To start off with some almost sad news. I was working on my Spectrum 4-8-2 the other night when I was reminded that I have the worst set of butterfingers on the planet. My mountain slipped ever so abruptly out of my hands and nosedived 4 feet to the carpeted floor below. I smashed the headlight and bell brackets clean off. One class light is just gone, and the bell well lets just say it rang its last. So I made a mad dash to the hobby store and low and behold he had everything I needed to fix her. So I started to make the necessary repairs when I noticed a crack in the step plate that connects the cow catcher to the engine. I started to get disappointed when I went ahead, put her on the track and ran her back and forth over some of my most treacherous turnouts to find. She can clear everything with no problem. So now she has an official Frisco front end. She looks like in her travels she used the cow catcher for which it was built. She caught a cow or two. Anyway, since I could not do anymore with the freshly wrecked 4-8-2, I decided to get out my 4-8-4 4500 and run her for the first time. I went through her thoroughly, oiled her up, checked every nook and cranny for spots where she might short out and made the mandatory fixes. I then checked one more time. Screwed all the screws down tight, stuck her on the layout and put some power to her. Man I have to tell you, Timex could not have done a better job of running like she does. So not only is she breathing, she is out of critical condition and well on her way to a good long lasting healthy life! Long live the Queen! She runs and runs and runs guys. So not only does she look good, see my pictures, she runs well too.
Well yesterday, I received a new set of Meteor decals from Tom Stolte. What was neat was he did the entire set in black rather than just the numbers. It was unusual to see such a thing but I had the numbers I needed and went to work putting some of the finishing touches on the 4-8-4 SLSF 4500. See my album. My wife and I have been working diligently but patiently on the layout. I posted some photographs last night of our progress. I know right now I have a big rectangle but I have added an extension to one side about 6 1/2 feet long by 2 feet wide for industrial switching. Either the UPS guy or the postman will be bring more building kits this week for us to build up our downtown district. As well we need some buildings for our locomotive servicing facility and yard buildings. For no bigger than the layout is, I am going to have 3 water tanks on the layout for refueling the steamers. My next project will be to make a riverbed and place my truss bridge over it. Then my wife will do the rocks, river and waterfall. All in all we have a rough idea about how the layout will operate, we just have to make it work. I am like most model railroaders, I have an idea for a layout that do not fit in the space available. One of these days the kids will all be gone and we can gut the entire upstairs portion of the house and then build my idea of what a layout is supposed to be. Comments and critique are welcome and in most cases, appreciated! Thanks for reading and lookin guys! Will and Tia!
