Halfway there!

We are just past a few weeks that are a nice illustration of the balance required to keep things moving on a layout when there is a full life going on aside from the hobby simultaneously.  Somehow it is nearly a month since the last post though it feels like a week!   Between activities for the kids and family commitments on nights and weekends, all the layout progress had to be crammed into moments when time was available.  

And yet there is progress, because even small steps over time add up to a whole. The new storage area off the Island is coming along well, now wired, mounted and painted up:

The end piece is made from leftover plywood to create a small drink shelf that can also hide the protruding supports for the new lift out bridge.  Holes will be cut to support beverages.

And it can be removed, allowing for installation of the bridge.  Here's an earlier test fit of the new bridge, cut from Gatorboard.  Gatorboard is a specialty structural foam product with an even surface and it is quite rigid, while being very light.  

Many thanks are due to Tom Schmieder and Jim Harr, who both have helped me bring this vision to life.  It was threading a needle in many ways and while there is a ways to go, we are getting there.  The bridge will get Masonite girder sides and needs track laid and wiring completed.  But in the meantime, we need to clean up in order to host an operating session for guests this coming weekend.  Building a layout like this sometimes means having to build while accommodating operations - a lot like the prototype!  

Spring has begun and the race is on to get this project set ahead of the May and the start of many outdoor activities.  And we get it done completing each step along the way.  

Equipment - and where to put it

 With all of these spectacular new models from the manufacturers, we have amazing opportunity to recreate railroading in scale.  In fact, the only real downside to this is the fact that each of our railroads has only so much track, and for most of us, even less storage and staging.  It requires some creative solutions - like a new storage area beneath Euclid Yard!

While I have added cabinet shelving for storage of equipment off the layout (see https://onondagacutoff.blogspot.com/2024/01/making-spaces.html ), the process of building the long-awaited office car special train got me thinking that we need a shelf yard where trains can be stored without having to manually add them to the layout trackage.  

Brackets were added to allow for a new level.  That process is well underway now, with the yard largely assembled as well down on the floor. 

The tracks are glued to plywood, which was assembled and painted up.  This maximizes clearances and won't adversely impact operations based on other projects with track glued directly to a wood surface.  One key is to leave some room for seasonal expansion and contraction of the lumber by ensuring the joints are just hare loose.  

Wiring for track feeders will be next before installation.  And a final challenge will be a long lift-out bridge to connect the yard to S&I track 2 on the Island.  

Good progress!  And having a place to store these new trains will greatly add to the joy of running - some more variety will help with the illusion of the world outside, and we can all enjoy that.  

Weeks passing blink by blink

 You know it is a life full of opportunity when you're handling more than you thought you could, and still have things you haven't started yet.  It really does make me hope I am not making any repeated mistakes, because there's no time to check to see what the results have been.  

This is when the hobby can be most satisfying to me.  Competing priorities and the demands of relationship, work and volunteer responsibilities all comes from the same well of time and energy.  Making the effort to get to the workbench or layout and make a little progress is always one more thing, but it almost always is satisfying and in any case, it is one step closer to something else off the plate.  

For example, somehow we are almost a month past Springfield already.  Between new leadership at work pushing hard on items I control and the ongoing process of husbanding a young family with excited, involved kids time takes on different weights.  Of course a minute is a minute but when doing two things at once, that minute feels different than when we are relaxing.  

'DemClams', however, are a constant - they keep getting bigger.  I love an easy Sunday morning coming down to find all three watching cartoons.  They get along about as well as a family can, which is both a blessing and fun.  It is awesome to be part of raising these kids, and I am grateful to be able to be home as much as I am.  And I am especially grateful to Kristen who fills in the gaps and keeps the wheels on the car as we bump along on this journey.  

Onto the next moment!

Springfield Show Wrap-up: 2025

The big Amherst Society Railroad Hobby Show at Springfield, MA was January 25 and 26, 2025, and by all accounts was a great success again.  More than 27,000 attended the show and it was the usual intersection of model trains, operating layouts and displays, manufacturer booths, vendors, hobby media, craftsman, exhibits, and photographers.  Importantly, thanks to Rich Wisneski, Teddy & Pete were able to join with him this year for their first time!

Photo courtesy Dennis A. Livesey

It is hard to describe how wonderful it is to see the boys doing their thing, and learning to walk a tradeshow like this one.  They were fantastic!

The boys were amazed at the scope and scale of the event, held in 4 warehouse sized buildings.  The OC table had books and shirts for sale, as well as stickers and pins and a chance to talk to customers and guests.  Sales were good and much better than last year! 

Sharing the hobby has never been more fun, and that the boys will have these memories going forward means a great deal to me.  It is a major effort to make this show happen despite all the headwinds at work and the constant effort that life in my 49th year can take, but it is worth every ounce of effort for rewards like this.  

Lots of fun to come - just another part of this amazing hobby!

More new arrivals: Big Dash-7s from Rapido Trains

Things are getting better and better for Conrail modelers!  A variety of great products arrived right during the holidays and it's been busy enough that there hasn't been time to even dig into them right away.  But, here's a first look:  

Right off the bat, it is clear that these have been worth the wait.  Wow!  A handful of small issues were easily corrected - steps had some loose on a few of the end wells, and a few grab irons were bent by packaging.  But for models that travel 9000 miles across an ocean in a shipping container I have no complaints.  The dimensions, mechanism, detail, decoder, lighting and sound are amazing.  

Rapido is working on a C36-7 and rumor has it the second run of C30-7s is going to include a coveted model for Conrail guys: the C30-7A.  So much good to come.  Stay tuned!