Module No. 1: Mistakes are for fixing

[ Module 1 posts ]

Before we went on our weekend trip, I noticed that one end plate of Module 1 was not 100% vertical. That's obviously bad, and I chalked it up to inexperience. ... However, mistakes exist to either not do them again, or at least try to fix them. A few hits to a chisel loosened the side boards and I was able to align the face plate. I'll let the glue dry for a while before removing the clamps ...

Sunset near Gaviota Beach

Santa Barbara station

Santa Barbara still has a train depot with some character.

The ticket counter is not exactly busy.

The waiting room with quite a few people. The Surfliner from San Luis Obispo is delayed. On the way north some time later we saw the southbound Coast Starlight at a red signal. Pretty much on time, but once again local traffic messing up their schedule.

Surfliner in Santa Barbara

Waterworld

After all these years, this is still a good show.

Transformers

"DO NOT PRESS THOSE BUTTONS, LADIES!" 

The Mummy

Hogwarts

In the green houses of Hogwarts Castle.

Hogsmeade

I-5, in the Middle of Nowhere

About 45 minutes north of Grapevine, CA, we're passing trucks while the sun is about to set.
 I can't decide which picture I like more, so you get to ... enjoy ... both.

Module No. 1: Covered

[ Module 1 posts ]

Tonight I continued with the module frame I started yesterday. I cut the intermediate crossbars to length and glued them into place. In a modular arrangement the legs would be mounted to the crossbars, so they'd support the whole module. I should add some corner pieces for additional support.
Next, I glued a 5mm thin piece of wood to the roadbed. This is where the track gets mounted on and will disappear under ballast later. I cut the pink foam to the proper width and trimmed the piece to fit.

With the second piece of pink foam installed, here's the module underside.

And the top.  While the module sits flat on the floor, one of the end plates is not 100% vertical, so it's unlikely that I will use this module in a modular arrangement. Nevertheless, I'll continue this build learn as much as I can from it.

Module No. 1: Parts

[ Module 1 posts ]

I started yet another project: A practice Fremo-Puko module. The idea is to build an easy module before I build more complicated ones. Rectangular box. Straight track. How hard could that possibly be?
Right angles are important here and my jigsaw has a slightly crooked foot, thanks to a fall several years ago. I managed reasonably well with the portable circular saw, but this would have been a lot easier had I pulled out the table saw. The module end pieces are laser cut, ordered from Harald Brosch.

Update 10:19pm:
I had planned to leave the parts alone until tomorrow. Let's just say that plans are made to be changed...

My first Fremo module frame. I have no way to test how accurate the angles are, but looks pretty close to what it should be. It sits flat on the floor, so at the very least I didn't build it crooked.

Rave reviews

This one turned out much better than the last one, even though I totally messed up the sequencing, putting the lemon skin scrapes into the apples instead of the dough, and pouring the pudding / milk / egg mix over the apples after laying the dough grid.
Nevertheless, it tasted great and the kids loved it. Can't ask for more.

Morning Coffee

A nice morning to sit outside and enjoy a fine cup of coffee.

September Ops at Silicon Valley Lines

NKP "Berkshire" #772 is leading train 99b, the "FastMail", through Mt. Marvell on the way from Bakersfield to Nowheres.

The Berkshire class locomotive took over the train in Dayton after the originally assigned SP #4349 had trouble with negotiating the grade from Bakersfield staging to the main level of the layout and was set out in Dayton.
Train 99b dropped passenger cars and mail cars in Nowheres and continued with a much smaller consist to Tracy where it terminated.

I had to leave early, so this was my only assignment tonight. A guest engineer was on the throttle and I was conductor. Due to the initial engine problems the train ran well behind schedule and had to deal with a lot more opposing traffic than in its normal slot. When clocking out we had spent over 70 minutes on this run. This was a busy session with lots of activity on the railroad and kept Dispatch on their toes.

Caltrain at Bailey

A lucky break in traffic allowed me to catch backlit Caltrain #156 along Monterey Rd just south of Bailey.

Los Paseos Park

Interesting skies and nice light today at sunset

Gone quickly

It's fall. Time for apple cake. It was good. Sorry, you don't get to see it. ...

Huh? What? You do want to see it? Alright, fine, here it is. This one got a little bit too crispy. Still good, though.

Morning Walk

This Blue Heron hung out a Los Paseos Park while we walked the dog this morning. Seemed like he was very interested in something in the gras, but we couldn't figure out what exactly he was after.

Welztalbahn Ops Session 13

When I want to show off the layout, I turn off the lights...

I approached today's thirteenth ops session on the Welztalbahn as another shake down session. Balazs came by and helped finding bugs and little gremlins.

Afterwards, pink notes were dotting the landscape. I have some work to do.

The train booklets are now stored conveniently out of the way, but easily accessible.