In this short video I talk about the plan for my first layout section, and share my progress on roadbed and trackwork. Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/SdYj1Wr_BFc

In July 1998 I was on a work trip to Vera Cruz Mexico.  I managed to squeeze in some railfanning on the way.  Vera Cruz had a lot of GE locomotives and cabooses on all the trains very reminiscent of UP.  More here: FNM Vera Cruz

In building the BQR-v1, I used a beautiful lever frame made by Modratec in Australia. All nicely machined brass, it provided a mechanical means to operate the turnouts in my yard. In preparing to move, I removed the WIT components to prevent them going astray. Modratec seems to have gone silent -- a hazard with any small manufacturer in this industry. Other than the lever frame, the nicest component of the system was the adjustable clutch that rode on the piano wire. One screw adjusted the position of the points operating wire and a spring-loaded screw varied the drag on the piano wire.

Today I started the conversion of an Athearn - NAC 50' Plug Door Boxcar.  The Athearn cars are an exact match for the prototype.<

Home remodel done - Check.

Layout room cleared out - Eh.  Partly

Construction started - Check!

Introducing Lynn Jct. on the Lynnsport and Eastern.

So, apologies for this being an extra month behind - life I guess. On a serious not though, there are some rather interesting things to look at this time around including a mini milestone if you will with the subroadbed wrapping it's way around the peninsula. Yay!! Also, I would like to note that I am going ahead and moving the layout updates to a bi-monthly format. This change is partially because of life, but also to leave more time for editing other content. As always, thanks for watching and mash that subscribe button!!

This is how I created a model of the Illinois Terminal Depot in Monticello, Illinois. 

The Track Dept. informed us that the main interlocking will be out of service for the rest of the morning at least...  Perhaps it would be a good time to take the yard vehicle and give the new conductor trainee a tour of the mill.

  We'll start with the woodlot.

I'm not going to lie.  I had decided 8 years ago or so to switch from N scale to HO scale.  I loved what you could do in a given space with N scale but my vision and dexterity were making N scale a real challenge for me.  So I sold off all my N scale stuff and went to HO.  Even before the switch, I had purchased the HO Scale Canadian Rapido released and did an unboxing of it at the time.  I love passenger trains and that is really what has drawn me to model trains over the years.