Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Steady Progress

Operations on the Onondaga Cutoff continue to develop, and remain one of my favorite parts of the whole railroad hobby these days.  Interchange between different jobs and railroads is an integral part of that, and so we include not only Conrail jobs but also jobs of the NYS&W, and M&E, in each of our sessions.

Here, NYS&W job SY-1 moves light power through CP280, at the east end of Onondaga Yard.

 Weathering track ahead of ballast installation is a big process and as you can see above, is coming along well.  Much of the progress on a model railroad is just slow, steady persistence, working towards the end goal of a finished layout.  And, in that idea lies one of the more hidden attributes of our hobby:  coaching.  I say this in mind of how the process of building such a creation takes years, if not decades, to complete.  How many hobbies today demand such patience and persistence?   This layout is 'coaching' me to be more patient, to relax and enjoy the process.  For example, due to supplier issues, I am still awaiting the delivery of the final signal bridge, which in turn delays the process of installing the ones I have on hand.  It's frustrating, but on the other hand, there's lots to do to keep progress moving.

One bridge that we do have on hand now is the bridge to support the intermediate signals at MP 278.  Here's that bridge, ready for installation, complete with number plates I built using decals with the correct Conrail font:

I love how these turned out; Tim at Integrated Signal Systems did a masterful job with the soldering and included details that really make the bridge a special piece:  ladders, NYC-style targets, and different finials (the top cap on the masts) per the prototype.  This bridge will be lit the same day as all the remaining signals.

Slow, steady progress is how you get to the destination - and also how I enjoy the process.

~RGDave