Hi Jack from Star, Idaho.  A week or so ago I posted a blog about dying ballast.  I appreciate the advice to try Scenic Express.  I have purchased from scenic express before but I never looked close at the actual stone ballast they sell.  I only looked at the first page because I thought it was for the larger scale trains.  However, to my surprise they make it for HO and N scale.  Thanks again for leading me to the right place because I found the dark grey ballast that I was looking for.  I received it today and the color was perfect.&

Ok, I know why I haven't started building a layout yet, but I would like to know from those others out there who are part of the hobby, but haven't started working on their own layout, why not.

Besides installing sound decoders in my engines, I also like other sounds on the layout: church bells, industrial whistles, coal breaker conveyor, running streams, crossing bells, etc. With the exception of the crossing bells, I have all of the sound modules activated by an on/off switch. I’ve been looking for some type of random timer or generator to activate them.  I contacted a couple of electronics manufacturers, but they couldn't help.  Some of you may be interested in what I found out.

It is time for me to update this introduction. In fact it is way past time! (today is November 10, 2020) I am now starting on my third shelf layout. The first was meant to be a "chainsaw" layout. A place to experiment and learn but not last long. It was around for nine years. Before The end of that time I started another layout. This time it was more of a prototype layout. It was based on the Santa Fe McPherson (Kansas) branch. The four 6'x18" sections of that layout will hopefully be incorporated into a new bedroom sized layout.