Last month (May), a man contacted me through our shared Local Hobby Shop:  He had a 3'x16' HO layout that was half done.  He also had grandsons who are 7- and 8-years old and who really wanted to run trains with Grandpa.

The challenge was that, ever since being diagnosed with cancer a year ago, between the chemo and the medication he just didn't have the energy to continue work on the layout.  So he needed a strapping young man with the muscles and know-how to get the layout done and running well. 

My daughter's first recognizable picture was an apple. She was perhaps three, and at the time she was already a prolific artist, producing mostly pages of coloured straight, parallel lines. But this day, I was working on the endless basement reno, and she came down and presented me with a beautiful red apple with a green leaf. "Oh, what a wonderful apple!" I exclaimed. She beamed and went upstairs to produce more, reappearing a few minutes later with a sheet of parallel lines. "Lovely!" I exclaimed, "What is it?" She looked at me with the look that I hadn't expected her to perfect for at least another ten years, the look that says "Oh, Daddy, you are so dense!" and she explained, "It's lines."

What did Andrew and I (the other member of the posse being in Nevada) get up to last night?

Lines.

Two roughly parallel lines.

Is  it compulsory to purchase the relative Kato part to operate the Kato unitrack switches or is there an alternative method. I have Peco motors and there's 3 wires for the operation of the switch.I note that there's only 2 wires out of the Kato switch.Sorry but I can't figure out how to operate these switches using the same method as for the Peco. Any ideas please

I suspected that there would be some issues with building sections apart from one another. After some judicious cutting and fitting, it seems that things will be looking good. It may not fit in my space, but another inch or two out of my aisle will only affect me. The side benefit of the lone wolf modeler.