Year One in the Books

I started the blog a year ago and just reached 4000 page views a moment ago (who was it?). Thanks for following along, and stay tuned for the coming year when we get to start playing with the trains...

A HBS box car sits beside the Erie freight house at 149th St while a fleet of Erie vehicles stands at the ready to deliver less than car load parcels to local businesses. 

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One Year Mark

 Just over a year later, my benchwork, track, electronics, and control system are finally complete! This weekend I made the last adjustments to my track-work, soldering a few more connections and leveling out a few last problem areas on the track. Both my Backmann EMD GP30 and my Kato SD-40 engines run perfectly on the layout and all aspects of the control panel and electronics, including the dual-cab wiring, work perfectly.

I also added a handle to the winch that raises and lowers the control panel, so I no longer have to use a screwdriver as a lever. I also came up with a latching system that will lock the control panel into place when it is in its raised position. This prevents all of the weight being on the winch cable, and also makes the control panel more rigid when in use.

To do this, I used two double ended bolts that I attached to the underside of my benchwork. I then drilled two holes through the control panel base so the protruding bolt end could pass through the control panel base when it was raised up against the benchwork. I then used butterfly bolts to support the control panel on these bolts. To make locking as easy as possible, I cut slots in the holes that I drilled, allowing the butterfly bolts to pass through the control panel base. This prevents the butterfly nuts from having to be completely undone. Once the butterfly bolt passes through the control panel base, it is turned 90 degrees, allowing the entire control panel to rest on the bolts (as seen above). Metal braces were added to prevent the bolts from damaging the hardboard.

 I have now stated to plan the landscaping for me layout, which will be my project for the next couple months at least.

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The new year is off to a good start!

Being off the last 2 weeks you would think I would have time for lots of model railroading right?  Not so much.  Been busy on the homestead with shopping, cooking and the holidays.  Modeling time has taken a back seat and really I haven't been feeling the MR vibe.  I've done a few things, but nothing major. The last two days have been productive and I'm probably realizing I have to go to work on Monday!  I also have been rolling out of the bed at 8:00 or later too so that doesn't help much.  So in the last two days, I've installed a Tortoise on the lower level on the Mine Run Branch, removed a Lok sound decoder from a loco and installed a Tsunami, and for some reason started to install a valiance over the layout.  I've wanted to do this for a while now and just got started yesterday.  It will greatly improve the look of the layout room, like the floor has.  It's a two person job for a bit but my wife is gone shopping so the main 7 foot section will have to wait until this afternoon.

First section is done.  The blue bags are for debris from drilling holes.  It will hopefully give the layout a more professional look.  Do I do anything professional?

The next section is the longest part.  It will hide the light fixture and the all the wiring.

Last section to be installed.  Not idea what to do for the yard since it has no shelving above it.

GP39-2 #274 is back in service.  This is one of my newest engines that for some reason I put Lok Sound in.  Lok Sound sounds great but but adding a capacitor like a (Keep Alive) is not possible.  Even tried to add it but still the sound was in and out.  I believe Lok Sound has their own KA, but I believe it's in the $50 range.

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