As they say in another hobby, it's time to fish or cut bait. So, this week I put away the test track and went for broke on the south module. I also happily discovered that October is still more than a week away, and I may still accomplish my goal for the month.

Well here it is, a completed GE 85 ton steeple cab.

The decoder is in, lights work, some numbers on its sides and an engineer to drive it.

Hey guys,

Some images from the recently "completed" section at New Sharon, Maine. Many more details to follow down the road, including switch stands, lineside and roadside details and mryiad other details, but the macro scenery is done.

My friend, Mark Dance, is someone I admire. He is an amazingly productive model railroader: in less than eight years, he took his quadruple deck Columbia and Western from paper to the cover of Railroad Model Craftsman, and a regular feature on the local operating scene. When I asked him at this weekend's VanRail operating event how he does it, he responded that he basically makes a commitment with himself to finish something before an event, and then does it.

The next module of my switching layout (http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/13976) will have a trailer park with mobile homes. They are hard to find in N-scale, so I decided to make some by myself as a 3D-print:

The picture shows the first prototype with primer just applied. Next is airbrushing and weathering, adding window glasses and so on.

I HAVE SOLVED THE PROBLEM! The railroad is alive; the programming track works; the yard tracks all work; the mainline tracks all work. Once I install the ground throws for switch tracks the intermittent power problem will go away as the stock rails will make firm, positive contact.

I happily can report that the next step of my early construction is complete - finishing building the under layout staging benchwork as well as cross bracing the island that is the start of the first visible level.

Here is the wide view (sorry about the shaky hands again.  I think I am going to start to have to put the camera on something stationary - though I think the jpeg file size reduction software I am using has some to do with it as well because the full size files are much better):