So often, we spend countless hours and dollars (or Euros or Yen or whatever) trying to duplicate in miniature the way some object or scene existed at some very specific time and place.  I'm as guilty of it as anyone, and probably a lot more than most.  It's called being a rivet counter.  The truth is, I enjoy it.  I get a great deal of satisfaction out of researching some arcane bit of railroad history and then modeling it to the best of my ability.

On the other hand...

It's been a couple years since I tore my layout down, and it's finally time to start on a new (smaller) one.  With a little extra money and permission from the CFO to spend it, I've been placing orders tonight!

LED lights from hitlights.com - multi-color for the backdrop, and cool white for the main lighting

Tie strips from Central Valley - 8'6" for the main line, 8' for the spurs

code 55 rail, PC ties, and rail joiners from Fast Tracks.

I am faced with a problem, and since I am currently waiting for paint to dry so I can get back to work on my tender, I figured I'd sit and blather on a bit.  The story follows shortly...

I actually got something done, instead of just talking about it!  Well, when I say done, I mean started...

Let me say at the outset that this is NOT aimed at or intended for any one person, group, point of view, or in any other way any subset of humanity.  This is just my opinion, based on my own experience, and I feel like sharing it.  While I'd like to think that writing this might improve the world by a miniscule amount, I admit that I might be wasting my time completely.

Often, I sit here in the hotel room with little else to do but watch TV or play on the computer.  I come to the MRH forum and post some idea (usually half-baked, at best) which is on my mind at the moment.  Sometimes it generates some interesting conversation, sometimes it's ignored, and sometimes I learn something really interesting.  More often than not, I come away with some really great ideas that I would never have thought of on my own.

As I mentioned in my thread asking about [British] Colonial steam locos, I'm daydreaming about future projects.  I have the remains of an HO scale Life-Like 0-4-0T that I picked up at a train show, and they need a home.  The frame is damaged, the body is missing pieces, and the main rods are gone, but the motor runs and there is enough frame there to do something useful.

It's not perfect, but I'll describe my trial run of hand laying a #6 turnout, HO scale, code 83.  I learned a few things, and I've got some ideas on how to make the next one better.

This is not the only way, or even the best way to hand lay a turnout, but it is my way.  I do not use any jigs or special tools, and I make my own plans to fit the application.  The only tools needed are a large file or two, a track gauge, and a soldering iron.

This is what my layout looked like at 8:00 this morning:

And this is what it looks like now (12:30 PM):

I'm just curious...

We seem to have quite a few railroaders here on MRH, and that got me thinking.  I've been with NS for 15 years now, and I've noticed two related items: