George, people that don't live out here will not get it. I have friends that think that I am joking when I tell them that water comes out of the hose at 95 degrees Fahrenheit.
So today I wired up the layout today and I ran the 2-8-0 around the layout today. Most of it is fine, one small electrical dead spot and a pair of rail joints to smooth out....but it works
I did some troubleshooting, and one of the joints had a little bit of solder on top of the rail, and the other end has a kink in the rail. The 2-8-0 now is able to run through it fine going forward northbound, but derails any other way. I pulled out my L cab SD-40-T2 snoots and they went through without any issues pulling 5 MTL freight cars. Looks like I am going to be doing some trackwork. I already need to lay three sidings and get some ground throws.
I just ran a 16 car train powered by a pair of tunnel motors....I know that it is overkill, but with quite a few 60 footers, it was half of my mainline.
The Kato n-scale turntable and associated round house units are very nice; I purchased them when they were initially released in the US despite the fact my layout is in storage and I now have only a test loop of Kato unitrack. The turntable has exceeded my expectations in terms of operation; the alignment feature is excellent in my opinion; it combines electronic and mechanical features. I have used it dc and dcc.
Southern Pacific In Casa Grande Making a mountain out of a mole hill… From day one of the planning of the Standard Gauge Pacific Coast Railway, I have decided to really stray from the prototype and build a hill with a tunnel to hide the loop factor. My plan was to build a base with the same blue foam and then an old fashion plaster/paper towel hard coat. This morning, I braved my 42f/5c degree garage to start mocking up the mountain. I am getting the basic shape in, and I am testing the clearances as I go. I am about to place a cover on the hill and then add height to the hill to bulk it up and justify the tunnel. once I get the basic shape, I will ballast 5 or so inches into the tunnel and glue down the hill. The wife is going to be out of town in the beginning of February, my goal is to have the hardcoat on it then. On a side note…I have been listening to Lionel Strang’s A Modeler’s Life podcast. Smoken’ Joe D’Amato from Micro-Trains turned me on to this. Joe’s 187 part interview was great to listen to, as well as Joe Fugate’s interview was fun to listen to, and gave great insight on Model Railroad Hobbyist magazine. I find listening to this podcast as a great way to keep focused on my project.
