Hi All,

Video #2 in our Trackside Fun video series...

Hope you enjoyed it.

Jas...

About a month ago my computer was infected by one of those Trojan Horse viruses. It wasn't detected by my security software either. Well I had to send my computer out to be cleaned so I was dependent on other computers to run stuff that I needed to get done. It cam back last night and Decoder Pro had disappeared. The consultant tried to get it but it didn't work primarily because he really didn't know what he was doing.

Well it's been a few months since I started working on the drywall in the train room. I have two coat's of mud on most of  it. You might notice that inside corners only have the first coat ( Usually called the "Bed Coat" ). I use Straitflex tape for all of my inside corners. After the bed coat all I have to do is feather out the edges with Topping compound.I use "all purpose joint compound" for the first two coats then for the final coat I will use "Topping" compound. Its a lot easier to sand!

I'm nearly done with my drywall work. I am planning an On30  three layer layout with a Helix in an adjoining room. I really like the concept of the Mushroom design but I'm not sure that a room 16'x17' is big enough. Has anyone seen an HO or On30 mushroom layout that would fit this size? I have nearly 9' in ceiling height so that isnt an issue. All of the plans I have found are bigger, the smallest is 16'x20'.

Rob Teed

Alrighty, this is pretty close to the final track plan for the MFTR.

Now that my open house is a sweet memory I started working on detailing the scenery in the alcove area - specifically the left rear corner that contains the trailer and log cabin.  In my previous blog post for Buck & Loretta's trailer house I showcased their new toilet planter.  It is still a work in process, but I wanted to share the progress in the trailer area.

Here's a few shots of some of my latest weathering projects....a couple of Greenville 100 ton hoppers.

I took a nice little vacation for myself last week and spent it building the vast majority of the benchwork for my little model railroad.  It took longer than expected, but I am exceedingly pleased with the results.

I finally painted my fascia.  I went with flat black, which I think really helps it to disappear.  When I get around to building the valance, I think the layout will really stand out like a display.  the black also looks good with the black computer and black Zephyr case.

Before painting, I spread spackle and sanded all the seams, holes, etc, so that I would have a nice smooth surface.  It's far from perfect, of course, but the flat paint helps hide that.

It has been an interesting couple of weeks with very little progress being made on connecting the Humpyard cables to the turnouts.  Superficially it looked pretty simple but due to a combination of the benchwork height and a slowly healing knee injury it has proved to be pretty challenging. The documentation provided by the Humpyard folks quite decent, in my opinion.