It's been a most productive week-end. The benchwork is complete except for the painting. I've drilled the holes for the cables, patched up the gashes and sanded the tables. I'm planning to lay the unitrack on the tables without permanently securing them. I didn't want to have to rig a scheme to connect the tracks at the edge of each module. It will also allow me to quickly store the modules without fear of damaging the track work since they will be packed in storage bins during transport. That is, if I ever decide to take my layout to shows. As a consequence, I had to install track guides. These help to keep the tracks in alignment with each other. The guides are simply rectangular pieces of wood glued strategically on the table surface. I went to many home renovation stores hoping to find some thin strips of wood. None of them carried anything small enough. I went to Michael's, but they only had balsa wood, which is too soft. After driving all over town, I finally came across a hobby shop that sold mixing sticks for stirring epoxy. They're essentially popsicle sticks, but they work. I just wished I didn't have to spend the whole afternoon driving around town.
The unitrack has been put back onto the layout and the cables have been strung through the new openings in the tables. There are a lot of wires! The biggest difficulty will be making sure the cables are connected correctly to their controllers. I'll likely go to a computer store this week and get tags to help easily identify the cables. I also placed an order for more 3-way extension cords so it will be a few weeks before I can test my switches/turnouts. In the meantime, I'll need to figure out how to rig up a switching device to control the power feed to the four main lines. I'll head over to Active Electronics and check out their inventory of rotary switches.
It was 1994 and I was working in Doha helping CGIS implement a nation wide GIS. My vacation was coming up and I had decided to head over to Europe instead of going back home for a visit. It was my first time traveling alone and my first visit to Europe. I was young and naive, which were two great characteristics to possess when experiencing new cultures. It certainly helped me to adjust to middle eastern ways for two and a half years. I arrived in Amsterdam with no itinerary and just an Eurorail pass in my hands. I journeyed from Amsterdam to Bruxelles to Paris to Lyon to Milano to Firenze to Verona to Venice to Vienna to Salzburg to München to Frankfurt to Köln and full circle back to Amsterdam. It was wonderful traveling across Europe by train. Sometimes I was unable to find accommodations so I slept in train stations, but enjoyed it nonetheless. That was back in the days when it was still safe to do so. That particular trip had a profound impact on me and was the catalyst for my interest in this hobby. My model trains help me to relive those wonderful memories of my first trip across Europe.
It's been a most productive week-end. The benchwork is complete except for the painting. I've drilled the holes for the cables, patched up the gashes and sanded the tables. I'm planning to lay the unitrack on the tables without permanently securing them. I didn't want to have to rig a scheme to connect the tracks at the edge of each module. It will also allow me to quickly store the modules without fear of damaging the track work since they will be packed in storage bins during transport. That is, if I ever decide to take my layout to shows. As a consequence, I had to install track guides. These help to keep the tracks in alignment with each other. The guides are simply rectangular pieces of wood glued strategically on the table surface. I went to many home renovation stores hoping to find some thin strips of wood. None of them carried anything small enough. I went to Michael's, but they only had balsa wood, which is too soft. After driving all over town, I finally came across a hobby shop that sold mixing sticks for stirring epoxy. They're essentially popsicle sticks, but they work. I just wished I didn't have to spend the whole afternoon driving around town.
The unitrack has been put back onto the layout and the cables have been strung through the new openings in the tables. There are a lot of wires! The biggest difficulty will be making sure the cables are connected correctly to their controllers. I'll likely go to a computer store this week and get tags to help easily identify the cables. I also placed an order for more 3-way extension cords so it will be a few weeks before I can test my switches/turnouts. In the meantime, I'll need to figure out how to rig up a switching device to control the power feed to the four main lines. I'll head over to Active Electronics and check out their inventory of rotary switches. 
No comments:
Post a Comment