rfbranch's blog

Well...maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration but it's another unbelievably hot day in the Northeast US as we've passed 100 degrees here in Connecticut for the 2nd day.  Since the heat has me captive I figured it was time to post some content. 

Let me start this out bluntly:  I'm a dummy.  I made an incredibly elementary mistake in the design and construction of my layout that I'm shocked I did not pick up on until just this past week.  While I've only been seriously involved in the hobby for the past two years, a rule of thumb I've heard used quite a bit is that any yard that is at 50% capacity is actually 100% full.  For whatever reason I chose to completely ignore applying that rule to my layout design.  And I did it at my own peril.

 It’s been quite a while since I’ve posted an update on my layout as it’s been a busy few months (combine summer yardwork with the birth of our first child in August, it’s been a lifestyle adjustment!  And guess which one has taken more adjusting) but as the days have gotten shorter and the nights cooler I’m turning my attention back to my layout. 

Construction

It’s been a long time since I did any updates on my progress, so I thought I would give a general update on the status of my layout construction. With the warmer weather lawn care and preparations for my first child have taken up a good amount of my free time so there isn’t a lot of tangible progress on the layout, but I have been able to finish a few odds and ends projects in the past few months so I wanted to share my progress and experiences.

I’ve spent a good portion of my evenings & weekends the past couple of weeks finalizing the installation of lighting on my layout as well as sorting out some really frustrating wiring issues (but more on the latter in another post).  I recently upgraded the lighting in my basement as even though I have two outside exposed walls my basement is….well, a basement!  The previous owner had some overhead lights installed that provided decent light for a playroom or workout area but better lighting was needed if I was going to use this space for my layo

First let me introduce my layout.  I’ve started construction of what has become a “prototype inspired” version of the Hoboken Shore Railroad.  Byron Henderson’s Article in the inaugural issue of MRH spurred me to start sharing my experiences in building my own switching pike.  So before I get to that, a bit on how I got to where I am now:

BACKGROUND