On Family and Hobby - The Balance

Tonight is the local school play - and somehow it is already my daughter Susie's last school play in this school, as she's bound next year for middle school.  Susie since she was in preschool has loved the play and loved the performance, and now here she is 8 years later - and even more memorable, she has earned the lead role this year.  What an opportunity!

Naturally this event has had a tremendous amount of lead up, and we are very proud of the work Susie has put in.  And also it gives me pause.  Now and again we find a photograph that is timely and my wife Kristen found this one, of Susie back in first grade. Her smile, curly blonde hair and confidence are so tangible here while she is seen climbing one of the trees at the local park.  Her mom took the photo, itself a blessing, and while it was taken just five years ago it seems in some ways a lifetime.  

And so it goes!  This is a success story, and what anyone would have hoped for, and here we are.  Kids grow quickly and it was a growing exercise for me to learn how critical my time around them is.  This is why it is important to put time into the balance between things in life.  Yes work is important, and yes I love the hobby that railroading has always been for me.  But there are a lot of things that depend on me, not just what I want to do in any given moment. Family is the foundation for those things, I am responsible for my family and therefore time with family must get the top spot.  What a wonderful stretch to be able to be there tonight for this show with our family and friends so close that they are like family, too.

More trains coming soon!  All part of the balance of life.  

Life in the 'Front Pew'

Something on which I have been reflecting lately is the incredible variety of activities that fill the vast majority of time in my life.  I am fortunate for health and for the ability to contribute in so many ways.  Memorial Day fills me with the deepest of gratitude for our way of life, and the spiritual debt that we all owe to members of the services that have paid the ultimate sacrifice.  In my own small way, I hope to honor what they and their families have given.

Longtime readers will remember what a wild and trying few years I had as I entered my 40th year of life, between the passing of family elders and my father, new birth and my own surgery (at nearly the same time), regular and growing articles and authoring a book, navigating major changes at work, leading a department through crises at work, all while being a husband and father and friend and creator.   

And while railroading, professionally and as a hobby, in both full-size trains and models, has always been a central calling in my heart, the debt of gratitude for my family is unparalleled.  

Sharing the passion for railroading is one of the best things about it, and Teddy (and Pete!) have caught the spirit of it in their own lives.  They offer help, their insatiable wonder, their smiles, and enthusiastic companionship - what more could a dad ask?

Susie is developing a love for live music, and having the ability to share that passion of mine with her is a true pleasure, too.  Music is a soundtrack for life and Susie is right there to embrace it!

Pete, our youngest and most rambunctious, is a big personality who loves with a big heart, and is developing an incredible ability to remember things.  We explore new things together and he's always up for adventure.  Here we found a nice, new Norfolk Southern RR 'Gradall' machine at a local favorite spot.  Pete was thrilled!

 Learning more and more about life and about railroading with dad is a pastime for each of the kids and I think helps them see more of the world around them.  

Central to all three children is Kristen, whom also entered her 40's this spring and who is the most important person in my world.  She's the one that keeps the learning on track, both at school and at home - she's a well of nearly endless patience and compassion.  Here's mama with her cubs on a woods walk near our home on Mother's Day 2022, with spring in bloom, cool wet air allowing the detail of the woods to come to life.  

These are all the sorts of family things we do, and in my 40s I have found myself squarely in the front pew of life.  My parents and many elders have passed away, mentors have moved on.  Others remain but the direct line to the top now is my responsibility on which to deliver.  When a hobby can be woven through all the fabric of life like railroading and music are for me, all of those things ebb and flow, and each of them works to balance out others.  

As we enjoy a holiday weekend, let's be grateful for all that is good in our lives, and thankful for those that have paid the ultimate price in defending it.

Building Momentum

This the time of the year that the days get a bit shorter, and a familiar and welcome chill is present in the air overnight.  I have always found autumn full of promise and splendor, a recalibration from summertime and it's interesting to see how that changes as a parent and manager at work. In the wake of the pandemic most activities have resumed and the schedule is full, very full, of nearly all good things.  Momentum is building for the month of October which is one of the busiest on the calendar in years. 

I used some of that energy to focus on smaller, achievable projects on the layout, squeezed into a few hours here and there leading up to a guest operating session back on September 17.  In contrast to the bridge deck earlier this month, these were smaller scenes but added a lot of visual improvement.  

The first one was one the kids wanted to help with over at Island Yard - just some ballast and some foreground static grass, but a huge change to the brown paint that was there for the last few years.  

One of the best parts of this one is it's a small area, but a neat new place to take photos.

Another quick hit was needed up on the M&E at the Crucible Chemical switch.  That siding was in place for years with just a few tacks holding it down while I waited to decide how it should look.  With the deadline approaching for the session, I made a few decisions, and to my eye it came out nicely.

I even added a working derail to the siding from the Alexander Models kit, which worked better than I thought it would and adds a neat aspect to switching for the M&E jobs.  Ballast and weeds finished the job.

Also, given the remnants of Hurricane Ida as well as three other storms that in total dumped nearly a foot of rain in August and early September, I have been dealing with more water in the basement than usual.  It is designed to drain out and we had no floods per se, but three separate times I had to pull up the floor tiles and set up fans to dry things out.  

All in all, though, we are in great shape.  The layout is poised for some serious improvement over the next few months - lots as always to look forward to and be excited about.  And so the other thing that is building momentum is my gratitude for my wife and kids, whose patience allows so much of this to become reality and whose support makes it all fun!

A New Avenue

Well, seems that life has thrown us all a big curveball to start off 2020, as New Jersey, the nation and the entire world is now dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.  These are tough times for many and scary times for most, between the illness and the economic fallout that is related to it.  While it has been brewing for months, it has become front-page news only in the last few weeks here in New Jersey.   The response is an unprecedented restriction on gathering, with schools and work largely closed or exclusively online. 

However, the real railroad continues to run, which means that I have work and that I must be on the property in performance of that work.  But, it also means most meetings are now conference calls, and that my kids are home from school with online learning.   That makes for long days for my wife and kids - and so an increased role for Dad when I get home. 

This means it's high time to act on my wife's longstanding plan to get an O-gauge layout set up in the finished attic space for the kids.  Yep, this scale guy is going to delve into building a 3-rail layout!  I figure it's a great way to get the kids involved and give them trains that are theirs to handle and run.  Thanks to some generous donations, it's time to get rolling (thanks Ralph & Chris!).

A quick trip to Home Depot got the basics loaded into the minivan.  Gotta love a minivan:  with the seats folded into their bays, you can fit a full 4'X8' sheet of plywood with no worries.  Cool!

Susie started off helping sand the base plywood.

Once that was cut down and sanded and ready to go, it was time to carry it up to the attic (with big help from Kristen!) and get the framework in place. 

That was covered with outdoor carpeting to give us a base for the track, and a visit to a local hobby shop turned up lots of used Gar-Graves and Ross Custom track for us to play with.  This stuff is nice, and was recommended by some O-gauge buddies over the Lionel track.  Teddy was a huge help in assembling track and trying different configurations.

After a Sunday and a few evenings of work, we got trains running, with more progress to come soon.  The kids are in heaven for a few days - what magic to be able to share this with them. 

With travel restrictions coming to deal with the virus, it's a great time to double down on a project at home you can do with the kids or grandkids.  Time to take the lemon and have some lemonade!  Best wishes during this time, I wish you health and economic stability.  Hang in there, this too will pass.

~RGDave

And To Finish Up November...

Continuing some discussion from the previous posts this month, November started with a bang in the trip to the La Mesa club in San Diego, CA, and then continued with this year's hosting of the 'November Interchange' annual event back in Northern NJ.  This is a round-robin group of modelers and operators from Northern NJ, and from the greater Washington DC areas that operate in one region this year, and the other next year.  This was the second time the Onondaga Cutoff has hosted a session for this event and was a fun success.  Here NYS&W power lays over at Onondaga Yard, before the session began:

In hindsight I should have taken more photographs and especially of the operators doing their thing.  Something to keep in mind for next time!

Other recent projects include putting into service two of the new Scale Trains SD40-2's decorated for Conrail.  They turned out well, and with the Helicon software, even the photos look sharp:

Then, suddenly it was Thanksgiving, my favorite holiday and one that each year is a nice blend of family chaos and low-key community time.  It's hard to overstate just how much it means to be part of a tight community, and I feel a responsibility to help create an environment where good camaraderie and community will flourish.  The same energy carries over to the OC and its operations:  it's people that matter most, and by looking out for others, we create a community for ourselves.  

Over that weekend I was able to get out with the kids to spend some time trackside, something they all enjoy.  Watching them grow is fascinating. We got the last of the fall colors along the Lehigh Line, and even managed to see a few NS freights.

Here's NS train 20R in the S-curve eastbound at Stanton Station, NJ:

Now, on to December!  Lots of good things coming.  Thanks for your readership and time!

~RGDave

First Impressions

After a month-long push with some late nights, squeezing in progress when I can, we have arrived at that wonderful 'finished but not complete' state in one of the most important spots:  the first impression of a visit to the Onondaga Cutoff.

Here are few quick shots of the first scene viewers encounter on their way down the steps to the layout space.  This is milepost 265 on the old Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Syracuse Branch, up in the steeply-hilled country south of Syracuse NY.   On my layout, it's now run by the Minoa & Euclid on their daily trips serving customers along the route.

A tighter view shows one of the neat DL&W cast iron mile markers built by regular operator Al T., who you may remember years ago made me neat NYC mile markers and some other details including the Onondaga Yard Office.   Here's a tighter view of MP 265:

I am pleased with how the trackside bushes and weeds came out this time.  I believe it is because of a new and revolutionary way of installing the highlights - the best way I have found to avoid over-engineering the randomness of nature is to hand off the responsibility for it.....

Susie turns out to be PERFECT at randomly placing scenic highlights.  :-)

Finally the actual view down the steps, the real 'first impression' of the layout as of this weekend.  This is far more appealing than the random and scattered view that was here before the scenery was installed.  The next step this summer will be to mount and hang skirting below the fascia around the areas that are completed - and that will be a bigger change than any since the backdrop went in.

Lots of Onondaga Cutoff progress coming soon!

~RGDave

On Overhead Bridges

The next major installation of scenery will be installed just east from CP 280, an area where the mainline curves around the big peninsula on the Onondaga Cutoff.  Seeing that there are no locations on the Chicago Line where the railroad does a 180-degree turn within one line of sight, it is visually important to break this scene up.

I began by assembling pieces of several kits and setting them in place to get a feel.

We have the Rix Products concrete viaduct piers in the foreground, and the Walthers Double Track through truss rough assembly behind.  This is a big visual change and so it's important to mock up the general idea before deciding on the exact approach and location.  I decided I'd like to handle this with an overhead highway bridge, evocative of the big through-truss spans that were common across Central New York through the 20th century  - including one that stood at the west end of Dewitt Yard in Syracuse, NY.

Such roadway bridges are not as common as I expected in HO scale, short of custom brass models - and I cannot justify spending hundreds and hundreds on a bridge that won't carry trains.  I decided to use a Walthers through-truss kit, and kitbash it to better resemble a highway bridge.  (The concrete bridge seen above will be located further east in the town of Fayetteville.)

The stock Walthers truss is a kit for a bridge to carry railroad tracks.  While similar, highway truss bridges tend to have bridge members that are somewhat smaller in size, since they carry less weight.  To capture that feel, I used the trusses and floor system from the Walthers kit but replaced most of the bracing with lighter-gauge lattice from Micro-Engineering city viaduct kits.  Some splicing was required.  Those pieces were allowed to cure overnight.

It's summertime, and that means lots of time with the kids.  I brought the kit and my tools up from the basement and worked on the kitbash while they played.  You can see the main kit on the right above, and the ME kit to the left, with a happy 6-month-old Pete behind in his bouncer (which he loves).

Later, as I enjoyed coffee and the kids ate breakfast, I brought the project to the kitchen table and continued my work.  I inserted the assembled lattice kitbashes, and glued the trusses to the floor system all at once while the kids asked questions.  Susie helped (under a watchful eye) with some of the assembly.

Here's the current status of the bridge, which will get Micro Engineering bearings and DOT green paint and weathering before a concrete-and-asphalt deck.   You can see the lacy horizontal webbing, which is much more evocative of a highway span than of a railroad span.  I also used the stock ME bracing lattice on several of the vertical members, helping too do differentiate this bridge from the stock kit.

Given its prominent location on the main line, this will be the centerpiece of the next scene.  It's fun to share some of the assembly process with the kids, and to see this scene get started.  We are setting up for a fun autumn and winter of progress on the Onondaga Cutoff!

~RGDave

P.S. - enjoy the rare total eclipse of the sun today, which will be going on when this blog entry is posted!

A New Addition!

I'm excited again to report some wonderful news - a new baby boy has joined the Abeles ranks, as Peter Auden Abeles was born on February 26!   Mom and baby are doing very well!

As we had hoped, Lil' Pete was quickly adopted by his sister and brother, both of whom are thrilled.  It is a busy, busy time, but we have lots of love and support.

Susie and Teddy both spend a lot of time helping with the new little one, and it's adorable, although Pete could sometimes maybe use a bit of space.

In all seriousness, Susie is a great helper and loves her little-little baby brother!

Darker news, poorly timed, is that I need disc replacement surgery.  I have an acute herniation of the C5/C6 disc which had been causing significant back and shoulder pain on my right side, and recently led to weakness in my hand and numbness in my right thumb.  Scary stuff.  Surgery was urgently scheduled for 3/9, and I am so thankful for the fact that it could not have gone better.  I feel much better already!

More OC progress coming soon!
~RGDave

Painting some Fascia

Over the past year or so, I have added some fascia to the layout, particularly in places where the basic land forms are in place up at the west end of Onondaga Yard and out along the M&E.  I chose 1/8" thick Masonite for the backdrop, the installation of which you can see in the Archives.

After a number of operating sessions with no major electrical issues in the track and signals, I decided it was time to put a coat of finishing paint on the parts of the layout that were closest to completion.

I had primed much of the fascia on the M&E, but decided that it was a step I could avoid on most of the fascia - the surface didn't seem to be improved by the primer, and after testing a small area on the bare Masonite with the final paint, the primer didn't seem to promote better adhesion, either.

So, I selected a medium gray color, and the 'eggshell' finish which appears flat but can easily be wiped down as needed.  I loosened the screws on all the UTP-plug plates, Local Control Boards, and drink holders so that I could paint behind each of those items, and then got started - I used a 2-1/2" brush for cutting in around the details, and a little 6" mini-roller for the broad surfaces.

Susie came down to visit, and was very excited to see painting going on.  She asked to help and joined right in!  She's 3-1/2 today, which is hard to believe - looking back at this blog over that time is a neat exercise in time-lapse memory.  In some ways it feels like a few weeks ago, and in other ways, it is hard now to imagine life before children.  What a crazy, intense, and exciting experience!

After a few hours, the results were more apparent, and I'll admit I didn't expect this big of a change in appearance.  I didn't mind the speckled brown of the Masonite but a coat of paint really makes the railroad 'pop' on first impression.  With a little bit of skirting hanging from the ceiling, and more of the same mounted below the fascia hanging down towards the floor, this view will be virtually complete.

Happy New Year!   Painting the fascia on the first part of the railroad was a big visual improvement and a great start for 2016!

~RGDave

Major Step Forward

On January 14, a Monday evening, I installed the thirty-third block detector on the railroad.  Upon testing its functionality, I had finished the installation of blocks and block detection - the foundation upon which the signal system will be built.  It was a nine-month program to install all the detectors around the layout, along with several months of planning before I got started.  As it happened, both Kristen and Susie walked downstairs to say hello, and so the whole family was present for the moment!

This is just the first part of the signal installation project on the railroad, but it's a significant one - involving the rewiring of the power bus on one of the main tracks and several of the controlled yard tracks, and all associated feeders.  I'm thankful to be done with cutting into existing wiring!  Next up is wiring each BD20 block detector to the DCC system, via a separate card that is linked to the command bus.  Once that's completed, we move to interlockings - installing the final local displays and the stationary decoders that drive the switch machines and signal heads.

So, as Susie turned 6 months old, I also was able to get through the detection process.  Monday night was a night that I could stand back for a moment and reflect on completing a major part of the remaining work on the Onondaga Cutoff. 

~RGDave

This time, a REAL new arrival!

Hello all,

It's with quite a bit of joy that I present to you a new arrival that, for once, is not railroad related:

My wife and I welcomed Susannah Grace into the world just a few days ago, and we are blessed with a healthy, happy, and hungry little girl!  Sleep has been hard to come by these days and there is a natural chaos to the process of learning to be a parent, but what a ride.

She has yet to see the Onondaga Cutoff.  And it's been a few days since I got much done there, too.  But, rest assured, that's coming soon :-)

~RGDave