This is for everyone who works in an office. . . . . 

Aside from UPS delivering a package to the wrong address instead of here, today is a pretty good day. Here are a few photos to update the layout. Buildingsl have lights and some "landscaping." More details to be added later.

Mainline looking Eastbound.

Construction progress on the West End has made some strides this past week. Most of the sub-roadbed is down. Luan salvaged from the old railroad wa installed on risers with cork roadbed and cork squares from a local craft shop. This will deaden the noise and serve as a base for track laying. 

You guys are killing me with all these posts. Beet factories, coal yards, switching layouts, oil tank farms; it never ends and I'm out of room to add anything more. My wife has already put the "Kabash" on buying an old grocery store and my local club has no more room to expand - LOL!

Now that the basic bridge is completed and slots correctly, it is time for finishing touches. First is the electrical work of soldering drops to the power buss. I elected for one drop location on the back side (non-visible) of the structure that connects a short distance to the end of the buss using wire nuts.

The cork roadbed has dried and now it is time to test fit, level and make the final installation of the bridge. To start, it is helpful to have an extra set of hands (thank you Mrs. Calhoun) to hold the bridge roughly in place so that temporary supports can be installed to check for level and then installation of the slotted pieces.

I have started work on spanning the 38 inch "gap" across the doorway between the West End (under construction) and the East End of my shelf railroad. Over the weekend, I had an open house to celebrate the "almost completion" of that portion of the layout. Discussions centered on cosmetic improvements to the existing structures and advice on plans for the rest including the bridge work.

OLD DOG; NEW TRICKS. i've been in model railroading for most of my 69 years but have really been active for the last five or so. I was at a train show recently, purchasing coupler conversion kits and interiors for passenger cars, and complained to the dealer that some of them rode rough or derailed at times over switch frogs and other areas.

"Have you tuned the wheels on the cars," I was asked. "Sure," was my reply; "I just put new steel wheels on all of them."

I'd like to add a lighted drumhead for my Nickel Plate Road passenger consist, but can only find N scale and G scale versions; no one seems to made an HO scale lighted drumhead. Does anyone know of a square HO scale drumhead that I can convert using NKP decals I have? Basically, a simple opaque or frosted surface on which to adhere a blue lettered logo is what is needed.