheel gauge, couplers, etc. - but saw all the stuff not unpacked from the Moncton train show. So, I went about doing that and saw half a box of trees that I hadn't unpacked and thought I'd put those in Stevenville. Well, I figured Stevenville needed a little scenery work before I planted the trees. Four hours later I still had not worked on any cars but part of Stevenville had grass, there's a bit of a weedy mess around the tenement, and the main line tracks through town are ballasted.





Then I decided I'd install a bolt alignment system for my main lift-out. I needed something very long in order to be able to adjust them through the benchwork. So, off to Canadian Tire to pick up a couple 8" eye bolts and nuts. The nut is countersunk and epoxied into the main support for the lift out (centered side-side and front-back). The eye bolt goes up from the bottom of the benchwork into the nut. A few turns and no more shims needed. Works like a charm! So far I haven't had any horizontal alignment problems. The notch for the lift-out is a very snug fit from side to side.



Since I'm in the tip giving mood, here's a floor covering solution I found. Tired of sore feet and legs from standing for long periods in a room with concrete floors? I got these inexpensive anti-fatigue mats ($10 for 4 sq. ft.) at WalMart, but I'm sure other stores carry them as well. You really notice the difference when you walk form these onto bare concrete.

Sunday was spent doing an actual cleanup in preparation for the operating session that evening. I took 2 shopping bags of compostables and 3 bags of waste out to the cans! After 4 hours of work the train room sure looked tidier than it had! The next cleaning project will be the staging room/dispatcher's office/storage room/paint room/... (and it's only 6' x 8')!

I hope I have redeemed myself with this post. Happy modelling!

Scott

Moncton Train Show - Apr. 14, 2007

Last week I was busy getting ready for the Moncton train show so I didn't get anything done on the layout. So, for this update I'll post some pictures from the show.

The weather didn't look good Friday morning, it was Friday the 13th afterall. The snow started falling early and got heavier as the morning progressed. Then the wind started picking up. We didn't want to start out on the drive just to get there and find out the show was canceled or we couldn't set up that day. It is a 1.5 hr. drive, on a good day, and a $50 bridge crossing, so we wanted to make sure things were going ahead. A few hasty emails confirmed the show was still a go. Fortunately the snow stopped around noon and turned into a very light rain. We were on the road by 2:00.

We arrived and started unpacking the trailer about 3:45. Jean and Ryan showed up shortly after we did, so most of the modules were there and we were able to start setting up. By 7:00 the skirting was on the layout and trains were running. We still had buildings and details to add to the modules but we could do that in the morning. Supper was waiting for us at Jean's house. So, off we went for pizza and a layout tour at Jean's. Jean is progressing very well on his first layout. We were all quite impressed. Great work Jean!

After supper we were off to Dave Wood's for an operating session. I, stupidly, left my camera in the van. Damn! There would have been some very good pictures. Lots of fun! Dave's layout is very nice and chock full of operational activity.

We got back to Ryan's a little before midnight and hit the hay.

We arrived at the show venue about 8:00 Saturday morning. We started putting buildings, trees, and other details on the modules, and added our emergency module when we determined the last guy was not coming. We were ready just as the doors officially opened.

The day went very well, although the relatively poor weather kept some people from attending. We saw lots of old friends and met some new ones. We had a great time as usual.


I wonder how many lies are being told!
Brian and Jean survey the show as Ryan talks to Doug Whitman.


Brian and Greg talk to attendees while some other UMG members take a break (right, in the background)

One of the things we love about train shows is talking to attendees. We try to answer all questions, and if we can't we try to find the answer. We also love to provide an opportunity for someone to try running a train. We go along with them as breakman and give them a taste of model railroad operations.


Some views of the UMG layout.

The layout at this show was an arrow shape (very different from past shows). We try to not have the shame shape we've used in previous shows. The main part of the layout was 40' long and the edges of the arrow were about 20' long each (total 80'). This layout was definitely fun to operate.


Some details on Brian's Northern Light and Power module

We try to keep modules fresh from show to show by adding new details, but some modules are in their 5th season. We'd like to rebuild some of them to keep the layout fresh looking. So, our goal is to completely rebuild, and redesign, about 20' of modules (Hazard Bend) for the Truro show next fall. The Northern Light and Power module is one of them.

Well, that's all for this update. I hope to have new pictures of the Bayside and Tidewater nest week.

Scott

Ground Throws & Montain Scenery

Well, after the 1st anniversary operating session on the BS&T I vowed I would install ground throws on all my turnouts before the next op session, before I did any more scenery work. So far all the turnouts in Chappellton and Kenville have ground throws installed (about 30 turnouts). Then I hit a snag. I have no more ground throws! I might strike a deal at the Moncton show, so until then it's scenery time!

I started at the tunnel coming from staging. The basic land forms were done a few weeks ago so all I add to do was color the earth and add details. This is what it looked like when I started. Pretty bland.


And this is what the area looked like after a few hours of work.



It's amazing what happens to a picture when you have the white balance settings in the camera wrong. The layout lighting in these two pictures has not changed, but look at the difference with the white balance set for fluorescent (left) and auto (right).



The long grass is an idea I got from Harold Minkwitz. It is faux-fur from Wal-Mart dyed with Dye-Na-Flow fabric paint.

I'll be getting ready for the train show in Moncton next week so I'm not sure if I'll have an update. I will next week though with some pictures from Moncton, at least.

Scott